The INDEPENDENT, May 21, 2009
Page 5
Taser: Studies show that inappropriate use of Tasers can cause both injuries and deaths
From Page 1
The International Associa-
tion of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
sets standards, which may or
may not be adopted for use by
individual police departments.
Those standards forbid the use
of Tasers on a handcuffed or
secured prisoner, unless there
is “overtly assaultive behavior
that cannot be dealt with in any
other less intrusive fashion”.
The policy also advises that of-
ficers shall deploy the device
“the least number of times”
needed and be aware that
someone already tased “may
not be able to respond to com-
mands during or immediately
after exposure”.
But, people have died after
being hit with a Taser. A study
done by University of California
San Francisco found that the
number of in-custody deaths
went up six-fold in the first year
a department started using
Tasers. They believe that was
due to officers aiming too close
to the heart. The Oakland, Cal-
ifornia, police department has-
n’t had any fatalities linked to
Taser use, but they call for an
ambulance every time they
Tase a suspect “just to be safe.”
Amnesty International, www.
amnestyusa.org, reports the
number of people who died af-
ter being struck by Tasers in the
United States was 334 be-
tween 2001 and August 2008.
They reviewed information from
98 autopsies and found that 90
percent of those who died after
being struck by a Taser were
unarmed and many did not ap-
pear to present a serious
threat. In 37 of the cases, med-
ical examiners listed the use of
a Taser as a cause or contribu-
tory factor in the deaths. Many
received repeated or prolonged
shocks. Tasers are set to a five-
second cycle that can be over-
ridden by the police officer
holding down the trigger.
Tasers can fire up to ten five-
second cycles. A Canadian
study, reported on in the April
2009 Calgary Herald, found
that about one in ten Tasers de-
livered more than the 50,000
volts they were designed to fire.
A number of police officers
have reported injuries when
they themselves were Tased,
usually during training. The in-
juries ranged from broken
bones, to a broken vertebrae,
to a bent screw in a state troop-
er’s leg. The pain from a Taser
is said to be “excruciating.”
Amnesty International is
asking law enforcement agen-
cies to suspend the use of
Tasers until more studies are
done, or to use them only
where officers would otherwise
be justified in using firearms
where no lesser alternatives
are available. In other words,
they are suggesting that Taser
use be moved up the Use of
Force Continuum to just below
deadly force. They also recom-
mend avoidance of prolonged
(beyond the five-second cycle)
or repeated use.
Are Tasers safe? The an-
swer is that the jury is still out
on Tasers. When used correct-
ly, meaning one discharge in
the back or a large muscle like
the thigh – not close to the
heart – and on a large, healthy
adult (rather than a young or
small person, a pregnant fe-
male or someone suspected of
being under the influence of
certain drugs), a Taser will
cause pain but should do no
more than subdue the person
so they pose no risk to others,
including police officers.
Knife sharpening fund raiser was a great winner
by Murray Carter
On May 1 and 2, Murray
Carter of Carter Cutlery (www.
cartercutlery.com) hosted a two
day, half-price knife sharpening
fund raiser for the Vernonia
Head Start program. The re-
sponse was far better than ex-
pected and local residents
brought blades of every shape
and size for professional sharp-
ening. Murray reported that he
even sharpened a couple of
swords for $5 each, compared
to the regular fee, which is sev-
eral times more than that. The
people who brought knives
were extremely pleased with
their newly honed edges; in
many cases they were far
sharper than when the blades
were purchased new. Here’s
what one customer said:
“I was concerned at first
about having someone mess
with my personal knives; I was
worried that I might get them
back in worse shape than when
I took them in. As soon as I ar-
rived at the Carter Cutlery
shop, Mr. Carter greeted me
and examined my knives. He
was able to immediately identi-
fy the brand and style of my
cutlery and assess what need-
ed to be done to them to im-
prove them and make them
sharper. He carefully explained
how he would accomplish a
complete refurbish of the
blades and then wasted no
time in undertaking the task. In
about ten minutes, he had fin-
ished working on the three
knives I had brought. They
were then carefully wiped and
wrapped in Japanese news-
print and handed back to me
before I even thought to ask
some questions about his oper-
ation. It is a joy to watch Mr.
Carter at work; there is a fluidi-
ty and economy of motion that
only comes with years of care-
ful experience. When I asked
him if he has sharpened many
knives, he casually answered
“more than 40,000 knives”!
They looked great, but how
would they cut? I found out
soon enough when I got back
to my restaurant. I grabbed
some ripe tomatoes from the
fridge and was amazed at how
they sliced extra thin slices ef-
fortlessly. There wasn’t even a
drop of tomato juice on the cut-
ting board after cutting several
slices. To say that I am pleased
with Mr. Carter’s services is an
understatement and I will defi-
nitely have him sharpen my
knives again when they get
dull. I’ll even be happy to pay
his regular fees. It is really
worth it!”
Bill Long, Owner of Café 47
Murray Carter has offered to
do another Head Start Knife
Sharpening fundraiser for next
year. In the meantime, you can
get your blades expertly sharp-
ened and repaired at regular
prices, which start at $10 per
knife. Contact Carter at 503-
429-0447 or email him at mur-
ray@ cartercutlery.com.
BLOG: Important to use all available communications tools
From page 4
The agency is also using Twit-
ter, a free service that allows in-
dividuals and agencies to pro-
vide updates online that can
monitored by others from their
computers or cell phones.
Vicki Harguth, Director of
Columbia County Emergency
Management, said that it is im-
portant to use all available tools
to reach people. “Our goal is to
make sure people and busi-
nesses are as prepared as they
can be for disasters. These
websites allow us to get impor-
tant information out so folks will
be ready to help themselves,
their neighbors, family and
friends when major emergen-
cies arise,” said Harguth.
Columbia County is vulnera-
ble to various types of hazards,
from severe winter storms to
earthquakes.
“Citizens need to know not
only what we are doing to pre-
pare for emergencies, but also
what they can do to protect
themselves. Government is af-
fected by disasters, as well,
and it is important that folks
have plans and kits in place to
take care of themselves in the
first hours to days of a disaster,”
added Emergency Management
Coordinator Derek White.
The blog can be found at
http://columbiacountyem.blog
spot.com/ . The Twitter page is
at http://twitter.com/columbia-
coem .
Have a Safe Memorial Day
Don’t Drink & Drive