Mansfield Police Department Discontinues Use Of Tasers

(While the opposite of the usual topics discussed in this forum, I thought it relevant nonetheless. Mods feel free to move to a more appropriate spot if needed)

The Mansfield Police Department has discontinued the use of all Taser guns, according to spokesman for the department.

It is not known if the department will consider utilizing stun guns at a future date.

Four other police departments in North Texas are opting out to turn in their Taser guns. Police departments in Richland Hills, Crowley, Murphy and Burleson have changed their stun gun policies, too

Mansfield Police Department Discontinues Use of Tasers

I'm proud of my local police department (sniff..sniff..)
While the morality of this decision certainly makes me support them 100%, it might simply be a financial decision.

The changes in policy comes after dozens of lawsuits were filed this year involving Tasers, also called conducted electrical weapons or ‘CEW’s’.

Most of the lawsuits filed, according to attorney Pete Schulte, are filed against the city involved in the incident, the police department, officer involved and Taser International, which makes the stun guns.

Also somewhat related to this was a proposed line-item on the recent budget for the city which provided funding for a "Tactical Training Facility". Maybe the just plan on using more guns ??

All I can say is...
GOOD MOVE!

I agree. Good move. Although they didn't do it to protect the public, they did it to protect themselves from lawsuits.

reply to post by TXRabbit


Saw this last week. Add Alvarado in there as well. Seems the law firm that represents all of these towns recommended it stating concern about the company's new labeling and instructions for the devices. Instructions say not to fire directly to the chest or upper torso.
(Taken from Burleson-Crowley Connection)

Doesn't look like this is permanent yet.

I'm real happy to see the handheld torture device retired and perhaps they can start a trend? Financial or not...the reasons are secondary to a positive outcome.

I just hope this IS positive. What I mean there is, the situations they would have grabbed tasers for won't stop happening. Their need or desire to control a situation through something less than a physical fight won't change. So... in the long term, what will fill their hand instead of a taser? Surely not a live weapon in most cases ...but would I prefer a nightstick or a zap?

I just hope they follow this through with more reasonable policies than we're seeing and it's not 100% and only budgetary bean counting. That wouldn't solve why tasers are such an object of abuse, eh?

good move, dont stun their suspects, just shoot to kill
just kidding

Trouble is, who was paying the lawsuits off? The population of that community, obviously.

The police need to be extremely liable for their actions, personally. That means if someone dies when in your custody, or is bodily harmed, you personally have to take responsibility for that, up to and including indictment and imprisonment yourself. There'd be a lot less violent cops and a lot more 'to serve and protect' if that was the norm. And EVERYONE of these cops should be tested monthly at first, then yearly, for steroid use. What I've seen in many videos is pure roid rage.

And the population itself would be far less violent if the basics of the Zeitgeist Movement were put into place; everyone with a guaranteed level of life-needs provided for; you'd eliminate so many sources of fear and violence that way.

damwel
I agree. Good move. Although they didn't do it to protect the public, they did it to protect themselves from lawsuits.

Well yes, and who do you think ultimately pays for those settlements?
It's not the cops themselves.
This is actually very good news, it may catch on.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Ok but when the public pays for the lawsuits they demand the offending cop be fired. Comes out the same, they did it to protect themselves not because it was dangerous to citizens.

HomerinNC
good move, dont stun their suspects, just shoot to kill

just kidding

That's precisely what will happen.
Dead people don't file lawsuits.

reply to post by TXRabbit


Let's get crazy on Broad Street this weekend during the street festival and test their discontinued use...

reply to post by TXRabbit


Hopefully this will serve as an example for the rest of the metroplex.

I'm not holding my breath though. It took 20+ years, losing an olympic bid, and holding half of our sports teams hostage for arlington to finally adopt public transportation.

Needless to say, the DFW area is resistant to change. But way to go mansfield!

I definitely agree that it's a change the good. I haven't had a chance to speak to any officers yet about their reactions/thoughts.
They don't come off ever as the roid-fueled, anger-infused meatheads like Arlington. I really like our PD

What I think the police need more than anything is mandatory drug testing for steroid use. I think a lot of their aggressiveness is due to body building drug abuse.

reply to post by TXRabbit


I have to say, the arlington police are pretty harmless. They come across as meatheads, but once you slap them with a little thing we like to call "exercising your rights", they reveal that they're just little kids that don't want to play anymore because they know they lost.

I haven't been pulled over since.