SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Sheriff disputes criticism of Taser use

BY IMRAN GHORI, The Press-Enterprise.com -

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department disputed a critical civil grand jury report on its use of Taser guns and its handling of citizen complaints in its official response.

In its annual report, released June 28, the county grand jury recommended that the Sheriff’s Department review its training and documentation of Taser use, citing three deaths of suspects in confrontations involving deputies that occurred since 2008.

The grand jury also questioned how citizen complaints were being handled, citing two cases where the Yucaipa substation did not investigate vehicle accidents involving off-duty sheriff’s deputies.

In both cases, the Sheriff’s Department disagreed with the findings and said it already has procedures in place that address the concerns raised by the grand jury. The response was filed Aug. 20 with the presiding judge of the Superior Court, said Jodi Miller, sheriff’s spokeswoman.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to approve its response to other findings in the report at its Tuesday, Sept. 10, meeting.
In its report on Taser use, the grand jury noted that the three suspects died after multiple Taser exposures and expressed concern that deputies might be unaware how many times a suspect has been shocked.

The district attorney's office found the use of force was justified in all three incidents.

Tasers, used by many law enforcement agencies nationwide, deliver an incapacitating electro-shock through dart-like electrodes that remain attached to the gun by a wire. They usually are quiet when discharged directly into a suspect's body. That means deputies must rely on their observation of the suspect to determine whether the Taser worked.

The grand jury recommended that the senior deputy at the scene keep track of Taser exposures and that deputies get increased training, including better means of identifying when a discharge is effective.

In its response, the Sheriff’s Department stated that it was impractical to assign someone to track Taser exposures during a confrontation and it “could reduce tactical focus, jeopardizing the safety of the deputies and the public.” Deputies already provide verbal warnings before using a Taser, the response stated.

Sheriff’s officials also said that deputies already receive training on how to determine whether a Taser has been effective. Their training includes videos, presentations and live drills, in which many deputies voluntarily receive Taser charges to get first-hand knowledge of the weapon’s effects on the human body.

In its response to the report on citizen complaints, the department disagreed that it did not follow its own policies in the incidents involving the Yucaipa station. They were investigated as criminal complaints and forwarded to the district attorney’s office, which declined to file charges, the response stated.

Sheriff’s stations have procedures in place to accept complaints that are tracked in a log, the response states.

Miller said anyone with a complaint is referred to a supervising officer who will discuss the issue and attempt to resolve it. If someone wants to file a complaint, they are provided with a form.

Complaints are either investigated at the station level or – depending on how serious they are – referred to the internal affairs division, Miller said.