The end of September will mark the ninth month of the Eugene Police Department’s controversial Taser program, which is set to last one year and be evaluated by March, according to a six-month data update released by the department in August.
From its initial planning and implementation, much debate surrounded the project, which equipped 40 EPD officers with Tasers. However, it was the May 30 incident when an EPD officer used a Taser on 18-year-old University student Ian Van Ornum at an anti-pesticide demonstration that outraged many community members.
Police Commission Analyst Randi Zimmer said an internal police investigation, to examine whether excessive force was used against Van Ornum, will begin after his criminal investigation is complete. The commission will not comment on the incident until after the investigation.
Van Ornum is charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and will appear in court Sept. 22 for his pre-trial hearing.
Police Commission Chairman Tamara Miller, who also served on the commission’s Use of Force/Taser Committee, said the commission welcomes students to participate in its monthly meetings to voice comments and concerns about EPD’s Taser project as it enters its final months. “We want students and community members to come help us understand what the community wants to see,” Miller said.
She added that students participated during the development of the project that allows Tasers to reach the University’s campus through EPD patrol officers.
During the various stages of the program’s development, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon has also been taking advantage of the meetings’ public forums.
ACLU representative Claire Syrett said it seems as if the police violated their own policy during the May 30 incident. EPD’s Taser guidelines state that Taser use is prohibited “at a demonstration or protest without authorization of the Chief of Police or designee unless its use is reasonably necessary to prevent injury to the officer or another person.”
“Overall,” Syrett said, “we are not impressed with how they have been using their Taser deployment.”
The six-month update of the Taser project reported that during the first six months of the program, verbal warnings or display of the Taser was sufficient to get suspects to comply with police in 48 of 58 incidents.
The Tasers were activated a total of 16 times in 10 incidents, with each pull of the Taser’s trigger considered an activation, regardless of the effectiveness of the activation on the suspect, the report said.
Zimmer explained that the six-month-update data were not analyzed, so it remains unknown if 10 incidents of Taser activation is low, average or high for a city of Eugene’s size and demographic make-up.
Following recommendations by the ACLU, Eugene police Chief Robert Lehner decided to limit the number of activations an officer can deploy on a suspect to three, Miller said. Miller also noted that such a policy is not found in many other departments across the country.
Despite the activation limitations, Syrett said the ACLU considers EPD’s Taser policy to be too broad. According to Syrett, the ACLU of Oregon believes Tasers should be used as “the step before the gun.” The current policy allows officers to use Tasers to take suspects into custody at times when deadly force would not be justified, Syrett said.
Syrett also explained that the vast majority of research on Tasers is done by Taser International itself. Syrett said the ACLU cannot find any substantial body of independent research on Tasers, which is a major concern for the organization.
In regards to the University, the Department of Public Safety Director and Chief Kevin Williams said in February he would like to see his officers equipped with Tasers, which created substantial controversy among students. Last year’s ASUO Senate reacted by passing a resolution against the possible addition of Tasers to DPS officers.
Williams said no such policy exists or is being formulated: “UO DPS does not have Tasers, and there is no active discussion regarding Tasers for purchase, use, deployment, training or possession by any UO DPS staff.”
ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz said he supports the current DPS structure, but if the issue of Tasers for DPS officers is brought up again, he would listen to DPS and student positions and concerns about the issue. Dotters-Katz said last year DPS was “demonized” for expressing a desire for Tasers, and said he believes DPS has the best intentions in mind for students. “Their mission is to protect students, but we have to be fair and allow them to protect themselves,” Dotters-Katz said. Dotters-Katz ran on a platform opposing the use of Tasers.
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