ASUW Senate endorses UWPD taser policy

The ASUW Senate passed a resolution Tuesday supporting the taser policy of the University of Washington Police Department (UWPD).

[HTML_REMOVED]

A Resolution in Support of the UWPD Taser Policy

[HTML_REMOVED][HTML_REMOVED]http://senate.asuw.org/legislation/13/R/R-13-14.html[HTML_REMOVED]

• Passed by voice vote Tuesday

[HTML_REMOVED]

"This isn't just a pat on the back for the UWPD," freshman Ehsan Aleaziz said.

Aleaziz is an RHSA senator-at-large who proposed the resolution.

"One thing this resolution does is commend the UWPD, while at the same time establishing some key positions so that if the UWPD ever tries to change the policy, we'll have the power to lobby to change that," he said.

The resolution condemns the use of tasers against non-combative persons and commends the UWPD's policy for falling within those guidelines.

Critics of the resolution voiced the concern that this was a direct response to media fodder.

The resolution cites an incident at the UCLA library in which a non-combative student, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, was repeatedly tasered by the campus police for not leaving and passively resisting escort.

The video of the incident has been passed around YouTube and has seen some press coverage.

"Just because this involves something that's been covered by the media, [it] doesn't mean this isn't an important issue," said Austin Young, RHSA Terry-Lander Hall Council senator.

These sentiments were echoed as the resolution passed overwhelmingly by a voice vote on Tuesday.

"The policy basically, over several pages, says you can only use it on someone who is actively resisting or fighting you," said Ray Wittmier, assistant police chief of the UWPD. "If someone is doing a sit-in somewhere, we're not going to tase them to get them to move. If someone is running away and not hurting anyone, we wouldn't use a taser."

Only certain situations warrant the use of a taser.

"Struggling with officers or actively injuring someone else would be a situation that would be an appropriate situation to use a taser," Wittmier said.

In 2006, there were only three incidents of taser usage by the UWPD: an auto theft suspect, an on-campus student disturbance and one at the request of the Department of Fish and Wildlife in response to a stray bear near Ravenna.

Tasers, or Conducted Energy Devices, operate by creating a closed circuit and administering a charge that disrupts the central nervous system.

"It renders the suspect incapable of moving, Wittmier said. "Typically [it] usually drops them to the floor or the ground so they can be taken under control."

In the two incidents that involved humans last year, the duration of the charge never lasted longer than eight seconds.

In the incident at UCLA, police tasered Tabatabainejad multiple times.

"I thought it was pretty disgraceful," Aleaziz said. "A college campus is somewhere you should feel safe, not somewhere you think the police are going to assault you with a painful weapon."

Aleaziz noted that the reason Tabatabainejad refused to leave the library was because he felt he was being racially profiled by the library staff, who are required to check ID, but only of certain people in the library.

"I think it's also important to recognize the libraries [HTML_REMOVED] when you choose who to ID you [HTML_REMOVED] leave the door open to subconscious prejudice, and that's what happened at UCLA," Aleaziz said. "That couldn't really happen at UW. Our librarians ID everybody and that's really important."

Aleaziz praised the UWPD for its progressive and responsible policy. The policy reflects the safety of the suspects in addition to the police, he said.

"It reduces their likelihood of being injured," Wittmier said. "If you get in a fight situation where you struggling with a 250 [pound] male, there's a high likelihood that you'll get injured or pull a muscle and that could put you out of commission for weeks or months."

Reach reporter Kass Bessert at news@thedaily.washington.edu.

[HTML_REMOVED] [HTML_REMOVED]

[HTML_REMOVED]The UWPD uses the Taser X26 model, as opposed to the larger Taser M26, which requires an attachment to the leg.

[HTML_REMOVED][HTML_REMOVED]Use of force continuum for the UWPD:[HTML_REMOVED]

[HTML_REMOVED][HTML_REMOVED]Level One[HTML_REMOVED]: Officer presence (most common)

[HTML_REMOVED]Level Two[HTML_REMOVED]: Verbal commands, some physical guiding

[HTML_REMOVED]Level Three[HTML_REMOVED]: Pain compliance, counter joint techniques, OC Spray (pepper spray)

[HTML_REMOVED]Level Four[HTML_REMOVED]: Taser, impact weapon (baton) strikes

[HTML_REMOVED]Level Five[HTML_REMOVED]: Handgun, shotgun