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 Los Angeles police on Tuesday ordered 3,000 new Tasers as part of
a program that Chief Charlie Beck said would protect officers as
well as members of the community at a time of mounting concern about
excessive force by U.S. law enforcement.
The new digital Taser X26P weapons record the date, time and
duration of firing, and whether Taser wires actually strike suspects
and how long the thousands of volts of electricity pulse through
them.
“This technology gives a much better picture of what happens in the
field,” said Steve Tuttle, spokesman for the Scottsdale,
Arizona-based Taser International Inc.
At a time of nationwide protests over officer killings of unarmed
black men, supporters of the new technology say cameras can help
resolve officer misconduct cases when there is conflicting evidence.
 People across the country have been protesting the killings of
unarmed black men by U.S. police. In Missouri last year, a grand
jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson, after
witnesses gave varied accounts of an incident in which he fatally
shot unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson. In New York City,
a grand jury declined to indict a white officer in the death of Eric
Garner, an unarmed black man who was placed in a chokehold.
In Los Angeles, questions linger over the circumstances of the
August death of Ezell Ford, an unarmed black man who was shot three
times by two police officers during a scuffle. An autopsy showed
that one bullet hit Ford in the back.
In addition to the Tasers, the LAPD plans to issue body cameras to
its officers to record interactions with the public. The next
generation of Tasers will be capable of automatically turning on
cameras, but the LAPD has not ordered those, the company said.
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In December, L.A. officials announced a plan to equip 7,000 street
cops with Taser's body cameras. With nearly 10,000 officers, the
LAPD is the third-largest municipal U.S. police department, after
New York City and Chicago.
"The Los Angeles Police Department is committed to implementing
safety measures to reduce the risk of injuries to both our officers
and the members of our community, while improving trust within our
communities," Police Chief Charlie Beck said in a statement. "In
addition to these new Taser deployments, we plan to issue a
body-worn camera and a Taser device to every officer. It is our goal
to make these important tools available to every front line officer
over the next few years."
(Editing by Sharon Bernstein and David Gregorio)
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