RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – North Carolina law enforcement officers may now think twice before using their Tasers. New Taser restrictions have been implemented for officers in several states, including North Carolina, but some believe the restrictions may do more harm than good.
On Monday, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to restrict the use of Tasers for law enforcement. In the court opinion, the court ruled officers are not allowed to use their Tasers unless someone is creating “an immediate safety risk.”
This means using a Taser is prohibited if a suspect is solely resisting arrest. The officer must articulate “immediate danger” as well, according to a memo issued to state law enforcement agencies by the North Carolina Justice Academy.
About a third of the Wake County Sheriff’s Deputies are equipped with Tasers. Sheriff Donnie Harrison says they’ve proven to reduce injuries to suspects and officers. He’s concerned the new restrictions would reverse this trend.
“If you look at this policy, if the person being taken into custody is not a danger but will not comply, my concern is we’re going to have to go hands on. That has the chance to cause a lot more injuries to both suspects and our officers,” said Harrison.
The ruling came down in response to a lawsuit filed against the Pinehurst Police Department. A mentally ill man died in 2011 after officers tased him in an attempt to get him to let go of a stop sign post. The court ruled the pain caused by a Taser is an excessive use of force that violated the person’s constitutional rights under the 4th Amendment.
“Any officer will tell you the last thing they want to do is use any type of lethal force,” said Lt. Jeff Gordon of the North Carolina Highway Patrol. “99.9 percent of the time where those instruments and tools are used, they’re used appropriately.”
The 4th Circuit spans five states, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and now law enforcement agencies in those states will have to take a look at their Taser policies and revise them so they align with the ruling.
“We don’t want to hurt anybody, but we also have a job to do and we have a family we want to go home to also,” said Harrison. “That’s why I say some of these people that are making these changes need to walk in our shoes a little bit.”
Many of the law enforcement agencies WNCN spoke with on Thursday say they are unsure if the new ruling will affect how they use Tasers, but will work to make sure their Taser policies comply with the new ruling.
