NOREEN: The shocking truth about Tasers in the Springs
Excuse the pun, but this may come as a shock: Tasers are good because they save lives and money.
Tasers were in the news this week when El Paso County agreed to pay a settlement to a Calhan man who was tased.
How many lives or how much money is saved? That’s open to some debate.
CSPD Commander Thor Eells said someone in the department uses a Taser about every other day — 180 times a year.
“They’re absolutely a life-saving tool,” Eells said, adding that there is no doubt Tasers result in fewer officer-involved shootings. CSPD has protocols (see my blog) each time a Taser is used and in the seven years they’ve been used here, no suspect has died from being tased.
Eells said Los Angeles County officials say they saved $2.8 million a year in legal settlements after introducing Tasers.
Sheriff Terry Maketa said this year, Tasers were used three times when “we would have been justified in using deadly force.” He said 13 suicidal parties also were tased, so “I say right there it saved 16 lives in 2009.”
Officers can get hurt and miss work while taxpayers pay for rehabilitation.
Here’s one anecdote: In August 2007, a certain Gazette columnist did a ride-along with a CSPD officer who will remain nameless. Late at night, the officer responded to a call from a woman whose door had been kicked in by an ex-boyfriend who was reportedly drunk.
The man was still outside when the officer arrived. The suspect clearly was drunk and he unleashed a torrent of profanity. Directed to lay down on the parking lot, the man instead walked toward the officer, who issued a second warning which was ignored.
This guy was quite a bit bigger than the officer. In the pre-Taser days, the officer could have wrestled with the suspect, perhaps subduing him, perhaps not. Or the officer could have simply shot the suspect with a handgun.
As it turned out, the tough-talking drunk who kicked in the door was tased and instantly resembled a flopping tuna in pain. In a couple of minutes he was cussing again, trying to get up.
The officer said, “Sir, don’t make me light you up again.”
And that was the end of it. Soon he was in handcuffs. No one got killed, no one got hurt.
There are rules of engagement for any type of weapon. Any weapon can be misused, but it’s undeniable that Tasers were created to provide a non-lethal way for police to control suspects. The vast majority of the time, that’s what happens.
Can a taser be a contributing factor in someone’s death? Sure. Mostly, though, someone who would have been shot is tased and lives to tell about it.
Or even file a lawsuit over it.
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