Chicao Police Department expands use of Tasers

The Chicago Police Department announced earlier this week that it had plans to  place a Taser in every squad car.  This announcement followed closely news that a Midlothian man was killed by officers who used a Taser to try to subdue him.

Tasers deliver a high voltage jolt of electricity to the subject.  The purpose of the Taser is to incapacitate the person targeted.  However, Tasers have been shown to have been a cause of several wrongful death, and in at least one wrongful death suit was ordered to pay over $6 million in damages including more than $5 million in punitive damages.  Taser International, the manufacturer of the device has aggressively defended the safety of the product and any lawsuits against them.

With the expanded availability of Tasers to members of the Chicago Police force, we can expect that they will be used more frequently and that serious questions will be raised about whether it was used appropriately, whether the Chicago Police Department has properly trained the officers in its use, and whether they developed proper protocols and guidelines for the use of Tasers as a weapon to subdue potential arrest subjects.