Police Taser Implementation Update Work SessionCopyrighted
October 3, 2022
City of Dubuque Work Session - Top # 01.
City Council Meeting
ITEM TITLE: 5:30 PM - Police Taser Implementation Update
SUMMARY: Police Chief Jeremy Jensen, Assistant Police Chief Joe Messerich, and
Police Captain Brad Shannon will be presenting on the Police
Department taser implementation.
SUGGESTED
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Police Taser Implementation-MVM Memo City Manager Memo
Taser Implementation Update - Work Session Staff Memo
Presentation Supporting Documentation
THE C
DUjIBQTE
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Taser Implementation Update - Work Session
DATE: September 29, 2022
Dubuque
WAWca 914
ii
2007-2012.2013
2017*2019
Chief of Police Jeremy Jensen is providing information for the Taser Implementation
Update Work Session.
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Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:sv
Attachment
CC' Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Jeremy Jensen, Chief of Police
THE CITY OF
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Masterpiece on the Mississippi
Dubuque
All•Amerlo Cily
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II 11. ►
2007-2012.2013
2017*2019
TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Jeremy Jensen, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Taser Implementation Update —Work Session
DATE: September 28, 2022
At the October 3, 2022 Work Session at 5:30 p.m., Police Chief Jeremy Jensen,
Assistant Chief Joe Messerich and Captain Brad Shannon from the Dubuque Police
Department will be presenting on the police department Taser implementation.
Dubuque Police Department TASER
Implementation Work Session
Chief Jeremy Jensen
Assistant Chief Joe Messerich
Captain Brad Shannon
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TASER - Why?
• Council Priority (less lethal options).
• Additional less -lethal option for our officers.
• A tool to help reduce officer injuries.
• A tool to help reduce offender injuries.
• A conducted electrical
weapon (CEW) is a less -
lethal weapon that delivers
an electrical current that
interferes with the body's
neuromuscular system,
temporarily incapacitating a
person.
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TASER — How It Works
• TASERs use compressed nitrogen to fire
two barbed probes, sometimes called
darts, at resistive subjects. Electricity
(50,000 volts) travels along thin wires
attached to the probes.
• The electrical current then passes through
the resistive suspect's body between the
two probes. Ideally, this causes Neuro-
Muscular Incapacitation (NMI), a term used
to describe the immobilizing effect that
occurs from uncontrollable muscle
contractions.
Offender Injury Reduction
• The clear benefit to a TASER is the ability for an officer to resolve
some dangerous incidents without the use of deadly force.
• A less talked about benefit is the ability to take a highly resistive
offender into custody without causing significant injury to the
offender or the officer.
• Or the possibility of de-escalating the situation all together by
the display of a warning arc.
Offender Injury Reduction
• Prior to TASERs. DPD officers had the following force options available to them:
• Bodily force (strength, pushes, strikes, kicks, etc.),
• Pepper spray/pepper ball,
• Striking instruments (batons),
• Chemical munitions (tear gas),
• Impact munitions (beanbag rounds, rubber balls, direct fire pepper balls, and foam rounds),
• Deadly force (firearms).
• Most of these options, except for pepper spray (and similar chemical munitions) have a higher
propensity for causing offender injury than a TASER.
• DPD's most used force option is by far the use of bodily force.
• There were 316 Use of Force reports filed by DPD officers in calendar year 2020. Of those
reports, 212 (67%) documented bodily force.
• There were 392 Use of Force reports filed in 2021, 263 (67%) documented bodily force.
Offender Injury Reduction
• A National Institute of Justice (NIJ) analysis of 25,000 use of force incidents from 12
large local law enforcement agencies found:
• "The use of physical force (hands, feet, fists) by officers increased the odds of
injury to officers and suspects alike."
• "Pepper spray and CED use decreased the likelihood of suspect injury by 65 and
70 percent respectively"
• In Miami -Dade, one of the largest agencies in the study, the odds of a suspect
being injured were almost 90 percent lower when a CED was used than when it
was not.
• Alpert, G., Smith, M., Kaminski, R., Fridell, L., McDonald, J., & Kubu, B. (2011). NIJ Research in Brief.• Police Use
of Force, Tasers and Other Less -Lethal Weapons. Washington DC: US Department of Justice/National Institute
of Justice.
