Controlling Taser deaths

Las Vegas leads the nation's cities in suspect deaths involving law enforcement use of Tasers, according to an Amnesty International study released Tuesday.

The study found that between June 2001 and August 2008, seven people died after police in Southern Nevada used Tasers on them. The figure tops that for Phoenix, where five people died after being Tasered, the study concludes.

And -- despite official hair-splitting that argues Nevada's dead unarmed citizens were overweight or using drugs, insisting the medical examiner did not list "tasering" as the sole cause of death -- the study nonetheless concluded that in four of the Las Vegas deaths, Taser use was at least a contributing factor.

A Taser delivers 50,000 volts of electricity to the target, which tenses muscles and incapacitates the body.

Dalia Hashad, director for the USA program for Amnesty International, said the nonprofit study indicates that more research has to be done to determine the safety of Tasers. At the very least, she said, police should not use Tasers in confrontations with suspects who do not have weapons.

"Behaving erratically, not responding to police, talking back, these are not invitations to use a Taser," Ms. Hashad said.

The study said six of the seven deaths in Las Vegas followed Taser use by the Metropolitan Police Department. One death involved Taser use by the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Nationwide, 334 people died after they were shot with Tasers, the study said. California and Florida had the highest number of deaths among states, with 55 and 52 respectively.

Las Vegas police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan insists that although people have died after being shot with the weapon, the Clark County coroner never concluded that the use of a Taser was the cause of death.

"We have no deaths caused by Tasers," Ms. Morgan said. "Some of them were narcotics or heart problems."

In 2004, three suspects died in a six-month period after Las Vegas police used Tasers on them. In one of those cases, a medical examiner did conclude that a Taser contributed to the suspect's death although it was not the primary cause. In three cases, the suspects had cocaine or PCP in their systems. In one case, the suspect on PCP was struck with a Taser seven times while handcuffed.

Trooper Kevin Honea, spokesman for the highway patrol, also argues Tasers are safe.

"We've used them hundreds of times without the same result," he said. "They are a very useful tool. They are classified as a less lethal option."

"Less lethal," yes. The options available to the officer at the scene are always the most important consideration. If the only other realistic option was to use a firearm, the risks of death by Taser are smaller and therefore more acceptable.

But Ms. Hashad is right. "Behaving erratically, not responding to police, talking back," are not behaviors which merit the use of force which carries any risk of death, at all. Police are trained to control a situation, but their efforts to do so sometimes seem to lead to rapid escalations.

There is a tendency, in today's litigious climate, to go into "cover" mode, to say nothing that can be used against us in the future. But Metro and other departments with jurisdiction here should not be afraid to review these findings, and the procedures that led to these deaths.

For one thing, it would be interesting to compare the body weights of the victims with those of the officers who ended up killing them. Do smaller officers tend to use potentially deadly force faster? If that is the case, can that finding be used to change procedures?

Is it time to "think outside the box," a little? Naval Shore Patrols have been rounding up drunk and disorderly personnel for years without killing them. They throw cargo nets.