'If we would have had Tasers ... your son would be alive today'
EUGENE, Ore. -- A community forum on police use of Tasers attracted critics and supporters, but no one from the police department attended the event Thursday night.
Eugene police officers have been using Tasers for the past 15 months.
Organizers of Thursday's event invited residents to come together and hear each other out. The event follows release of a new report on Taser use by the Eugene police and the trial of a protestor who police shocked twice with a Taser during an arrest in May 2008.
"I'm scared of being around them," said Kevin Jones, who opposes Tasers. "I fear for 50,000 volts going through my body."
Supporters said Tasers are better than a bullet or a wounded officer
"Not only does it save suspect lives," said Jennifer Parker, "but it reduces officer and suspect injuries."
The forum was designed for an exchange of viewpoints, according to organizers.
"So it's just an open, respectful format for people to share their yays and nays and pros and cons about Tasers, an important issue in our community," said Carol Berg-Caldwell with Communities for Ethical Law Enforcement.
Among those in the crowd was Jeff Salisbury, whose mentally ill son Ryan was shot and killed by a Eugene police officer in 2006 before officers had Tasers.
Salisbury's view meets somewhere in the middle. He said police should have Tasers but should use them only in place of deadly force.
"Chief (Robert) Lehner himself came by a day or two after the tragic event," Salisbury said. "He looked me in the eye and said, 'If we would have had Tasers deployable, your son would be alive today.' "
Lehner has since left the police department to take another job in California.
The Eugene police department recently released the results of its 15 month taser pilot project, but no one from the department attended the forum Thursday. A spokeswoman told KVAL News police had already released their report to the public and didn't feel like they needed to be there.
