Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Abstract
The Use of Force Working Group was convened in October of 2008 to study police use of electronic control devices, better known as Tasers. Allegheny County (Pa.) District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala, Jr. appointed the Working Group in the wake of an incident in which a person died following a Taser exposure at the hands of local police officers.
This Report concludes that Tasers can be worthwhile and safe weapons in the police arsenal, but only if they are used consistent with proper policy, training, supervision and accountability. Anything less makes the use of these weapons a risky choice from the point of view of both police officers and the public. The Report discusses the scientific and medical research on Tasers, and sets out the best practices that should appear in any Taser policy. The Report also makes recommendations concerning situations in which Tasers should never be used, and situations in which police should only use these devices with extreme caution. It also contains a first-person description of what it feels like to be shot with a Taser, based on the experience of the Report’s primary author.
Recommended Citation
David A. Harris,
Taser Use: Report of the Use of Force Working Group of Allegheny County,
71
University of Pittsburgh Law Review
719
(2010).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.pitt.edu/fac_articles/462
Included in
Criminal Procedure Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, International Relations Commons, Law and Society Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, Public Law and Legal Theory Commons, Science and Technology Law Commons