Gabriel Bitterman's death is the first in Lincoln following police use of a Taser. Officer Katie Flood said officers had used Tasers six times in 2008 before Friday with no injuries.
LORI PILGER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Thursday, September 18, 2008 7:00 pm
Gabriel Bitterman’s death is the first in Lincoln following police use of a Taser.
Officer Katie Flood said officers had used Tasers six times in 2008 before Friday with no injuries.
Nationally, deaths like Bitterman’s have led some to question the safety of Tasers and devices like them.
This summer, those questions led the U.S. Department of Justice to issue a report that looked into deaths following police use of so-called “conducted energy devices” or stun guns.
“Field experiences with CED use indicates that exposure is safe in the vast majority of cases,” according to the June special report.
It says studies by law enforcement agencies that use them have found they’ve experienced fewer injuries to officers and suspects in “use of force” encounters and reduced their use of lethal force.
Yet, the report continues, “a significant number” of suspects have died after exposure to CEDs.
It doesn’t give a number.
Amnesty International, which is critical of the use of CEDs, has reported that 290 people have died in the U.S. since 2001 after being struck by police Tasers.
The Justice Department’s report said although exposure to CEDs is not risk-free, “there is no conclusive medical evidence within the state of current research that indicates a high risk of serious injury or death from the direct effects of CED exposure.”
Law enforcement need not refrain from deploying them, it concluded, provided national guidelines are being used for using the CEDs.
In the U.S., there are 260,000 CEDs in use by 11,500 law enforcement agencies.
Lincoln has 15.
LPD’s use-of-force guidelines consider Tasers intermediate weapons, along with bean-bag guns, used by the SWAT team, and batons, to be used when a suspect is “actively aggressive,” and just one step below the use of deadly force.
Casady said LPD has been judicious, even cautious, deploying them.
“We are well aware that Taser is not without risks,” he said.
But it holds less risk than a bullet, which would have been the alternative in this case, Casady said.
Reporter Hilary Kindschuh contributed to this story.