New rules to restrict police use of Tasers

Jen Lawson

Thursday, Nov. 4, 2004 | 11:15 a.m.

Metro Police will soon have new restrictions on their use of Taser guns.

Under policy changes that take effect Nov. 15, officers are not to use the weapon on people who are handcuffed and are discouraged from holding the guns up against people for multiple shocks.

Metro officials spent about four months evaluating the department's Taser policy after the death of 26-year-old William Lomax, who was shocked repeatedly while handcuffed.

Another man, Keith Tucker, 47, died under similar circumstances in August.

"The ultimate goal for us as an organization is to give our police officers a tool that they can use to appropriately take an individual into custody with the least amount of force," Undersheriff Doug Gillespie said Wednesday.

"The last thing we want to do is take a person's life, and I think (the new) Taser policy ... more clearly articulates how it is that we wish for the Taser to be deployed," he added.

Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said he had not yet read the new policy but he said it didn't sound like the changes went far enough. He said the devices should only be used when the lives of officers or members of the public are in jeopardy.

The department began equipping officers with 50,000-volt Taser guns in April 2003. Since the Tasers are fairly new to the department, the policy on their use was bound to be tweaked over time, Gillespie said.

"This policy clearly articulates, more so than the prior policy, the circumstances under which the Taser can be utilized, and it clarifies the reporting process and the oversight" of their use, he said.

The Tasers can be used two ways. In the "drive stun" mode, the weapon is held against a person's body, resulting in "significant localized pain," but no effect on the nervous system, according to the policy.

The more effective method involves the projection of darts that are attached to the device with wires. When they make contact with a person's skin the electrical current causes an override of the central nervous system. The darts can be used from a distance of up to 21 feet.

The effects of the Taser shock last five seconds, authorities said.

The initial Metro policy on their use did not address whether they could be used on people who are handcuffed.

"I did not look upon the Taser as a piece of equipment that would be utilized on someone who was in handcuffs," Gillespie said. "We looked at this tool as a way to prevent officers from having to use deadly force."

But after officers began using the weapon in the field, things began to get complicated.

In February, Officer Reggie Rader used his Taser in the "drive-stun" on Lomax -- who was struggling violently and was under the influence of PCP -- three times while security guards were putting handcuffs on him, then four more times as he lay on his stomach while officers replaced the cuffs with soft restraints.

Lomax died the next day. A medical examiner determined he died of a heart attack during restraint.

A coroner's inquest jury cleared the officer of any wrongdoing, but it concluded that the Taser played a role in Lomax's death based on a medical examiner's testimony.

Keith Tucker, 47, died shortly after being shocked with a Taser gun in August.

Officer Mark Hutchinson used the "drive stun" method on Tucker four times while he and another officer were holding him down and putting him in handcuffs.

An autopsy showed that Tucker died of a heart attack caused by narcotics during restraint, and part of that restraint involved immobilization by the officers' Taser guns. The two officers involved in that incident were also cleared.

The new policy discourages officers from using the "drive stun" method except in situations where firing the darts isn't possible. It also discourages multiple "drive stuns," and if that method is used, it must be justified on a use-of-force form.

The department is distancing itself from the "drive stun" method, Gillsepie said, because it is not as effective as the prong method. In the "drive stun" mode, a person is not completely immobilized and can still struggle, which could result in a heart attack as the Lomax and Tucker cases show.

Also in light of the deaths, the policy says the Taser should not be used when a person is handcuffed.

"We don't say never, but that would be a very unusual circumstance, and that would be closely reviewed just to make sure it was absolutely necessary," Gillespie said.

After the Taser has been used, officers are required to download the data record of the weapon before the end of their shift, and the area command supervisor must ensure that the data has been downloaded, the use of force form is complete and that the information is sent to the internal affairs section to make sure the use was appropriate.

Peck said he believed there was a pressing need for a change to the department's policy on Taser use, but he said, "there needs to be an understanding that these are very powerful, possibly even deadly weapons."

"Those Tasers should only be used in life-threatening situations, when it is necessary to protect the life of the officer and members of the community."