IMAGINE THIS SITUATION ? A POLICE OFFICER NEEDS TO ARREST SOMEONE ?
THE SUSPECT IS PRETTY BIG, AND DOESN?T WANT TO BE ARRESTED.
ACCORDING TO POLICE OFFICERS, THIS SORT OF THING HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, IN ALL SORTS OF SITUATIONS ? DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DRUNK DRIVERS, PROTESTS THAT GET VIOLENT ? AND SOMETIMES OFFICERS HAVE TO USE FORCE.
PEPPER SPRAY IS MESSY, AND BATONS AND GUNS CAN CAUSE SERIOUS, IF NOT FATAL INJURIES.
THE ALTERNATIVE? THE THOMAS A. SWIFT ELECTRIC RIFLE ? OR ? TASER.
THE HUDSON POLICE DEPARTMENT JUST GOT TEN OF THEM, AND IT?S TRAINING DAY.
THE OFFICERS ARE LEARNING HOW TO USE THE GUNS, AND WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE ON THE OTHER END.
TASER1(Sargeant gets tased) T1 1:21 You all ready? TASER! TASER! (sarg. screams) Now how?s it feel? That hurts? how?s it feel now? Functional now? Any long-term effects, short term effects? Adrenaline... but ah, I was helpless, absolutely helpless? now I?m up and walking? Do you feel you?d comply with an officer?s request after that? I would listen to anything at that point?
THE TASER LOOKS LIKE TOY GUN.
THE POLICE MODEL WEIGHS ABOUT A POUND.
IT USES COMPRESSED NITROGEN TO SHOOT TWO SMALL PROBES UP TO 21 FEET.
EACH PROBE LOOKS LIKE ARE THE HEAD OF A NEEDLE, ABOUT HALF AN INCH LONG.
THEY?RE CONNECTED TO THE GUN BY A HIGH-VOLTAGE INSULATED WIRE.
AND EACH TIME THE TASER IS DISCHARGED, IT SHOOTS FIVE SECONDS WORTH OF ELECTRICAL PULSES ? AT 50-THOUSAND VOLTS ? THROUGH UP TO TWO INCHES OF CLOTHING.
TASER2 T2 1:51 (group answer) It?s not comfortable? different definition of pain? not like a slap or a punch, more like? you have electricity pulsating throughout your body (laughs) electric shock, you have no control whatsoever and somebody?s shaking you a million miles a minute.
THE TASER CAUSES EVERY MUSCLE IN THE BODY TO CONTRACT AT THE SAME TIME, 19 TIMES PER SECOND.
IT COMPLETELY INCAPACITATES ITS VICTIM, BUT THE EFFECT IS ONLY TEMPORARY.
AND ACCORDING TO THE MANUFACTURER THE TASER HAS NO SIDE EFFECTS BUT IT CAN LEAVE A MARK THE SIZE OF A BEE-STING.
POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN BIG CITIES LIKE LOS ANGELES AND MIAMI HAVE BEEN USING TASERS FOR YEARS.
BUT THERE?S A LOT MORE CRIME IN THOSE PLACES THAN IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
SO SOME MIGHT WONDER, WHY DO POLICE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WANT THE SAME WEAPON?
HUDSON POLICE CHIEF DICK GENDRON.
TASER3 0:13 Guess I would answer that, why not NH? We have the same problems LA faces ? people who are suicidal, violent, induced on drugs, alcohol, and are combative, same situations?
THE STATE POLICE HAVE BOUGHT ENOUGH TASERS TO OUTFIT EVERY UNIFORMED PATROL OFFICER ON THE FORCE.
THEY?RE HOPING TO HAVE EVERYONE TRAINED AND ARMED WITH TASERS BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
STATE POLICE CAPTAIN CRAIG WIGGIN.
TASER 5 4:20ish This is another tool available to our people should they need it, should it be required and the circumstances dictate it, doesn?t mean they have to use it but it?s something avail to them, very effective at minimizing injuries to police officers and citizenry, way to avoid going hands on in a situation where inevitably someone is going to get hurt.
SO THE IDEA IS THAT BY USING A TASER INSTEAD OF PEPPER SPRAY, A BATON, OR A GUN, POLICE ARE REDUCING THE NUMBER OF INJURIES CAUSED WHEN THEY HAVE TO USE FORCE.
BUT WITH SUCH A POWERFUL TOOL, THERE?S CONCERN ABOUT MISUSE AND ABUSE.
