TRAINING ULLETIN. r-~i---- Battery Indicator USE OF FORCE TASER M-26

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1 TRANNG ULLETN Los Angeles Polce Department Volume XXXV, ssue 1 Bernard C. Parks, Chef of Polce January 2002 Safety Ar Cartrdge Laser Amng Devce r-~---- Battery ndcator Dataport Battery Cover Pn The TASER model M-26 s a less-lethal, conducted energy weapon that can be used to control aggressve/combatve suspects, thereby reducng the lkelhood of njury to the offcers and the suspect. The uses an Electro-Muscular Dsrupton (EMD) system, whch overrdes the Central Nervous System and takes drect control of the skeletal muscles, usually causng the suspect to fall to the ground. t s mportant for offcers to be thoroughly famlar wth the operaton of the for maxmum effectveness n controllng an aggressve/combatve suspect. Ths Tranng Bulletn wll dscuss the components, operatons and polcy pertanng to the.

2 Page 2 KEY COMPONENTS No long term effects on the suspect Electro- Contracts skeletal muscles by overrdng the central nenous system Muscular Electrcal output s 50,000 volts, wth 26-watts (0.162 amps) Dsrupton Emts TASER waves (T-waves) smlar to normal electrc sgnals n the body System Usually causes the suspect to fall to the ground (EMD) Suspect can be touched whle TASER s actvated except between or wthn 2" of the probes Effectve n water, as long as both probes ht and attach to the suspect Shaped lke a frearm, Safety n smlar locaton as the de-cocker n the Department ssued handgun Placng the safety up actvates the laser sghts Features Multple sghtng systems (laser and fn/blade sghts) Laser shows the path of the top probe Actvated for 5-seconds (automatc pulse regulaton) by pressng trgger Automatc pulse regulaton can be overrdden by placng the safety down Ntrogen flled ar cartrdge Cartrdge nserted wth ether end up Sold yellow face for tranng (15-foot range) Yellow/black strped face for feld use only (21-foot range)..l.nt-felon Tabs are marked wth the cartrdge seral number dentfcaton Releases 40 small tabs each tme the TASER s fred (AFD) Tags Gves genera/locaton of where the devce was fred Dgtal Mcro- Stores the date and tme of each actvaton Processor nformaton accessed va the dataport on rear of devce and f the dataport's rubber cover s mssng, the TASER should be taken out of Data Port servce Batteres Uses 8-AA rechargeable batteres Batteres located n the grp of devce Accessed through bottom of grp by depressng pn and sldng base forward Charge LED lght s not accurate due to use of rechargeable batteres Offcers must conduct an operatonal spark test at start of watch to determne f there s suffcent charge n the batteres Kt room responsble for chargng the batteres at least once!, every 2-weeks

3 Page 3 OPERATON AND DEPLOYMENT Never place your hand n front of or nsde the cartrdge chamber,. Vsually check to ensure there s not a cartrdge n the chamber Pont at a wall or other object away from other people Spark Check Place the safety up, actvatng the laser sght, ensurng the laser sght s (Weapon functonng properly (one dot representng the path of the top probe) nspecton) Press the trgger and lsten for rapd sparkng A one or two second test ndcates that there s adequate battery power Put the safety n the safe (down) poston and load Each tme the spark check s conducted t should be recorded on the DFAR Loadng Only the yellow/black strped faced cartrdges should be used n the feld Verfy the cartrdge s not expended and the expraton date has not past Ensure the safety s n the safe (down) poston Hold wth your prmary hand, whle wth your support hand place the cartrdge n the recever Do not allow your hand to pass n front of the cartrdge face Squeeze the buttons so the cartrdge sldes nto the recever (cartrdge wll snap n place) and place n holster for storage Holster shall only be worn on the support sde (opposte sde of the gun) Place the safety n the up poston, whch wll actvate the laser sght. Am at the suspect usng ether the laser sght or the fn and blade sghts The prmary target area s center body mass. The operator shall be wthn 21-feet of the suspect (deally from feet) Operatons Press the trgger to deploy the probes; there s an automatc 5-second electrc charge sent to the probes f the suspect's aggressve/combatve behavor contnues, the trgger can be pressed more than once to gan complance The automatc charge s overrdden by puttng the safety n the down poston Place the safety n the safe (down) poston when no longer needed Unloadng Pont towards a wall or safe drecton Grp the cartrdge makng sure your hand s not n front of the cartrdge face Depress the buttons on ether sde of the cartrdge and pull t out For use on aggressve/combatve suspects Not as effectve as deployng probes, no EMD, stuns only Use as a last resort to create separaton between the offcer and suspect Drect Stun Actvated by pressng trgger wth or wthout cartrdge n place Feature f cartrdge s n place and has not been deployed, the probes wll be deployed when the trgger s depressed Recommended locatons for drect contact stun feature are: sternum (breastbone), outsde of thgh, sde of chest (below the armpt)

