The controversy surrounding the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s use of Tasers is such that its normally helpful public information office, which just six months ago supplied the media with information meant to contextualize its use of the weapons, clammed up last week.
Metro spokesman Ramon Denby said he was concerned that the Weekly might portray Metro “in a negative light” since “you’re talking with the ACLU.” Now everything would have to go through the legal-affairs folks. Even information supplied by Metro in previous interviews.
Metro has been hit with several Taser-related wrongful-death lawsuits—at least three, maybe as many as six; Denby wouldn’t quantify—and it’s had a muzzling effect akin to that of being Mirandized: Anything Metro officials say can and might be held against them in a court of law.
Just as well. Playing their cards close to the vest is probably best since a lot is at stake. Culpability to be sure, particularly in the cases of Keith Tucker and Russell Walker. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada filed a lawsuit against Taser International and Metro for $20 million on behalf of the father of Tucker, who died of cardiac arrest after being shot with Tasers in August 2004; Walker went into cardiac arrest and died after being tased three times outside the Western casino Downtown in June 2005.
Also at stake is the chance to lay bare the controversial history of Tasers as well as the sometimes intimidating tactics of their most prominent manufacturer, Scottsdale, Arizona-based Taser International.
Billed as a less-lethal means of subduing suspects, Tasers have been employed by law enforcement since the ’70s. Concerns mounted about their safety in the 1990s have crescendoed in recent years. Since 2001, Tasers have been implicated in more than 300 deaths in North America and nearly a half-dozen local fatalities. Three years ago, cops in five states sued Taser International claiming they suffered serious injuries after being shocked during training sessions; an officer in Missouri alleged he suffered heart damage and two strokes.
When lawsuits come, Taser International aggressively defends its product. Among those either sued, threatened with lawsuits or cowed into silence have been coroners, medical examiners and scientists—those most qualified to render judgment on the danger of pumping 50,000 volts into a human being.
Since publishing a study critical of Tasers in the Journal of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers two years ago, forensic scientist James Ruggieri has uttered nary a peep on the subject. Taser sued Ruggieri for defamation. When asked about the study and how to contact Ruggieri, an Academy official declined comment to the Weekly, distancing the organization from him. “He does not speak for us.”
Taser International’s public information office failed to return a call to Weekly to discuss any of this.
But so far, Taser has been vindicated in every lawsuit filed against it, some 63 to date. Of those, 51 have been dismissed with prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs can’t sue again. With each dismissed lawsuit, Taser puts out a celebratory press release. Given this history, Las Vegas attorney Marc Saggese knows he’s in for a fight. Thus, he’s digging in. Smart move, this. According to a letter from Taser’s counsel, Indiana-based Barnes and Thornburg, Saggese had until March 14 to dismiss with prejudice charges brought against Taser in Walker’s wrongful-death lawsuit. “Pleased be advised that if no action is taken to dismiss our client, Taser International will seek to recover its defense costs if and when judgment is entered against plaintiffs.”
The March 5 Taser International letter says Walker “was acting erratically and combative, was exhibiting unusual behavior, was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and was resisting arrest at time of death.”
“The arrogance,” Saggese says.
Any confidence Saggese may have in beating Taser International lies in video subpoenaed from KLAS Channel 8 of Walker’s arrest. Footage seems to contradict Taser’s version of events. On the tapes Walker is seen digging in his pockets. “He was mugged and was raising hell about getting mugged,” Saggese narrates from his office on 6th Street. “He took money out of his pocket, ripped it up and threw it in the air. Security called Metro.”
An officer, later identified as Matthew Ruiz, grabs Walker by the neck and wrestles him down. The scene cuts to a prostrate Walker, face down, cops surrounding him, one officer with a knee in his back. By this point, Walker has been tased twice. Look closely and you can see trace outlines of where the electricity-bearing wires clamped into his skin. The final piece of video shows a handcuffed Walker forcibly placed on a gurney as five officers and two medical personnel—an ambulance idles in the background—hover like busy bees. Ruiz delivers a third shock, the one Saggese says is fatal.
In another video, this of the ensuing coroner’s inquest, Ruiz and his supervisor, Officer Cynthia Rodriguez, describe Walker as unruly and combative. Again, the footage seems to betray their testimony. At least in the initial confrontation, Walker puts up little resistance. On the ground after having been handcuffed and tased, he lifts his head. Since there’s no audio, it’s unclear what he did or said. On the stand, a coroner’s official says Walker had enough cocaine in his system to cause death. Officers describe Walker as “thrashing” about on the gurney. There’s no visible commotion. To be fair, most of Walker’s body is obscured by the cops and emergency medical personnel. Should they choose, cops could invoke the Rodney King defense: What we didn’t see may have precipitated what we did.
Ruiz walks over and administers a third bolt from the Taser.
“He was tased once, and it worked. He was tased a second time, and it worked. Why was he tased a third time?”
An inquest jury absolved the officers. But the county coroner ruled Walker’s death a homicide—saying, in essence, that officers’ actions likely contributed to Walker’s death. “That’s very important. It’s huge because Taser International has scared other coroners and medical examiners into silence,” Saggese says.
Taser International has sued coroners in Indiana and Ohio for implicating the device in officer-involved deaths.
When Metro introduced Tasers as a non-lethal alternative to using deadly force in 2004, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada applauded the move as “positive,” Executive Director Gary Peck says. Perhaps it’d reduce the need to use deadly force. As the Taser-related deaths mounted and the ACLU began asking questions, Peck says Metro’s become obstinate, refusing to revise its Taser-use policies. About the only policy change has been in vernacular: describing them as low-lethality as opposed to non-lethal.
