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Nov 21, 2008 8:59 pm US/Eastern
Taser Safety Has Many Asking More Questions
MARYLAND (WJZ) ―
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Recent deaths attributed to Tasers has Maryland's Attorney General searching for answers to questions about safety.
AP
Tasers are billed to be a safer alternative to gunfire for police confrontations.
But, as Mike Schuh reports, recent deaths attributed to Tasers has Maryland's Attorney General searching for answers to questions about the devices.
Most police departments in our area use Tasers.
Early on, they were sold to the public as safe. But then, across the country, people tased by police died, including Uywanda Peterson in Baltimore City. Terrill Heath was tased and suffered a heart attack.
One Frederick County woman thought she was going to die after she was tased.
"It just the most horrible pain in my entire life," said Julie Blake.
Tasers are now called a less lethal means of force The Tasers are used a couple of times a month in Maryland, but no one knows exactly how often, by whom and why and there is no standardized training in their use.
"The problem is right now there's no uniformity in law enforcement in the state with the different law enforcement agencies," said Doug Gansler, Attorney General.
So, from his Baltimore office, the attorney general appointed a 10-person task force, including representatives of the NAACP and ACLU to recommend what is the best way to use Tasers.
The agency says no one incident sparked the creation of this task force, but there have been problems in Frederick and Montgomery Counties.
"We don't have jurisdiction over any of the local law enforcement agencies. But what we can provide to them is a comprehensive look at the issues of Taser deaths and get to them the ability to adopt the best practices and regulations that have been used in both the state of Maryland and outside the state of Maryland, so they can make sure their officers are properly trained in using these best practices," said Gansler.
Interestingly, local laws prevent the sale of personal Tasers in Baltimore City, Annapolis and Howard County. The one large department not using the Tasers, except for their Swat Team, is the Maryland State Police.
It will take 9 months for the task force to return a full set of recommendations. The U.S. Department of Justice is also studying the use of Tasers. Their results are pending.
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