4 * TASER rvl-26 Page 4 DEPARTMENT POLCY Use of Force Polcy (1/573) Only offcers traned n the use of the TASER model M-25 shall deploy t. The ~,-26 may be deployed on an aggressve/combatve suspect, when the offcer beleves: Deadly force does not appear to be justfable and/or necessary; and Attempts to subdue the suspect wth other less-lethal tactcs have been or wll lkely be neffectve n the stuaton; or There s a reasonable expectaton that t wll be unsafe for offcers to approach wthn contact range of the suspect. Offcers are remnded that a mere verbal threat of volence by a suspect does not n tself justfy the use of a TASER. ;: s mportant for offcers to verbalze wth the suspect. Contnuous verbalzaton can lead to the de-escalaton of the stuaton, thus reducng the chance of njury to the suspect or the offcers. Remember, the use of the laser sght as a deterrent s not a reportable use of force. Specal Consderatons Offcers should avod deployng the TASER when the suspect s: n control of a motor vehcle; n danger of fallng, or could be caught n machnery or heavy equpment whch could result n death or serous bodly njury; Near flammable or combustble fumes; Near a pool, lake or smlar body of water; Known to have a pacemaker, or s known to be pregnant. Deployment When an offcer beleves a stuaton requres a TASER, a TASER-equpped unt shouto be requested by askng for a "Code Tom" over the rado. f possble, offcers should have a second TASER as a back-up n case the frst one fals to operate. As n any volatle stuaton, the suspect should be contaned as soon as tactcally possble. When suffcent offcers are present they should form a Combatve Suspect Control Team and devse a tactcal plan. To reduce the chances of offcers beng struck by the probes, they should avod standng wthn range of the devce.

5 Page 5 Verbal Warnng (HRB Notce ) A verbal warnng shall be gven, when feasble, to a suspect before any devce that poses a "sgnfcant rsk of serous njury" s utlzed. The warnng s not requred when an offcer s attacked and must respond to the suspect's actons. Addtonally, f a tactcal plan requres the element of surprse n order to stablze the stuaton, a warnng wll not be gven. The verbal warnng and who gave t or the reason t was not gven shall be documented on the approprate reports. Medcal Treatment (4/648.11) Whenever the TASER s used and the probes or "stun gun" make contact wth the suspect's skn or clothes, the suspect shall be mmedately examned by a doctor or a nurse at a contract hosptal or a jal dspensary, or by a paramedc. Only medcal personnel shall remove the probes from the suspect's skn. f the suspect loses conscousness, a rescue ambulance shall be requested mmedately. Photos documentng njures or the lack of njures shall be taken. CONCLUSON The TASER model M-26 offers many features to make t an effectve weapon for subdung an aggressve/combatve suspect. The pstol-lke shape, multple sghtng systems, ncreased power, expanded range and trackng system mprove the overall effectveness of the M-26. To take full advantage of these features, t s mportant for offcers to be thoroughly famlar wth the operaton of the TASER and ts effectveness n controllng aggressve/combatve suspects. Proper use of the TASER wll greatly reduce the lkelhood of njury to both the offcer and the suspect. FELD TRANNG SERVCES UNT CONTNUNG EDUCATON DVSOf\l Dstrbuton "A"