Police in Washington, D.C., have long been denied the use of tasers while in the streets, but after a video showing at least six officers beating an uncooperative man believed to be high on PCP, top brass reversed the policy.
Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced the new policy Tuesday after several police officers were injured trying to wrestle the man to the ground, FOX 5 reports.
The video of the incident shows two police officers struggling to subdue a man who they believe was high on PCP. Once on the ground, the two officers punch and elbow the man, Eric Jones, 34, several times before backup arrives.
It took at least six officers to eventually handcuff Jones and half of those officers required medical treatment after the incident.
As a result of the force needed to arrest Jones, Lanier told FOX 5 she would give tasers to sergeants in the field “so that they have some alternatives.”
Members of the D.C. Police Union, though, say issuing tasers to supervisors won’t make much of a difference to officers responding directly to calls for help.
Gregg Pemberton, a spokesman for the union, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that, while sergeants are front line supervisors, they still have to fulfill many administrative duties that take up a lot of time and keep them behind a desk.
“This means they are much less likely to respond directly to a scene where a taser could be an effective tool in stopping an escalating situation,” he said in an email. “If there are no plans to eventually issue them to officers, I believe it’s another half-hearted attempt by management to appear progressive and in-line with more cutting edge agencies.
Across the country, more than 80 percent of police departments issue tasers to officers, according to data from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, the MPD was one of just four police departments in cities with populations higher than 250,000 that does not issue tasers.
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