Connecticut recently became the first state in the nation to require its police officers to file a report after using an electronic stun-gun or “Taser.” The first year of that data is now in -- and it says Tasers are used more frequently on minority suspects.
Last year, police officers reported 610 individuals were involved in Taser incidents -- that's where a suspect was either stunned, or threatened, by a Taser.
In a report released today by the state, those statistics show police used Tasers more in interactions with minority suspects than they did with whites. The data also indicate Hispanic and black men were more likely to be shocked with a Taser versus just warned.
"White individuals where much more likely to be warned and not tased," said Ken Barone, one of the report's co-authors. "Hispanic and, in particular, black individuals involved in Taser incidents were much more likely to be tased and not warned."
Barone said nearly all individuals tased were men. "The vast majority of them were unarmed," Barone said.
"Over 200 of the 600 people involved in Taser incidents were described as emotionally disturbed or suicidal," Barone added."And I think we've got to do a better job understanding those situations."
"White individuals where much more likely to be warned and not tased. Hispanic and, in particular, black individuals involved in Taser incidents were much more likely to be tased and not warned."
Ken Barone
Barone said one way to better understand is to tighten state reporting requirements -- mandating officers file paperwork they're already filling out in their departments -- like use of force or case incident reports -- alongside the one-page Taser use summaries.
"Not as way to second guess [officers] -- we're not here to say whether it was justified or not justified -- that's not our job," Barone said. "But just to provide more context, and also, for us to better understand -- are these tools effective? Are they an effective tool in dealing with emotionally disturbed people?"
In 2015, there were approximately 100,000 arrests and 600,000 traffic stops. According to the report, less than one percent of those cases involved the use of Tasers by police officers.
According to the state ACLU, since 2005, 18 people have died after being tased by Connecticut police.
