Police should be slow to use tasers

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12:34 PM Monday, December 28, 2009

The Dec. 13 death of 39-year-old Douglas Boucher in Mason after a Taser shock brings home troubling questions about police use of these electrical devices.

Tasers, which have proliferated during the past decade, are used to stun suspects into submission with an electrical jolt. Proponents say they are effective, safe, not lethal and an important tool that protects everybody’s safety.

But some are challenging that view.

A major study last year by Amnesty International reported 334 people died after being shocked by the devices between 2001 and 2008. That human rights group recommended curtailing their use. Several police departments in Canada stopped using older-model Tasers following a series of deaths and a Canadian news organization’s report that its tests showed the devices sometimes emit more powerful shocks than they are designed to produce.

What happened to Mr. Boucher is unclear. The Warren County coroner has not determined the cause of death. Whether he was intoxicated or had underlying health issues is not known.

According to Mason interim police Chief Mike Kelly, the incident began when a convenience store clerk asked two officers to speak to Mr. Boucher, complaining that he had been lewdly asking her for sex.

As officers Daniel Fry and Sean McCormick spoke with Mr. Boucher, he became uncooperative. The officers began to handcuff him, although Chief Kelly said it is not clear if they were arresting him.

Officer Fry was struck in the head by Mr. Boucher’s handcuffed hand as he wrestled free. Chief Kelly said the officer suffered a concussion.

Mr. Boucher then charged toward the clerk, but was stopped by Officer McCormick, who shocked him with the Taser on a second try after failing once. Mr. Boucher stopped breathing and was dead when he was brought to the hospital.

Investigators have much to sort out. But Mr. Boucher’s case is similar enough to other sudden deaths after Taser incidents to ask whether it fits into a larger pattern of possible problems.

It’s tempting to think of Tasers as a replacement for guns, but they really are more often used instead of batons to get suspects to comply with commands. Critics argue they are used too freely and should be reserved as a “last resort.”

Mason police have a sensible policy on Tasers. Officers are required to follow a progression of actions when dealing with an unruly suspect. They move, in order, from asking questions to issuing commands, using a baton, handcuffing, warning of a Taser shock, using the Taser and then using force.

Chief Kelly said he believes the officers in this case followed those rules.

In the two years the rules have been in force, Mason police have used Tasers on just seven suspects.

Some researchers worry that Taser shocks may interfere with heart rhythm. The company that makes the devices disputes that, but in September it issued guidelines advising police to avoid shocking suspects in the chest.

That guidance is so new many officers haven’t heard about it yet.

Investigators don’t yet know if Mr. Boucher’s death was heart-related or how close to the chest the Taser hit.

Though obviously they’re not as lethal as guns, Tasers are still weapons. Police departments should have a healthy fear of quickly turning to them.

Cox News Service

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