Thursday, May 8, 2003 | 11:19 a.m.
If Metro Officer Jason Bressler had been equipped with a Taser gun on the night last month that Jon K. Fukumoto attempted to beat him with a golf club, Fukumoto might be alive today, Assistant Sheriff Ray Flynn said.
Instead, Bressler fired his gun at Fukumoto, killing him outside his apartment at Decatur Boulevard and University Avenue.
Metro's revised use of force policy, which goes into effect today, will introduce officers to Tasers, which some could begin using in July.
The revised policy also includes guidelines on how to use verbal skills to defuse a volatile situation before resorting to physical force and guidelines on when to use handcuffs.
Deputy Chief Lou Pascoe said every officer going through the police academy will receive 29.5 hours of training in verbal skills.
"Unfortunately, in our society, there are instances when an officer will have to use deadly force," Flynn said. "But the more tools we can give an officer the better we are as a force and as a community."
Metro officers have shot and killed two people so far this year. Officers shot and killed seven people in 2002 and six in 2001.
The revision of the use of force policy is part of Sheriff Bill Young's plan to take a critical look of all of Metro's major policies, Flynn said. In March, Metro adopted a new vehicle pursuit policy that requires supervisors to continually evaluate the circumstances of the chase and whether it is safe to continue.
Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, commended Metro for revamping the use of force policy.
"I applaud them for taking seriously these issues and working to develop policies that will fix problems that exist," he said.
The change in the use of force policy sprung from the now-dead racial profiling bill proposed in the legislature earlier this year.
When Metro began gathering data on traffic stops in connection with the bill, they noticed that minorities were handcuffed at a higher rate than whites.
Blacks were handcuffed 5 percent of the time and Hispanics 3.5 percent, compared with 2.5 percent for whites, according to Metro's study.
That led to the realization that Metro didn't have any guidelines on handcuffing.
"All the officer needed was to feel there was a potential for violence to occur," Flynn said.
A committee comprised of captains and lieutenants began meeting Jan. 13 to look at the issue.
"We've made a decision that handcuffing is a use of force," Flynn said. "This is the first time we've ever applied (handcuffing) to the use of force policy. That's a major difference."
Officers now have a list of conditions under which handcuffs can be used, including situations in which they have probable cause that a crime has been committed or they are dealing with a violent or suicidal subject.
Peck said: "The results of (the racial profiling bill) made it obvious that he department needed some sort of clear policy on handcuffing. We will certainly review the policy that has been adopted, and I hope it will address the issue in a way that will reduce the unnecessary and improper handcuffing of people who pose no danger."
From there, the committee broadened the scope of their study into the use of force and added guidelines on how to use verbal skills to defuse a volatile situation before resorting to physical force.
Also included in the use of force policy are guidelines on the use of Taser guns, which Flynn said was Young's idea.
If Bressler "had the availability of a Taser, we could have seen quite a different outcome to that event," Flynn said. A coroner's inquest in Fukumoto's death is scheduled for May 22.
Flynn said Metro officials were "aggressively seeking federal grants" to equip every Metro officer with Tasers. It would cost about $2 million, he said.
Until the federal funds come through, the department plans to launch a pilot program that would train a select group of officers in Taser use. The training could begin in July.
Metro's budget is stretched thin, but Flynn said department officials made sure that $50,000 will be available for the pilot program. With that amount, the department could buy roughly 60 Tasers and the accessory equipment for them, he said.
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