Tasers are Safe, Effective Alternative, Sheriff Says
August 22, 2011 – In light of the death of a suspect in Oklahoma City over the weekend who was subdued with a taser, Beckham County Sheriff Scott Jay says they remain a valuable tool for law enforcement officers.
“Other circumstances may have played a role in the unfortunate death of the gentleman in Oklahoma City recently,” Sheriff Jay said, “but I believe that tasers are a very safe tool for my deputies to use.”
Early Sunday, OKC Police were called to a nightclub to break up a fight. When a suspect fled, officers deployed a Taser to stop him, according to a story in the Oklahoman. As they cuffed the suspect, police noticed he was having trouble breathing. When officials performed CPR, they found that a plastic baggie was blocking his airway, the Oklahoman reported Monday. He was pronounced dead at OU Medical Center.
The Beckham County Sheriff’s Office has used Tasers since 2008. Sheriff Jay estimates that deputies have deployed them 15 to 20 times, with no adverse side effects reported by any suspect.
The device has many benefits, Jay said.
“Going ‘hands-on’ has decreased. That means that my deputies stay safer, but it also means that uncooperative suspects have less risk of bodily injury.
“Just having the Tasers as a weapon makes suspects less likely to resist,” Jay said.
The range for the probes of the Tasers is 25 feet. When a suspect is struck with those probes, the result is total muscular incapacitation.
“The body just locks up,” Jay said.
At the point of deployment, the probes on the Taser have 50,000 volts of electricity. But shaped pulse technology causes the probes to lose voltage once they are discharged, dropping to about 16,000 volts.
“The number to remember is the amp level. The discharged Taser probes contain less than one-half of one amp when they contact a suspect,” Jay said.
The tasers utilized by the Beckham County Sheriff’s Office are yellow, which distinguishes them from the deputies’ black handguns.
“And we opted for the cross-draw holsters. That way, deputies have to reach across their bodies, away from their handguns, to get at the tasers,” Jay said. “We do this to minimize confusion by deputies and suspects in the heat of some pretty tense moments.”
The tasers also have video capabilities, and the cameras begin recording when the device is turned on. The footage from incidents in which tasers are used allows the Sheriff’s Office to review procedures. The video can also be used as evidence in court.
Tasers make law enforcement safer and more effective, which is why Sheriff Jay chose to begin using them three years ago, and why he continues to support their use, he said.