The city council on Tuesday approved Taser guidelines which closely resemble the department’s existing policy, clearing the way for the purchase of 25 more stun guns — enough for a Taser on every shift.
In a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, council members endorsed use of the weapon as a “less lethal” form of force, saying they were willing to rely on the department to ensure proper use through training and good judgment.
“As a policymaker, you don’t want to be second-guessing the people on the front line,” said council member Matt Pear.
The department already has 10 of the handheld stun guns, and is asking for 25 more in this year’s budget cycle. That is less than the 100 police Chief Scott Vermeer had originally wanted, but would still be enough to outfit every patrol shift with a Taser.
Lt. Tony Lopez told the council that under current policy, officers have the ability to choose which type of force to use based on the details of a situation. He also said Tasers would become more effective deterrents as they became more common and well-known.
Mountain View police have used Tasers on suspects a total of 14 times — slightly less than once a month since obtaining them in October 2004. In the majority of cases, the suspects have been unarmed and were shot with a Taser after refusing to comply with an officer’s order.
The recommendations from the human relations commission and approved by the council call for additional restrictions, including a provision that would prevent police from using Tasers to combat civil disobedience.
A handful of residents again expressed concern that the proliferation of Tasers would lead to their use in situations that could be resolved in less violent ways. But officials argued that the availability of Tasers could give police a safer option in certain circumstances.
Bill Bien, who was chair of the human relations commission when it began the first of two public hearings on Taser use in January, said the risk of death is real, but acceptable.
“We trust the police force to use guns to keep us safe,” said Bien. “If we trust them, we should allow them to use the tools they think are necessary.”
Council member Laura Macias cast the lone dissenting vote, saying she did not think it was necessary to increase the arsenal available to local law enforcement. Vice Mayor Greg Perry and council member Mike Kasperzak were absent during the discussion.
Vermeer said he was pleased with the result of the hearings and welcomed the attention to the topic.
“The issue boils down to responsible use of force,” said Vermeer, “I understand some people have particular concerns about this device, but some of the issues are very central.”
The council still has to approve a budgetary request for 25 Tasers in the coming months. The human relations commission recommended only purchasing Tasers if it could be done without jeopardizing funding for in-car video recorders, but council members were careful to say they had not decided on that yet.
E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com
