Eugene police have fired Tasers 49 times since Jan. 2008
By KVAL.com staffEUGENE, Ore. -- Police in Eugene have used Tasers to shock people 49 times since January 2008 and threatened to use the device in another 134 instances. A portion of the force was armed with Tasers as part of a pilot program that ended in April. Police would like to buy 60 more Tasers and arm more officers with the devices. Devices like Tasers give police an alternative to a gun when confronting people who resist arrest. In May, Jeff Salisbury, whose mentally ill son Ryan was shot and killed by a Eugene police officer in 2006 before officers had Tasers, told a public forum 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.' " But police use of Tasers on protester Ian Van Ornum and on a Chinese student mistaken as a trespasser have prompted some people, including the mayor, to question how Eugene police use Tasers. What do you think? Should police in Eugene have access to tools like Tasers in addition to firearms? |
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