A Phenomenological Study: Police Officers’ Lived Experiences with the Use of CEDs

The use of conducted energy devices (CEDs; e.g., TASER) in the U.S. has increased significantly since their endorsement by the police in the 1990s. Police administrators have struggled with CED placement in use of force continuums, and citizens have voiced concerns regarding their disproportionate use and health effects. An increase in understanding of the value of CEDs, specifically the devices’ role when used as a threat only, provides police administrators with more significant insights regarding their appropriate placement in department policies, which leads to more proportionate use by police officers. This phenomenological study explored police officers’ lived experiences involving displaying and threatening the use of CEDs on noncompliant individuals. The theoretical foundation of this study was prospect theory. Participants consisted of a purposive sample of five police officers from a municipal police department in Florida who used CEDs. Data were collected from semi structured interviews. The data were coded and analyzed by using a modification of the Van Kaam method of analysis as presented in Moustakas. Findings were presented in the form of five themes. Findings showed police officers perceived the TASER to be an effective tool in achieving compliance when used as a threat. Recommendations include developing further studies involving the inclusion of a warning stage in use of force continuums. The findings advance positive social change by providing policymakers additional insights into the value of CEDs and assisting them with determining their proper placement in the departments’ use of force policies. Proper CED placements in force continuums could result in a more balanced use of the devices and to a decrease in injuries to citizens

Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project (BNLWRP). Research Report No. 7.

yesThe length of this Bradford Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project Report No.7 again reflects the interest related to non-lethal weapons from academics, research institutes, policy makers, the police and the military. A number of reports, particularly concerning the Taser electro-shock weapon, have been published from these sectors since our last BNLWRP Report No.6 in October 2004. Some, such as the Amnesty International (U.S. and Canada) have again raised, and stressed, the concerns about the safety of the weapon and the number of deaths associated with its use. Others, such as the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Human Effects Center of Excellence (HECOE), Human Effectiveness and Risk Characterization of the Electromuscular Incapacitation Device ¿ A Limited Analysis of the TASER. (March 2005) concluded that the Taser was relatively safe, but that further research was needed into potential bio-effects, and for continual development into a safer weapon. Reaction to these reports was mixed. Some US legislators called for limitations on the use of Tasers, more accountability, and the detailed recording of incidents in which they were used.1 Others called for a ban on their use until more testing was carried out regarding their potentially harmful effects. A number of US police forces stopped the use of Taser, slowed down the deployment and ordering of the weapons, reviewed their rules of engagement and reporting, and revisited their operational guidelines. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) published the Electro- Muscular Disruption Technology (EMDT). A Nine-Step Strategy For Effective Deployment. (April 2005) as a response to these growing concerns. Certain elements of the media, especially The Arizona Republic2 and others, took a hostile view of what they considered the scandal of the number of deaths and associated serious injuries caused by the Taser. Taser International challenged allegations that their weapon was directly responsible for these deaths and quoted reports, such as the Madison Police Department report (February 2005), the study by McDaniel, W & Stratbucker, R & Nerheim, M & Brewer, J. Cardiac Safety of Neuromuscular Incapacitating Defensive Devices (January 2005), and the U.K. DOMILL Statement (March 2005) to support their view. The controversy continues. Other than Tasers, there are still few reports of the newer non-lethal technologies actually being deployed in operations. The exception to this is the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), which is now in widespread use in Iraq. Little additional information has appeared regarding the `active denial¿ weapon we have described in previous reports

Stunning Trends in Shocking Crimes: A Comprehensive Analysis of Taser Weapons

In 2001, Westminster, Colorado police officers were dispatched to the home of a suicidal thirteen year-old girl who had barricaded herself in a bathroom. The young girl was mutilating her wrist with two butcher knives. When police officers forced their way into the bathroom, the emotionally disturbed girl charged at them with the two butcher knives while screaming, Kill me! Kill me!. One of the officers deployed a Taser M26, a hand held conductive energy weapon, which fires two barbed darts up to a distance of thirty-five feet that then deliver an electric shock of 50,000 volts. The officer\u27s Taser shot hit the girl and immediately and safely incapacitated her. All of the police officers at the incident concurred, without the Taser, we would have had to use lethal force. This is just one of several stories of Tasers safely incapacitating dangerous, aggressive, or high-risk individuals. Due to this capability of subduing individuals without harming the officer or suspect, a growing number of law enforcement agencies are purchasing and implementing Tasers. Currently, over 8000 of the 18,000 law enforcement and correctional agencies in the United States are testing or using Tasers. Marketed as one of the safest and most effective use-of-force options available, police departments deploying Tasers claim that they reduce injury rates to officers and suspects, lower liability risk, and improve community security by providing a non-lethal alternative to the use of impact weapons or firearms. The recent widespread use of Tasers, however, has not been without controversy. There remain concerns over health risks, the possibility of abuse, the lack of regulation, and the overall safety of Tasers. Recently, media and human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, have released reports of more than 100 people since 2001 dying after receiving Taser shocks. Although coroners have attributed the majority of the deaths to other factors, such as drug use, in at least five of the cases, coroners found Tasers to be a contributory factor. In addition to reports of fatalities, there have been reported cases of police officers deploying Tasers on unarmed non-compliant, or disturbed individuals who do not pose a threat to themselves or others. Some of these individuals include children, elderly, and pregnant women