http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/feb/13/investigative-work-tasers-unt-journalism-students-/
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2515398&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
I wish it was my job to make up stupid rules for other people to deal with in addition to performing their regular jobs. Sigh... I guess I need to run for office. I wonder if this bill can be amended to require extra training for lawmakers before they are allowed use new legislation to inflict pain on us?
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2515398&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Investigative work on Tasers by UNT journalism students reaches Austin
By Pegasus News wire
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Last year, students in UNT's Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism investigated and published stories about law enforcement’s use of Tasers, or stun guns.
Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) recently filed legislation (HB 418) that proposes limiting police officers’ use of Tasers, and Burnam says the work of UNT students helped him prepare the proposal. State lawmakers are expected to address the issue during this legislative session.
“The work of the students at UNT to compile information from around the state about Tasers was extremely helpful to me in preparing the legislation I filed to limit Taser usage,” Burnam said. “I am working on several more bills surrounding Tasers and expect that this issue will continue to be an important one around the Capitol this session. The students at UNT deserve much credit for gathering this vital information.”
The students’ stories, which were published last spring in the Fort Worth Weekly, examined how non-lethal weapons such as Tasers have been linked to at least nine deaths in Texas.
“This effort on the part of Rep. Burnam’s office is one result of the hard investigative journalism work, led by Dan Malone, in the Mayborn Distributed Reporting Project,” says Mitch Land, director of the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism. “I can’t tell you how proud I am that our students have been involved, for several years now, in reporting projects that are fair, balanced and meaningful and that sometimes lead to positive change.”
The project was a collaborative effort with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas’ Light of Day Project, as well as with students from the University of Texas at Arlington and Tarleton State University. The students used templates created by lawyers of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas to file open records requests with all 254 sheriff’s offices in Texas and hundreds of police chiefs in the state. The documents they received about the use of non-lethal weapons and the death of prisoners in law enforcement custody were then archived at mayborninstitute.unt.edu under the “Distributed Reporting Project” page.
Reyna Gobel, who is pursuing a master’s degree in journalism, started working on the project in Fall 2005 and contributed to a story about the investigation in a March 2006 issue of the Fort Worth Weekly.
“There’s nothing that feels better than knowing you did something good — seeing an injustice and being able to bring awareness to it,” she says. “What you do as a reporter means something, and you may actually affect someone’s life, or a lot of people’s lives.”
Source: UNT
Bills Would Limit Police Use of Stun Guns
Last Edited: Tuesday, 27 Feb 2007, 4:07 PM CST
Created: Tuesday, 27 Feb 2007, 4:07 PM CST
Taser Gun / AP
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Lawmakers Aim to Curb Taser Abuse
AUSTIN --
As Texas police agencies increasingly turn to Tasers as a tool for subduing suspects, lawmakers have filed several bills that would require greater oversight of the stun guns or suspend their use.
Taser supporters say they'll fight efforts to limit Taser use. Police officials argue the stun guns give officers a safer option for subduing unruly suspects when they might otherwise have to fight or shoot someone.
"It would be a mistake to limit the alternatives that officers have to bring resolution to stressful situations," Houston police Capt. Dwayne Ready said. "It has proven to be a useful tool that saves injury to officers and to suspects."
But Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said state regulators need time to work with police to establish a statewide policy for stun guns. His HB 1304 would stop police agencies from using or buying Tasers between Jan. 1, 2008, and Jan. 1, 2009.
"We need a one-year moratorium on Tasers to ensure the public safety of our citizens," Coleman said Monday. "At times, Tasers have been used improperly by law enforcement officers to subdue individuals who do not pose a serious danger to themselves or others, including the mentally ill."
Coleman said statistics show that minorities are disproportionately the target of police Taser use. In Houston, more than 85 percent of the people shocked by officers have been minorities, according to police.
Critics also contend that stun guns haven't reduced officers' use of deadly force. The rate of suspects shot, wounded and killed by officers hasn't decreased since Houston police officers began carrying the stun guns, according to a Houston Chronicle report in January.
Democratic Rep. Lon Burnam of Fort Worth has filed numerous bills related to stun gun use.
Burnam's proposals would require police agencies to develop a Taser use policy and to report all Taser incidents. He also wants to create a statewide Taser training program, prohibit private citizens from carrying stun guns without training and a license, and require medical exams and treatment for Taser victims in necessary cases.
"It can be a great tool for law enforcement if used correctly, and that's why a statewide training program is so important," Burnam said.
Burnam has also filed a bill that would make Tasers an option only when officers would be justified in using deadly force.
Police officials said they're open to standardized policies but would fight efforts to restrict when officers can use the weapons.
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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.chron.com
I wish it was my job to make up stupid rules for other people to deal with in addition to performing their regular jobs. Sigh... I guess I need to run for office. I wonder if this bill can be amended to require extra training for lawmakers before they are allowed use new legislation to inflict pain on us?