TASER Use in Law Enforcement on the Rise

According to statistics released by the Independent Police Review Authority, Chicago Police have almost quadrupled the utilization of TASER devices since the department implemented each police vehicle with the stunning tools earlier in the year.

The agency, which looks into complaints of police abuse, keeps track of each device in use. In the second quarter of 2010, it was found that the self defense tools had been fired 285 times by Chicago police, pushing that number up from 74 in the first quarter of 2010 and 39 in the fourth quarter of 2009.

It was also found that only a small number of those TASER weapon discharges were the result of alleged police abuse.

As a result of the increase in the employment of the tools they are helping to prevent a lot of injuries, in addition to protecting the officers while on duty.

In March of 2010, the police department declared that 380 additional TASER devices would be implemented and would further add to the 280 that are already in operation by field training officers and sergeants. Roughly 3,000 officers have also been provided with the mandatory eight-hour training session which ultimately presents the officers with the necessary protection required while working the streets.

Even though police officers consider these self defense tools to be a non-lethal option compared to traditional firearms, they have unfortunately created controversy. With many reports in the media about the use of the devices many people believe that they have been the cause of death for many individuals who were targeted with the stunning device.

Officers in Chicago are undergoing training to apply the stunning devices, which provide an electric shock, in short bursts of five seconds. This is intended to reduce the possibility of affecting a person’s heart. Furthermore officers have also been instructed that if it is possible, they should aim at a person’s back. However if they are not able to do this and they have to aim at the front, then they should do so below the chest.

Of course when it comes to utilizing a traditional firearm and a TASER weapon in most cases an officer is going to pick the non-lethal device, which is why many police departments across the United States will sooner or later be incorporating more of these tools into their departments in a bid to present their officers with an effective device to employ on duty when they are required to subdue a suspect without brute force needed.