By Meg Peters
Review Staff Writer
Lake Orion police are adding another tool to their use of force policy to make safer arrests, according to Police Chief Narsh, costing about $650 a piece’the taser.
Tasers are used to temporarily incapacitate someone by causing paralysis using an electric shock. A person struck with a taser will experience strong, involuntary muscle contractions.
The latest model uses a nitrogen gas propulsion system which fires two darts from a maximum distance of 25 feet at 130-150 feet per second. The barbs penetrate through clothing or bare skin up to a quarter of an inch, delivering 19 pulses per second of 2,000 volts of electric shock, according to Steve Tuttle of TASER International Inc.
They fall under the fourth level of the Use-of-Force policy to be used if a suspect actively resists an arrest. Active resistance is defined as a set of actions intended to facilitate an escape or prevent an arrest which are not likely to cause injury, according to Police Chief Magazine.
Police must adhere to a set of guidelines called the Use-of-Force Continuum when deciding which tool to use in a confrontation, however, are not bound to a particular progression.
‘Detaining someone isn’t always an easy process,? Chief Narsh said. ‘The whole concept is if we get to the point in an arrest where we have to lay hands or physically grapple with someone then the taser would be deployed in order to handcuff or secure the person.?
Electronic control weapon technology has been used by law enforcement since 1974 after the device was invented by NASA scientist Jack Cover, who began experimenting with electricity as a non-deadly weapon.
Taser usage is a must for law enforcement, according to both Chief Narsh and Oakland County Lieutenant Dan Toth. Oakland County has used less-lethal tasers for ten years, and uses them weekly, Toth said.
‘The major improvements have been including a camera and a built in microphone. As soon as the taser is pulled from the holster, it begins recording,? Lt. Toth said. ‘It keeps everybody in check, so if a taser is misused the evidence will be right there.?
Tasers can also be used to save a suspect’s life.
Just last week an OC Deputy was called to an overpass above I-96 in Lyon Township for a suspect who was threatening to catapult into oncoming traffic to take his own life.
‘The deputy negotiated with the person, who wasn’t responding. The person kept backing up, so the deputy made the call and pulled the taser,? Toth said. ‘It saved his life.?
About half of the Lake Orion Police department has been certified to use tasers, Chief Narsh said, and the other half will undergo training this week.
Lake Orion police already carry a .45 caliber Glock, a baton, pepper spray, and most importantly, all officers are trained in verbal communication.
‘One of the greatest tools officers possess is the verbal ability to convince someone that you can not like the arrest. You can choose to disagree with that arrest, but the place to make that argument, is in the courtroom,? Chief Narsh said. ‘This is the safest measure for both the officer and the arrestee.?
Toth agrees, saying the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department has cut suspect and deputy injuries in half since employing the taser.
There will be six new tasers in Lake Orion in the next two weeks after all of the department has been legally certified, however it is ultimately up to that split-second decision which tool to pull out.
‘Someone could go from talking to instantly trying to kill the officer. There’s escalation and de-escalation that can happen in a blink of an eye, especially if the person is intoxicated or has a mental health episode,? Chief Narsh said. ‘That’s what tactics are all about, using just the right amount of force to prevent injury.?