“The Consumer Product Safety Commission forced Taser to admit the weapons were low-lethality because of Taser’s claim that the weapon was non-lethal. Metro had to admit it, too,” Peck says. “But Metro has refused to adjust its policy accordingly. They have acknowledged a policy consistent with the notion that it can be lethal in certain usages, but they are not indemnified by the verbiage. I think anyone looking at the bodies piling up and the number of times weapons are fired by officers and the circumstances being fired knows that weapons can be deadly and should have a policy regarding their use. People tasered in cuffs. Metro has a policy on this, but it’s inconsistent. No agency in Nevada has a correct policy.”
The ACLU is formally representing the Tucker estate and has consulted with the lawyers on other local Taser-related cases. Metro’s Taser policy notes that “the decision to use the Taser will be dependent upon the actions of the subject, the threat facing the officer and the totality of the circumstances surrounding the incident. Tasers may be used when a subject is displaying active, aggressive, or aggravated aggressive resistance to an officer attempting to conduct legal law enforcement activities.” The use-of-force policy for Henderson police lists Tasers as a tool to “restrain or control” a violator. To his knowledge, Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul says no HPD suspects have died as a result of being tased. Metro’s policy is similar. (North Las Vegas police didn’t respond before press time.)
“I think Metro is smart, battle-tested and experienced, but as the bodies pile up, I think Metro should have a well-thought-out policy regarding their use,” Peck says.
Denby says that Metro is using a federal grant to buy audiovisual devices to record Taser use, such as mounted cameras do for patrol cars.
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Metro’s history with Tasers or, as it calls them, electronic control devices (ECDs), began with special operations units and its corrections personnel. For years, they’ve been deployed for inmate cell extractions. Several years ago, the department issued ECDs to everyone on patrol with the rank of sergeant or above—that’s 400 to 500 ECDs among 700 officers. The benefits, Denby says, were obvious. It had none of the limitations of batons (you have to be within striking distance to use them) or bean bag-firing shotguns (you have to unlock them). With Tasers, you could disable a suspect quickly and from far away—up to 21 feet.
Denby, who was tased in order to be certified as a master instructor, says fear of the weapons, “of electricity pumping through someone’s body,” isn’t any reason to chuck them. “Anytime a police department deploys any type of tool, it opens itself up to lawsuits. But Tasers have reduced injuries to officers and suspects. What happens is neuromuscular lock-up. When I was tased, it was painful, a weird feeling. I was still able to hear everything, but not able to move my arms and legs. It lasted three seconds, and it was over. I support use of the device.”
In several interviews, Metro noted that officers fired Tasers more than 300 times in a 12-month period comprising 2006 and 2007. Assuming it’s safe to say cops fire the weapons hundreds of times a year, Peck says it’s obviously not being used as a compliance tool. “To me, that says, but for the Tasers, cops would be using their guns.”
Which raises a host of questions: How many times did officers fire Tasers in 2007? Does Metro track every time the weapon is unholstered? Every time a Taser is activated? Every time it’s aimed at somebody? Each and every circumstance in which it’s deployed? Denby referred such questions to Metro’s lawyers. The Weekly faxed a request to them for comment, but didn’t hear back before press time.
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ormally friends in the human-rights trenches, Dean Ishman, former head of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Peck have competing views on Tasers. Ishman, who worked as a New York City transit cop for 12 years, says Tasers are a better alternative than using guns. If you eliminate them, he says, “then what do you go back to? The gun?
“When a cop shoots, they shoot to kill. A Taser is less than lethal. I agree with Gary in this regard: It may be used inappropriately. But too often we do the Monday morning quarterback thing. If someone is on crack or PCP, it might take tasing them two or three times to get them down because they are desensitized. However, if you have a heart condition, you shouldn’t be out there trying to rob someone.”
That misses the point, according to ACLU staff attorney Lee Rowland—officers shouldn’t be using something purported to be safe to subdue people. Studies show that people with heart conditions, those who are pregnant or use cocaine are vulnerable to Tasers; the electricity can accelerate heart rates and lead to cardiac arrests.
The bigger controversy, she says, is the pressure Taser puts on coroners and medical examiners. To wit: The Clark County coroner met with Taser International representatives before the Tucker inquest, “and based the cause of death on info from a company that has an interest in the outcome.” Rowland says “it’s akin to the controversy of tobacco companies in the ’80s hiding the lethality of their products. In this case, we give the cops this low-lethality tool, and it has the ability to kill you.”
According to published news reports, county medical examiner Ronald Knoblock failed to disclose that he used information supplied by Taser International in testimony on the Walker case. He told an inquest jury it was “debatable” as to whether tasing contributed to Walker’s death.
"With open arms, Taser is allowed to come down and speak with them [the coroner’s office] about causation [of death]. It’s ridiculous,” E. Brent Bryson, the attorney representing Keith Tucker’s father, told the Review-Journal. “It’s an unequal application of the fact-finding process.”
Whether the meeting was intentionally secret or not, Peck says it points to the broader pattern of Taser International’s aggressive posturing. “They effectively intimidate people into silence. And when people die, we get this timeworn, rather hackneyed explanation that they died from excited delirium, which is just cop talk. It’s not even a recognized, clinical medical term.”
Saggese says he’s never felt threatened by a letter, until now. “They don’t have to threaten. If they are going to win, they are going to win, or if they are going to lose, they’re going to lose.”
Damon Hodge is a Weekly staff writer. Illustration by Colleen Wang