The Winston-Salem Police Department is reviewing its Taser policy after the maker of the stun gun recommended that officers across the country target the devices at suspects' abdomens -- rather than their chests -- to avoid cardiac arrest among suspects.
According to the department's Taser policy, officers are trained to target the center mass or legs of a suspect's body when using the device. A Taser shoots darts that carry an electrical current to shock the central nervous system and temporarily paralyze the target.
Police Chief Scott Cunningham said that the department is reviewing its Taser policy.
"We will adjust that policy when we have completed our reviews and determined what the appropriate changes and response should be," Cunningham said. "There is no danger or increased risk with our current policy."
Taser International of Scottsdale, Ariz., sent a training bulletin on Oct. 12 to law-enforcement agencies across the country, recommending the officers aim their Tasers to the suspect's "lower-center of mass for front shots."
In its bulletin, the company said that there is a low risk of an "adverse cardiac event" related to a Taser discharge.
However, it is impossible to predict or test for drug use or presence of heart disease or other aliments among suspects, the bulletin said.
"Futhermore, a law enforcement officer will have no means to diagnose these factors in any event," according to the bulletin. "When possible, avoiding chest shots with Electronic Control Devices (Tasers) avoids the controversy about whether ECDs do or do not affect the human heart."
Officers also should target suspects' backs when practical.
The company said that its recommendation will improve the use of Tasers, increase its safety and "enhance the ability to defend such cases" in legal cases regarding their use.
Dr. William Bozeman, a medical researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said that there is no new medical information regarding the use of Tasers.
In September, a study conducted by Bozeman and other researchers at the medical center determined that Tasers do not harm the hearts of people they are used on.
However, Ian Mance, a program associate with the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, said that Taser International's bulletin acknowledged that Tasers are potentially dangerous weapons.
Amnesty International tracked more than 340 American cases between 2001 and August 2008 in which a person died after being shocked, and said that Taser use was among the causes of death in at least 50 of those cases.
jhinton@wsjournal.com
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