City Police to Only Use Tasers with Timer Controls

The Fredericksburg Police Department's Office of Professional Standards has completed the internal investigation into an officer’s use of a Taser during an incident on Nov. 9, 2013.

Video of the Taser incident in downtown Fredericksburg

"The investigation concluded that the officer’s application of the Taser violated the department’s policy on the use of force and was not consistent with the training protocols in place at the Fredericksburg Police Department," said Natatia Bledsoe, public information officer with the City of Fredericksburg Police Department.

The officer has been disciplined and all patrol staff have been retrained and recertified with the Taser, Bledsoe said. 

"Approximately half of the Tasers used by the department have also been retrofitted with a control device that does not allow a charged activation of the Taser to last longer than five seconds.  Those Tasers that cannot be retrofitted due to their model specifications will be replaced by new Tasers that have the timer control already in place."

"The Taser continues to be an effective and useful tool for the safe apprehension of non-compliant suspects when less-lethal force is mandated," Bledsoe said.   

Any time an officer uses force, that officer must file a use-of-force report which is signed by the supervisor and submitted to the Office of Professional Standards for review. 

The following are the numbers for all City of Fredericksburg Police Department use-of-force reports in 2013:

• Taser - 6

• O.C. Spray - 6                               
  

• Baton - 1                                             
  

• Hands On - 4                                    
  

• Gun (animals euthanized) - 3

• Gun - 1                                                
  

Of the 21 incidents above, the use of the Taser on Nov. 9 was the only one determined to be outside of policy, Bledsoe said.  "The department averages approximately 34,000 instances per year of contact with the public requiring police intervention."