The Rochester Police Department will not stop using Tasers
“at this time,” says police spokesperson Jacqueline Shuman. Some Rochester
church leaders called for a temporary ban on Taser use
following the death of Richard Davis.
Davis, 50, died after he was shocked by a Rochester police
officer during a recent altercation in the city. It’s not known if the shock
contributed to his death.
The church leaders said that they wanted a ban so that the
department could review its policies regarding Taser use.
Shuman says that the investigation into Davis’ death is
ongoing, and that the department will review its policy on Taser training “once
all the facts of this event are known.”
According to a press release, Tasers have been used by the
RPD 576 times since 2003, and that the department current has 228 Tasers in
service.
The release also includes statistics on the efficacy of
Tasers. Between January 1, 2009, and August 8, 2012, it says, a Taser had been
used 231 times with an effectiveness rate of 89 percent. The rate is gauged by
the physical force needed after Tasing to take a subject into custody.
This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2015.
