Tasers added to arsenals

Despite concerns, police cite benefit

Two more police departments in this area have joined the ranks of law enforcement agencies in the state that use tasers as a standard-issue policing tool, even as an international human rights group called recently for suspension of the weapon's use pending further study of its risks.

Chelmsford and Concord police chiefs, who recently armed their forces with tasers, say they believe the stun guns - delivering a 50,000-volt shock - can disable unruly or dangerous suspects who might otherwise have to be gunned down.

"This is an excellent piece of equipment, if used properly," said Concord Police Chief Leonard J. Wetherbee. "It will save lives."

But police chiefs in several other area communities say they are holding out for proof of the safety of the controversial weapon, whose use has been characterized as "torture" by some human rights advocates. Acton Police Chief Frank Widmayer said he believes there could be some truth to reports about the danger of tasers, and has chosen to wait before issuing them.

"I'm nervous about some of the stories I've heard," he said. "We have other means of taking down suspects."

Police departments in 10 northwest suburbs are certified to issue tasers. Chiefs whose departments have used the weapon - which shoots two barbed darts with attached insulated wires that deliver a five-second jolt - say they subdue suspects without inflicting long-term harm. But a growing body of literature points to cases where suspects have suffered injury or death after being zapped.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International, the human rights group, produced an exhaustive assessment of the risks. The group's report indicates that 334 people died following use of tasers by police since 2001. The report says that while it is difficult to determine whether tasers caused the fatalities, more study should be undertaken.

It says tasers also have been used to subdue schoolchildren, elderly people with dementia, and the mentally disturbed, and, "in many instances, police actions appear to have violated the in ternational prohibition against torture or other ill-treatment."

Joshua Rubenstein, Amnesty's northeast regional director, said that particularly if a police department has insufficient training and supervision, police officers sometimes can view the taser as " some kind of toy. It's light. It's plastic. It delivers a charge. People fall down. It's like a game."

Amnesty International is calling for authorities to suspend use of tasers while independent studies are done on their effects, and, for those refusing suspension, to limit their deployment to situations where lethal force would be justified.

Other studies - notably one released in 2005 by the US Air Force Research Laboratory and the Joint Non-lethal Weapons Directorate - indicate that while tasers can cause injuries to eyes, testicles, and skin, death is most likely to result from improper use and to suspects with compromised health, such as drug addicts. "Tasers get a bad rap," Wetherbee said. "A lot of attention is paid to stories where they're used improperly, there's not the proper training, or they're outright abused."

Before deploying tasers, communities must be certified by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. In 2007, the latest data available, 30 communities across the state were certified, according to the agency.

In addition to Chelmsford and Concord, police in Andover, Groton, Lawrence, Littleton, Methuen, Pepperell, and Tewksbury carry tasers. While authorized to use them, North Reading has not bought them. The North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council - which includes 28 northwest suburbs - is about to purchase them for its SWAT team, according to the commander, Andover Police Lieutenant William K. MacKenzie.

Chelmsford Police Chief James F. Murphy said a suspect zapped by his force suffered no long-term injury after a recent cross-border chase occurring less than two weeks after the department handed out tasers.

The suspect had tried to ram a police cruiser in Billerica, then fled over the town line, where he was cornered by several Chelmsford cruisers, Murphy said. After the suspect allegedly slammed into one of the Chelmsford cruisers, officers tried to drag him out of his car. The suspect allegedly punched an officer and, cursing, refused to release the steering wheel. After an officer tasered him, the suspect went limp, and was dragged from the car and arrested. Murphy said the suspect was charged with assault by means of a dangerous weapon and leaving the scene of an accident.

"I think our first deployment was very effective and necessary," Murphy said.

Concord has yet to use tasers. Still, Wetherbee said he sees them as a kind of insurance. He said he envisions the day when, after someone is shot to death by a gun, a community is sued for failing to provide police with the less lethal tasers.

Wetherbee said he paid about $10,000 for eight tasers, at $801.95 each, as well as cartridges, holsters, and attached mini-cameras to record incidents, and for training.

Cost was the chief obstacle to Lowell obtaining tasers, said William G. Lally, a retired police lieutenant who oversees the city's police training school.

Lawrence Police Chief John Romero said his officers have used tasers on six occasions this year. All the incidents involved fights; in one instance, one man tried to kill another with a knife, Romero said. He said his department has had the stun guns for about four years.

But Bedford Police Chief James G. Hicks said he is still reserving judgment. In addition to safety concerns, Hicks said he wants the state to issue guidelines on training for the weapon's use. "It is something new," he said. We just don't want to put equipment in an officer's hands for the sake of putting equipment in their hands. My concern is we do it right."

Connie Paige can be reached at connie_paige@yahoo.com.