Cincinnati PD move to 'aim for the back' TASER use

 

http://www.policeone.com/police-products/less-lethal/TASER/articles/5989524-Cincinnati-PD-move-to-aim-for-the-back-TASER-use/

 

September 19, 2012

Cincinnati PD move to 'aim for the back' TASER use

The policy also prohibits frontal shots, except in self-defense or to defend someone else

Dayton Daily News

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati police have revised guidelines on their use of stun guns in an effort to reduce the potential risk of serious injury or death, police said Tuesday.

The new guidelines recommend that officers should aim at a suspect's back when deploying the barbs from a stun gun, according to a police statement.

The policy also prohibits frontal shots, except in self-defense or to defend someone else, and says stun guns should never be aimed at the head, neck, eyes, throat, chest or genitals.

Officers are also encouraged to consider any secondary injuries that could result from stun guns, such as those that could occur if a person falls after being hit by the barbs.

While Cincinnati police Chief James Craig says no deaths have resulted from the use of stun guns by Cincinnati police, he has said that a scientific study indicating Taser electronic stun guns can cause cardiac arrest and death concerned him. As a result, the city's police and law departments reviewed the city's policy and made the changes.

Cincinnati police use the Taser X26.

The scientific study reported earlier this year examined eight cases involving the device,

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Seven of the people died, and the study concluded that a shock from the Taser "can cause cardiac electric capture and provoke cardiac arrest," the newspaper reported.

 

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