COLUMBIA — Four Columbia advocacy organizations showed videos Monday morning of women being Tasered by police officers to make this point: the City Council should reconsider its June 2 decision to approve the purchase of enough Tasers to arm most Columbia patrol officers.
The videos showed women screaming after law enforcement officers Tasered them — in one case repeatedly. Audience members gathered at the Labor Temple on Garth Avenue gasped in response.
After the videos were shown, Ed Berg, a member of Grass Roots Organizing, and other speakers commended City Council members for seeking non-lethal alternatives.
“I’m not opposed to (the Taser) if it’s really a safe weapon,” Berg said.
But Berg and members of other advocacy organizations are not sure that Tasers truly belong in the category of non-lethal weapons.
“As you saw in the videos, one of two things happen: Their muscles contract like a severe charley horse all over their bodies, and they fall down,” Berg said. That makes it harder for people to comply with police orders.
“We just don’t believe that the Taser is the answer,” Berg said.
GRO, representatives of the Mid-Missouri American Civil Liberties Union, the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation and the NAACP want the City Council to reconsider, if not rescind, its decision. A scroll containing the names of 350 people who have died in the U.S. after being Tasered was ceremoniously unrolled to reiterate what they said is the key issue: safety.
No city officials attended the morning news conference. But reached by telephone after the event, Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman said the public had ample opportunity to weigh in on the decision.
“Every opportunity for discussion was provided, but nobody called for it,” Hindman said. “I’m satisfied with the decision.”
Interim Police Chief Tom Dresner said that the police department is proceeding with the addition of 40 X26 Tasers to its inventory — bringing the total to 78 — with training planned for September.
“We think it’s unfortunate that GRO has decided that this is a problem,” Dresner said. “The Taser is a tool that helps police officers nationwide avoid violent confrontations and lessens the injuries that result from them.”
“We’ve had this tool in service for the last three years and we haven’t received a single complaint from anyone who was Tasered,” Dresner said.
But Berg said he’s concerned about how police officers use the weapons. Should the City Council’s decision remain unchanged, Berg said he plans to ask the council to adopt strict procedures for officer accountability. If or when a civilian review board is established, Berg said he hoped it would oversee police use of Tasers.
Dresner said that officers are already required to file a report whenever a Taser is used. Additionally, there is technology inside of the device that logs usage information.
“There is a computer inside of it and every time the voltage is triggered, it records the date and time,” Dresner said. “No one in our police department has the ability to change that data. That’s one of the safeguards built in against abuse.”
Another safeguard involves the Columbia Police Department’s Use of Force policy, which advises officers to aim Tasers at the subject’s back, legs or other major muscle groups.
Dresner added that officers will use the Tasers when faced with resistance.
“As soon as we say the magic words, ‘You’re under arrest,’ the law requires compliance,” he said.
Berg said he also hoped the police department would further define situations appropriate for Taser use.
“If an officer is trying to give someone a ticket and they refuse, it’s not appropriate,” Berg said.
Dresner said that he and a certified Taser instructor will attend GRO’s next meeting on Tasers at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 15 at the Labor Temple.