Metro curtails use of Tasers in officer training

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004 | 9:32 a.m.

Metro Police officers will no longer be shot with Tasers as part of the training for using the nonlethal weapon.

About eight of the approximately 500 Metro officers trained to use the pistol-like device have suffered injuries from falling after being shocked, Metro officials said.

"It's just something we're not going to do anymore," department spokesman Officer Enrique Hernandez said. "We'll still demonstrate the use of the Tasers to officers, and those that want to can volunteer to be shocked."

Shocking of officers is part of the training recommended by the Taser manufacturer and by other police agencies. Metro Police also train with pepper spray, and all officers are sprayed with the substance so that they can experience its effects.

Tasers send 50,000 volts of electricity through the body, immobilizing whoever receives the shock. The Tasers Metro uses have a range of about 21 feet, and fire darts attached to electrical wires that deliver the charge.

Tasers have reduced shootings by officers in other departments, Metro officials said.

Gary Peck, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said that he recognizes that Tasers can be an effective alternative to deadly force, but only if they are used properly and sparingly.

"The problems Metro is experiencing in its own academy underscores the reasons why we're concerned with how these devices will be used," Peck said. "It's important to remember that Tasers are weapons that can seriously hurt people, and officers must be trained to use them sparingly, so that they don't become something that is used routinely."

Hong Lu, associate professor in the criminal justice department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the overall trend of attempting to reduce the use of force can be seen as "part of an ongoing public relations campaign to make the police look good ... that began in the 1980s when we started to be aware of how police officers act in the community and on the street and began hearing about police shooting civilians."

Henderson Police have been phasing Tasers into use during the past two years, with about 45 now in use. North Las Vegas Police and the Nevada Highway Patrol are also using the weapon.

Clark County Sheriff Bill Young has pushed Tasers as one of the changes to the department's use of force policy announced in May.