Clearwater is ordering Tasers so all patrol officers can pack one
Chief Sid Klein says an electrical jolt from the weapon can subdue a suspect physically resisting arrest, not kill him.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published September 20, 2003
CLEARWATER - There was the man who put a bullet in his head, but didn't die, then raised the gun again to seal the deal as police officers watched.
Then there was the guy who refused to take his medication, cut his arm open with a 12-inch knife, then ran at officers wielding the knife.
Officers resolved both situations not with guns, tackles or batons, but with a Taser. The devices shoot two probes that can travel up to 21 feet and deliver an electrical jolt that essentially disconnects the central nervous system.
Anyone hit by the probes will fall like a punch-drunk boxer, but the jolt is not enough to cause any serious injuries.
The man attempting suicide for the second time? When hit by the Taser, he dropped the gun and lived. The man with the knife? He was hit by the Taser, safely subdued and taken in for treatment.
Though Clearwater police have had Tasers for years, only supervisors have carried them. Now, the department is ordering 150 more so all patrol officers can carry the weapon. The cost will be $110,000.
"We're seeing more and more instances where officers are forced to take hands-on contact to make arrests," said Clearwater police Chief Sid Klein.
Klein said people must be physically resisting police for the Taser to be used. Officers cannot use the Taser on just anyone. "For that, you're going to get in trouble big time," he said.
The Tasers, which look a regular gun, also could be an option for officers who are in situations where they would be justified in shooting someone. If someone charges them with a knife, for instance, they could Taser the person instead of shooting them.
However, Klein said officers will not be required to use the Tasers in those situations, nor would they be punished if they shot someone rather than use a Taser. The device is just an option.
"If they're in fear for their life, the training is to go for the gun," Klein said.
Clearwater police have shot suspects 13 times in the last 15 years, resulting in the deaths of eight people. Klein said some of those, including the November shooting death of a 16-year-old boy who police say charged officers with a knife, could have been resolved with Tasers rather than bullets.
"I applaud any effort toward nonlethal weaponry, and I think that's a very positive move on the part of the Clearwater Police Department," said Largo attorney John Trevena, who is known for his criticism of some local law enforcement agencies. "I wish all of them adopted this type of nonlethal weapon."
Though many police agencies have nonlethal weapons such as bean bag shotguns and pepper-spray balls, Tasers are not as common.
The Largo Police Department has three Tasers. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has just ordered some to be carried by supervisors. A St. Petersburg police spokesman said the agency doesn't have any.
Klein said the department first bought Tasers in the 1980s, then bought a dozen last year for supervisors. He said the devices, which now have laser sighting, have improved technologically over the years. That's why the department is getting them now but didn't get them in years past, he said.
The devices, which weigh about 18 ounces, use compressed nitrogen to launch the probes, which remain tied to the device. When the probes, which can pierce 2 inches of clothing, touch the person, they unleash an 18- to 26-watt charge - something called electro-muscular disruption technology.
That signal overrides the person's central nervous system and skeletal muscles, causing an uncontrollable contraction of the muscle tissue within a half-second. In other words, they collapse.
The charge lasts for several seconds, then stops. Officers can send another jolt if the person starts resisting again. They also can take off the probes and jolt someone by pressing the Taser to their body.
"We're seeing almost daily that there are legitimate uses for this," Klein said.
