Following up on our posting from last week about the potential dangers associated with Tasers, a Cincinnati.com article yesterday afternoon relates the Cincinnati police department's revising its Taser policy in light of those findings that they can, in fact, cause death.
In taking that study under advisement, Chief of Police James Craig is reportedly the first local law enforcement official to confirm it's being taken seriously & is prompting changes within his department.
"I am concerned about it because, like most police chiefs, I am a big supporter of the tool," Chief Craig was quoted as saying. "We know that the tool has saved lives, and we know it's minimizing injuries to both police officers and suspects. Based on this report we are looking at our existing policy and will be making some revisions."
But he also said he wouldn't be pulling Tasers from officers' belts, and that this was not the first time the device's policy has been revised.
"We are not going to eliminate the use of Taser. We just want to make sure we are doing it within what this evidence-based report is suggesting," he said. "I think that what's suggested - the key point – is elevated heart rate and the taser coming in contact close proximity to the heart if someone has an elevated heart rate. Usually when we have contact with suspects, it’s pretty clear their heart rate is elevated."
"Nothing is definite yet," Craig stressed. "It’s all under review. Once it’s looked at and reviewed by the city administration, we will come out with our revised policies."
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