UMass PD maintains Tasers are safe
By Dan O'Brien, Collegian Staff
January 30, 2005
Despite criticism by student leaders that Tasers -- a non-lethal type of weapon to be purchased by the University of Massachusetts Police Department -- are unsafe, Det. Lt. Robert Thrasher of the UMass Police Department maintains the weapons are not dangerous and will help keep police officers safe during potentially life-threatening situations.
Thrasher described the Tasers as a "very humane tool."
"The Tasers give us a tool to add to [our arsenal] that's much more humane," Thrasher said.
A Taser, also known as a "stun-gun" is a weapon that shoots small electrical currents at a person, which incapacitates him or her for a few seconds. Thrasher said those few seconds allow officers an appropriate amount of time to take a suspect into custody in most cases.
UMPD has not yet purchased the Tasers, but officials have indicated the department intends to purchase them in the near future. Four officers, including Thrasher, have gone through training to become certified instructors of Taser training.
Recent media reports have said the four officers must receive four more hours of training before the department can purchase them. However, UMPD Deputy Chief Patrick Archbald said state officials might make the officers train an additional eight hours before the department's purchase.
"The company that provides the training is offering 12 hours of instructor training, while Massachusetts law mandates 16 hours of training," Archbald said. "We're trying to reconcile the situation with the company and the state."
Thrasher explained that a Taser has two needles, which are deployed when the trigger is pulled. He said the needles -- described as filament wire -- can penetrate the skin and get tied up in someone's clothing. But he explained the shock from the device only lasts about five seconds.
According to a Web site by a Taser manufacturer, Taser International said the weapon can fire at a target between 16 and 21 feet away. The wires deliver a 50,000-volt charge at 1.36 joules of electricity. By comparison, a heart defibrillator is 300 joules, Thrasher said.
Thrasher experienced the effects of the Taser firsthand while he was in training. He described the pain as being immediate and intense.
"Someone pulls the trigger and your body immediately tenses," he said. "You're in pain for about five seconds and it's over... That's all the time we need to put handcuffs on someone."
Student leaders, including Student Government Association President Eduardo Bustamante, trustee Matt Murphy and SGA Attorney General Craig Goldshmit have all expressed strong opposition to the idea of Tasers on campus. Murphy expressed concern over the safety of the devices, while Bustamante expressed fear of civil rights violations.
"If somebody gets 'tasered' the procedure to rejuvenate them means that nobody can touch them," Murphy said adding that in the confusion of the situation someone who might be trying to help the person who was struck by the weapon could accidentally get shocked.
"This isn't a city, it's a university and we're all here to study," Bustamante said while questioning the need for such weapons.
When asked why the university needs Tasers, Thrasher responded by saying he understands Bustmante's point, but points out the number of people who converge onto campus from other areas.
"With the number of violent altercations my officers deal with in a year, it's not an uncommon to address seriously violent subjects," he said. "The other option is to seriously beat them with a baton."
Thrasher also said commonly used "pepper spray" does not work on all subjects.
UMass Police Chief Barbara O'Connor said she wants her officers to have all the best tools for their disposal.
"I believe in giving my officers as many possible options," O'Connor said to the Springfield Republican in a Jan. 23 article.
Murphy expressed concern that medical conditions, such as heart conditions could arise if someone is shocked by a Taser.
"If somebody gets 'tased'... they have to be taken to the hospital almost immediately," Murphy said.
Thrasher said Murphy's statement is not accurate. He said a paramedic might be called if the needles become stuck in the skin, but in that case the electric shock should have ceased.
The Tasers will not be in the hands of the UMPD in time for the Superbowl football game on Sunday, but Murphy questioned the timing the department decided to announce their plans for purchasing the weapons.
UMPD is the only police department in the state that has submitted a Taser training proposal to the Executive Office of Public Safety, the state organization that authorizes the use of Tasers for police departments.
Greenfield's police department has already purchased Tasers, but has not trained officers to use them. Other departments looking into the use of the weapon are Springfield, Holyoke, Monson and Belchertown.
Each Taser costs about $800. UMPD plans on purchasing three.
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