Authorities seek limits on public’s use of Tasers

Thursday, March 3, 2005 | 10:57 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada needs a law to limit the possession and use of traditional stun guns and Tasers by the public, representatives of the Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association told the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

But the committee peppered the officers with questions about Assembly Bill 123, which would make it a Class B felony to illegally possess one of the electric devices or use one for anything but self-defense.

The bill also would make it illegal for an ex-felon or a person who has been declared mentally incompetent to possess a stun gun or Taser, which can cost from $400 to $1,000. The penalty for being found guilty of a Class B felony is a prison term of up to six years and a fine of up to $5,000.

Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, suggested that was too severe a penalty. For instance he said possession of a gun by a mentally ill person carries a lower penalty than is being proposed for the same person in a stun gun case.

"There is some disparity," he said. The bill covers any kind of electric device designed to stun.

Assemblyman John Carpenter, R-Elko, expressed concern that ranchers who use cattle prods could be found guilty of the felony under this bill.

"I have never seen a cattle prod injure anybody," said Carpenter, who suggested an amendment to the bill to exempt ranching and agriculture.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said she had concerns about the section of the bill that would make it illegal for a person to possess a stun gun if he or she had been admitted to a mental health facility during the preceding five years.

Frank Mathews, executive director of the Sheriffs and Chiefs Association, said his organization was agreeable to altering the bill to resolve some of the lawmakers' concerns.

There was also a section in the bill to make it illegal for those under 18 to possess the electronic device. But the association presented an amendment allowing those 14 or older to have a stun gun in his or her possession if he or she had permission from parents.

Sgt. Andy McAfee of the Nevada Highway Patrol told the committee members that being hit with a charge from a Taser is like "somebody punched you on the inside."

The 215-pound McAfee, who has been hit three times in demonstrations, said he was knocked down once and became disorientated the two other times.

The committee members initially agreed to allow a Taser demonstration using McAfee as a target. But they then called it off for fear there might be some accident.

Instead Sgt. Kurt Davis of the Carson City Sheriff's Office, who is an expert in the use of the gun, demonstrated it on a cardboard target.

Davis said it "feels like all your muscles are locked up" when you are hit. But he said he has "never experienced pain" when he was the target in demonstrations of the device.

The committee did not take any action on the bill.

Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU, said the use of these weapons is "highly controversial" nationwide. There have been 96 "Taser-related deaths" in the nation and three in Nevada, with two of them in Las Vegas, Peck said.

He said he had no objections to allowing police officers to have these devices but there should be some reporting when they are used. Peck said Metro does have a reporting requirement.

Peck said it was "irresponsible" to let these Tasers be purchased "over the counter" without requiring the purchasers to be licensed or trained. The bill does not restrict the sale of the devices, however.