Training and Safety Evaluated before TASERs Issued

In Savanah-Chatham, Georgia, questions about the efficacy, safety and use of TASERs were address in the City Council. While officers arrived prepared to demonstrate, once again, the use and effect of a TASER, the Council deemed this second display unnecessary.

Primary concerns cited by the Council include police responsibility and deployment procedures. One Council member stated a preference to see that identical rules be put into place regarding the use of TASERs as are standard for the drawing of a handgun. As a TASER is a non-lethal weapon, such precautions may be a bit excessive, even though the intent is to prevent over enthusiastic use.

Increasing Violence and Risks
The Council expressed its understanding that officers are dealing with an increasing number of the mentally ill, violent individuals and those who pose a risk to the police.

A recent incident resulted in an officer being bitten by an HIV-positive woman while being detained. The officer will have to undergo screening every six months for the next 10 years, a situation that could have been avoided through the use of a TASER.

High Standards Set
The Police Department has committed not to issue TASERs to officers with less than two years of experience, at least initially. Training will be extensive before the TASERs are issued to any officer. All the TASERs purchased by the Department will have both video and audio recording devices so that any confrontation will be well documented.

When added to the nightsticks, pepper spray and gun that officers are routinely issued, the TASER will provide another non-lethal law enforcement tool that can be used from a greater distance.

Protecting our law enforcement personnel so that they can protect us just makes good sense. Reducing the need for said officers to draw a firearm helps protect all citizens as well as suspects. While it makes perfect sense to demand accountability, even with the discharge of a non-lethal weapon, it is up to councils, such as that found in Savanah-Chatham, to provide the police with the tools they need to do their jobs.