Less Lethal Option for Police
by Ben Hogwood

Lamoille County Sheriff's deputies and Stowe Police Department officers
underwent training to use Tasers, a less lethal weapon which the two
departments have - or will soon - incorporate into their arsenal, at the
Morrisville Fire Department on Wednesday, July 14.
"This may save people's lives in a situation where pepper spray has no
effect because of a drug-induced rage," said Sheriff Roger Marcoux, Jr.
The X26 Tasers, which the LCSD have already received through a Justice
Department grant, are gun-shaped weapons which, when loaded with a
cartridge, eject two pronged wires up to 21 feet. The prongs can stick
into clothing or skin and deliver a shock from the Taser for up to five
seconds. Whereas most weapons, such as pepper spray or the baton, use
pain to acquire compliance, the Taser blocks the brain's signals to the
body. While the subject can see and hear, they cannot move.
Effects from the shock include muscle contractions with the subject
going completely rigid before falling. Aftereffects can include
dizziness or a dazed feeling, said a Taser instructor who trained the
local law enforcement departments.
The Sheriff's Department will issue the weapons once a policy is in
place. Stowe Police Department has already begun issuing Tasers to
qualified officers.
While Tasers have been around in one form or another since the 1970s,
the local departments feel more of a need for them now as they are
experiencing more crimes where drugs or alcohol has affected an
attacker's mental health, said Marcoux. He said that in the three and a
half years he has been with the department, there have been seven
homicides and "all sorts of bizarre events."
"All of these things have escalated, yet we have not increased manpower
on shift to meet the demand," he said. Some officers are still working
alone, he added.
The Taser will join the baton and pepper spray as less-lethal weapons
used by county officers. However, unlike those, the Taser does not work
by pain compliance but muscle control, Marcoux said. Pepper spray causes
a burning sensation when shot in the eyes, yet this can make the subject
more enraged and violent, rather than diffusing the danger.
Marcoux said the use of pepper spray by deputies is not uncommon as they
deal with so many alcohol-related issues.
A primary need for the Tasers is for the protection of the officers. "My
concern is for the safety of my officers," said Marcoux. "The days of
them ending up in hospital because they're wrestling with someone
bigger...I want to make this a less stressful job," he said.
At the training, officers went over how the Taser operates, the history
of the weapon, and how to use it. Some officers including Marcoux, Jr.,
volunteered to get shocked by the Taser for up to a half second.
Stowe Police Department already has a policy and has issued Tasers to
some officers, said Chief Ken Kaplan. Like Marcoux, Kaplan said a
driving force for the Tasers is for the safety and protection of his
officers, especially when dealing with people under the influence of
drugs or alcohol. He cited the incident in Brattlboro, where Brattleboro
police officers shot and killed a man wielding a knife in a church, as
being an incident where a Taser could have been used and the resulting
death may have been avoided.
"A lot of times, those people don't feel pain," he said, so other less
lethal devices, such as the baton or pepper spray, are less effective.
Still, Kaplan said an officer's most important resource when dealing
with a situation is his or her head. "You want to take them [the
suspect] into custody with the least amount of force and resistance," he
said. "We don't want to hurt them, we want to gain control. The Taser is
just one of many ways an officer can accomplish that goal.
Kaplan said his department undergoes many training procedures in
stressful scenarios, so officers know how to handle such situations in
the real world.
Tasers have recently come under fire in the media, specifically in the
Sunday, July 18 issue of The New York Times. The article focuses mainly
on the Taser M26 - the precursor to the X26 which the local departments
have acquired - and the approximately 50 deaths to which they may have
contributed since 2001. The X26 model has a charge one-fourth that of
the M26. The Times article highlights just one incident where the X26
was involved in a death. In that case, a man who was shocked with the
weapon fell and hit his head on a concrete step. However, Taser
International has not settled any wrongful death lawsuits.
Kaplan said his department's policy has strict guidelines as to when a
Taser can be used. The four key reasons to use the Taser, the policy
states, are: "A. to gain compliance from an unruly subject. B. In
defense of the officer, another officer, or any third party. C. To
effect an arrest, regain custody of a subject, or prevent the escape of
a subject. D. To protect a subject from trying to injure
himself/herself, such as in, but not limited to, an attempted suicide,
an emotionally disturbed person, or a person under the influence of
drugs or alcohol." Other factors, such as the subject's size, skills in
boxing or martial arts, and use of pre-attack cues which indicate
aggressive behavior on the part of the subject, are included in the policy.
The Taser has a computer chip which records each firing of the weapon,
the number of times it was fired and the length of time it was deployed.
This function could either corroborate or dispel claims that the weapon
was used, or overused, in a situation.
Kaplan said the Taser often would not have to be used to gain control of
a situation. By focusing the weapon's laser beam on a subject, or firing
the weapon without a cartridge to show the electricity arc, the officer
may be able to intimidate a subject to follow instructions and avoid
being hit by a charge.
Morristown Police Chief Richard Keith said his department will not be
getting Tasers at this time. "I'm in the 'wait and see' mode," he said.
The Lamoille County and Stowe departments are hoping that the public
information on Tasers will deter possible perpetrators from challenging
officers into using them.
Marcoux proposed an example of when a Taser could be used, noting a
situation in Jeffersonville where a disturbed person attacked officers
with a shovel. Officers did use pepper spray in the incident, but the
man still jumped into the Brewster River in an attempt to escape. This
is a particular example where the Taser could have been used to gain
control.
Said Sheriff Marcoux, "If the situation warrants it, we're going to use it."