By Megan Matteucci
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA, Ga. — Some metro Atlanta police officers are being retrained in the safer use of Tasers since the manufacturer of the “stun guns” issued a warning last week.
In a training bulletin to law enforcement, Taser International said that an “adverse cardiac event” could result when an officer fires the 50,000-volt weapon and hits a suspect in the chest. The company recommends officers aim for the back, abdomen or thigh and avoid the chest, face and neck.
Authorities in Gwinnett and Clayton counties said they are scheduling training.
“It won’t be a huge change. It’s a difference of a few inches,” said Sgt. Tony Kessler, a training officer for the Clayton County sheriff. “We still have the back and other parts of the body.”
Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl.David Schiralli said that while the recommendation was only to aim lower, the 279 officers who have Tasers in Gwinnett will be retrained.
There have been more than 400 deaths involving Tasers in the U.S. and 26 in Canada since 2001, according to a study by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The study said medical examiners found that Tasers contributed to more than 30 of the deaths.
Three of the deaths occurred in the Gwinnett County jail after deputies used Tasers on inmates. Autopsies showed two died of heart attacks, but they did not cite causes for the cardiac arrests. The third death was ruled a result of “excited delirium"--- a combination of cocaine, alcohol and physical exertion that excited the inmate’s heart too much, according to the medical examiner.
A spokeswoman for the Gwinnett sheriff said Taser International’s training bulletin has been sent to all of the deputies who carry Tasers.
“All future training will have it incorporated, too,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Stacey Bourbonnais said Thursday.
Gwinnett police said they have not had any incidents of heart problems since the department started using Tasers in 2003.
Taser International said the guns pose a low risk of an cardiac arrest. It is the first time the company has said Tasers could cause heart problems.
Despite the new warning, many area law enforcement officers said they still plan to carry Tasers.
In the DeKalb sheriff’s office, 12 street deputies and eight fugitive investigators carry Tasers. Another six Tasers are housed at the jail, accessible to supervisors, Jones said.
DeKalb police said they do not carry Tasers. In Atlanta, only SWAT officers carry them.
Cobb County police have 100 Tasers, carried by veteran patrol officers, the Tactical Team, Burglary Apprehension Team and robbery interdiction squad. Those officers were already aiming low, according to spokesman Officer Joe Hernandez.
“We have been training to shoot in the abdomen area all along,” Hernandez said. "... The abdomen allows for full incapacitation.”
Most departments require officers to be stunned before being allowed to carry a Taser. In DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton, officers have annual training.
Copyright 2009 Atlanta Journal-Constitution