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August 2007 News Tasers Effective Without Even Being Used, Police Report Says08/09/07 A pilot program instituted
in July to test the effectiveness of Taser stun guns has reported four
successful uses of the weapon since the program's inception, according to In all four cases, the existence of the Taser was enough to subdue a suspect without the officer having to use the weapon, Sherry Llewellyn, a police department spokeswoman, said at an Aug. 3 press conference during which police released a report on the program. "Clearly, the existence of the Taser weapon on our officers' belts has already served as a deterrent," Llewellyn said in an Aug. 6 interview. "When suspects become aware that the Taser exists they seem to create less of a safety concern for themselves or the officers." Police did not release the
report in reaction to reports this year of deaths following Taser shootings by
other "It wasn't in response to anything," she added. In March, the County Council approved on a 4-1 vote the use of Tasers by county police, after which police instituted the pilot program. The weapons shoot metal barbs that deliver an electric shock that temporarily incapacitates the muscle and nerve functions of those it strikes. During testimony before the council last spring, proponents said Tasers give officers an option to using deadly force to subdue a potentially dangerous or violent suspect, while opponents argued that the devices could severely harm those whom the devices stun. The pilot program, which began July 16, and is scheduled to last six months, involves 25 officers drawn from patrol and tactical units who are using the Tasers. Once the trial is over, police will review the weapon's effectiveness before deciding whether to issue Tasers throughout the force, Llewellyn said. Presence defused incidents Each of the incidents in which county officers displayed Tasers occurred in July. The first occurred July 17
when a group of seven males, four of whom had prior arrests, were loitering in Police arrested one of the males on a charge of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, Llewellyn said. The second incident occurred July 20, when police responded to an incident in Elkridge in which a 24-year-old man, who was intoxicated and bleeding heavily from his wrists, threatened to fight police. An officer told the man to lie on the floor. The man refused and threatened to fight the officer, Llewellyn said, adding that when the officer aimed the Taser at the man, he lay on the floor. On July 24, police
responded to a group home for girls in When an officer equipped with a Taser told an assailant that he would use the weapon, the assault ceased, Llewellyn said. On July 29, police responded to Dollar Mania, a store in Elkridge, where they found destroyed shelving and merchandise, and a male suspect who told police he wanted to fight, Llewellyn related. After being warned of the presence of a Taser, the suspect surrendered and was charged with malicious destruction of property and disorderly conduct, she added. Questionable deaths One person died this year
after being shot with a Taser by Also, Jenkins Odoms, president of the Howard County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was among those who last spring urged the County Council to use caution in approving the use of Tasers. This week, Odoms said he was encouraged by the information police released Aug. 3, but that he planned to meet with Police Chief William McMahon to review the data once the pilot program was over. "I want a proper review," he said. "If this can bring down the injuries on the police officers and the subject then I'm all for it." Jennifer Terrasa was the lone County Council member to oppose police use of Tasers. This week, the Columbia Democrat said she remained concerned by reports that suspects had died after being shot by Tasers. She added that she found it difficult to draw conclusions from the Aug. 3 report, given that officers did not use the weapons. "I'm not sure that proves anything to me," she said. E-mail Mike Santa Rita at Mike Santa Rita@patuxent.comSource: www.howardcountytimes.com Crime Log - Assaults 08/09/07 Other Crimes Logged were all related to car thefts, business break-ins, and other stolen items. For More Information Visit www.howardcountytimes.com and look under the crime log section at the bottom of the page for local news. Baltimore National Pike, 8800 block, 3:49 p.m. Aug. 4. Female walking across parking lot when two males drove up alongside her and snatched the purse from her shoulder. Baltimore National Pike,
10000 block, 9:01 a.m. Aug. 1. Male observed masturbating while following a
woman. No further information. Savage/North
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