Officer Injury Reduction — Local Case
• In 2016, Dubuque Police officers responded to a male and female disturbance. The
officers arrived and encountered the male who was uncooperative and physically
resistive. The male fought with officers when they tried to arrest him, punching one of
the officers in the head. It took four officers to subdue the offender after he was
pepper -sprayed. One of the officers injured his shoulder during the struggle.
• The officer would later be diagnosed with a torn labrum which required surgery to
repair.
• The total amount paid on the medical claim was $17,438.22.
• The injury resulted in 75 lost days (missed workdays) and 82 restricted days (light
duty). Pay and benefits accrued during the lost days amounted to approximately
$35,937.
• The total cost of this injury, not counting any overtime to backfill the officer's
absence from his shift, was approximately 53 375.22.
Officer Injury Reduction
• A 2010 NIJ-funded study found a reduction in officer injuries in two large US police departments,
Orlando, FL and Austin, TX, after their TASER program was implemented. The final report to the NIJ
states the following:
• 'After the Taser was adopted as a less lethal alternative for patrol officers in Orlando, the rate of
injury to suspects dropped by more than 50 percent compared to the rate of injury before the
Taser was put to use. In Austin, suspect injury rates were 30 percent lower after full-scale
deployment of the Taser than they were in the pre -deployment period."
• "Reductions in officer injury rates were even greater in Orlando than for suspects; the average
monthly rate of injury to officers dropped by 60 percent after the Taser was adopted. In Austin,
injuries to officers also dropped — by 25 percent — after the Taser was deployed agency -wide..." .
• Smith, M. R., Kaminski, R.J., Fridell, L. A., MacDonald, J., Alpert, G., & Kubu, B. (2010). A Mult-Method
Evaluation Of Police Use Of Force Outcomes: Final Report To The National Institute Of Justice. Washington D.C.:
National Criminal Justice Reference Service.
Ensuring Proper Use
• Policy
• DPD is a CALEA accredited agency.
• Our accreditation manager reached out to several CALEA accredided
agency's and requested their policies.
• We drafted our policy using those policies as a guide and input from our
instructor group.
• Training
• Supervision
• All displays and deployments of a TASER require a Use of Force Report.
• The Use of Force Report is reviewed by the immediate supervisor and the
Professional Standards Captain.
TASER Training — Roll Out
• Initial Instructor Training
• 10 officers with the Dubuque Police Department were trained by a
Master Taser Instructor on July 5th during which time they received
Instructor Certification.
• These instructors were responsible for training the department
• Departmental TASER training.
• Conducted in July and August.
• 93 Officers have been trained and certified to date.
TASER Certification
• User certification is valid for a calendar year
• There are two levels of user certification (Basic & De-escalation). DPD trained
and certified at the highest level.
• Minimum of 6 hours of instruction
• DPD officers were given a full day of training.
• Pass written examination with a minimum score of 90%
• Pass functional test (successfully deploying a total of 4 cartridges into the
preferred target area of a stationary target)
• Scenario based training requirements include having the student successfully
deploy cartridges during the scenario, while striking the preferred target area
Departmental Training Outline
• Power point presentation (covers basic nomenclature of the Taser and general
introductory information)
• Voluntary exposures (safety plan implemented)
• 39 voluntary exposures
• Reasons/benefits of exposure
• Final written exam
• Belt and vest set-up
• Practice drawing Taser from holster
• Review DPD Policy 4.2.2 Conducted Energy Weapon (key points emphasized)
• Review DPD Policy 4.2 Use of Force (Taser is considered a less lethal use of force and
falls into a level of force with OC Spray)
Live Target Drills
• Deploying close quarters and standoff cartridges at a stationary
conductive target.
• Officers required to demonstrate proficiency with deploying the
Taser at various distances, while stationary and moving.
• This includes providing verbal commands.
Scenario Training
• Officers would elevate their heart rate by completing
exercises (run, jumping jacks).
• Complete 5 scenarios that involve a range of force
options (De-escalation to deadly force) while a role
player is wearing a Taser training suit.
On -Going Training
• Patrol line-up training
• Departmental firearms training (September -October)
• Departmental Use of Force training.
• Use of Force Decision making.
• Developing holistic Use of Force training.
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