TASER 6 13:40ish ?We do have accountability built into each weapon ? only weapons system in the world that has that ability.
TOM SMITH IS VICE PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF TASER INTERNATIONAL ? THE COMPANY THAT MAKES THE GUNS.
TASER 7 12:48ish We make sure officers are accountable in its use. That?s one of Amnesty/ACLU?s concerns, that it?s not misused, and we?ve got that built into the technology?
(CUT TO)13:13 We can actually take the weapon, hook it up to a computer, download the last 1500 firings, date, time, duration of discharge, temp and battery percentage. Protects the officer, or it?s a double-edged sword. If the officer did misuse it, it will identify that information as well.
HUDSON POLICE CHIEF GENDRON SAYS HE?S NOT WORRIED ABOUT MISUSE EITHER.
WHEN HUDSON OFFICERS FIRE THEIR TASERS, THEY MUST FILL OUT THE SAME EXTENSIVE REPORTS AS IF THEY FIRED A GUN..
THEY'D HAVE TO INCLUDE THE INFORMATION FROM THE GUN?S BUILT-IN COMPUTER.
TASER 8 2:10 you can see we?re doing training today, and the officers are instructed when to use the TASER ? they?re not just using it randomly, when they feel like it, they use it in certain situations. And again, the policies dictate how and when they?ll use it.
STILL, NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE THAT EVERY POLICE OFFICER WHO IS ARMED WITH A TASER WILL ALWAYS MAKE THE RIGHT JUDGEMENT CALL ABOUT USING IT.
ONE OF THE MOST COMMON SITUATIONS IN WHICH OFFICERS USE TASERS IS WHEN THEIR SAFETY IS THREATENED BY SOMEONE RESISTING ARREST.
CLAIRE EBEL IS WITH THE NEW HAMPSHIRE OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION.
TASER 9 4:34 One of the most frequently charged crimes in NH is resisting arrest? disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer? I see literally hundreds of complaints every year individuals in NH alleging they?ve been charged with those three crimes, alleging they?re innocent of all three.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HAS ALSO SPOKEN OUT ABOUT TASERS.
THE GROUP SAYS, THEORETICALLY, THE TASER COULD BE A GOOD THING IF IT REDUCES INJURIES AND DEATHS.
BUT THEY WANT TO SEE MORE TESTING.
AMNESTY SPOKESMAN ED JACKSON SAYS SO FAR, ONLY TASER INTERNATIONAL HAS DONE MEDICAL TESTING TO BACK THE CLAIM THAT IT DOES NOT CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
AND JACKSON SAYS, AMNESTY HAS REPORTED THAT SINCE 1999 51 PEOPLE HAVE DIED AFTER BEING ZAPPED BY A TASER..
TASER 10 3:01 What we?re saying is let?s put brakes on this process and before we start deploying TASERs all over the place, let?s just take a second and do a study and make sure they?re safe. We study medicine, children?s pajamas to make sure they?re not flammable, why can?t we study a device that shoots out 50,000 volts of electricity.
GOOD QUESTION.
HUDSON?S POLICE CHIEF DICKGENDRON:
(TASER11)T3 9:30 It can not kill, and it does not have any long permanent effects on anybody, no recorded information to support that. (CUT TO) 10:27 I can only tell you I have yet to see any concrete evidence to show the TASER was directly responsible for anyone?s death.
HUDSON'S IS THE TENTH POLICE DEPARTMENT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE ? INCLUDING THE STATE POLICE ? TO ARM ITS OFFICERS WITH TASERS.
THE TECHNOLOGY IS CATCHING ON, BUT IT?S NOT CHEAP.
THE HUDSON POLICE DEPARTMENT USED 10-THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM A FEDERAL BLOCK GRANT TO BUY THEIR TASERS ? AND THAT BOUGHT THEM ONLY TEN GUNS.
IT COSTS AN ADDITIONAL THOUSAND DOLLARS TO TRAIN AND OUTFIT EACH OFFICER.
AND EACH SHOT COSTS ABOUT 19 DOLLARS.
THE COMPANY CALLS THE TASER THE ULTIMATE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT DEFENSE WEAPONS.
BUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IN TROY NEW HAMPSHIRE HAS HAD A TASER SINCE 2000.
AND THEY'VE NEVER FIRED A SHOT.
FOR NHPR NEWS, I?M SM.
