WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Barre Officers to Carry Tasers

Barre Officers to Carry Tasers

Barre, Vermont - August 18, 2009

Starting Wednesday, police officers in Barre will carry tasers. City officials held a final public meeting, Tuesday night, to make sure policies are in place before those tasers hit the streets.

When the Barre city council approved the purchase of tasers for every police officer it did so with the condition that all officers go through proper training and the police department draft a clear policy about their proper use. Mayor Thom Lauzon says city leaders are pleased with the policy the department came up with.

"That's really been our focus all along, is you develop a reasonable policy, make sure our officers are adequately changed and I think we've done that," Lauzon said.

Police Chief Tim Bombardier presented the draft usage policy to city leaders at Tuesday's meeting. The city's public safety council already signed off on it.

Much of the policy comes from national standards developed for taser use. It includes guidelines for when an officer could use a taser and when he or she should not. It covers proper procedures for after a person has been tasered and if they require medical attention.

Officers are instructed to use special consideration when dealing with "the elderly, people of small stature, children, and those who the officer has reason to believe are in ill health or are pregnant."

"It's not the answer to everything," said Chief Bombardier. "

Use of tasers has sparked public controversy in other cities but only one person showed up to voice her concerns in Barre.

"To me it's scary because I think there's a lot of decisions that's going to be left up to them to decide if somebody being violent or not," said Barre Town resident, Louise Coates.

Chief Bombadier said his officers are well trained to know when force, such as a taser, is appropriate. He said it is another tool for officers and one that is less deadly than a gun. Nationwide, about 300 people have died after being tased, but Bombardier argues that in each of those cases there was an underlying factor, such as a heart condition.

"I don't know of any one incident where the taser itself was the only contributing factor in someone's death, in what was otherwise a healthy individual," he said.

Each taser has a chip inside that keeps track of when it was used and for how long. The department will collect that information to make sure the tasers aren't being abused. In addition, the first ten people to be tased by Barre police will automatically be taken to the hospital for medical evaluation so the department can get a good idea of how the tasers are effecting citizens.

Bianca Slota - WCAX News