SALISBURY — Another less-than-lethal device could be added to the Salisbury Police Department’s (SPD) force continuum.
A 12-month pilot program for Electronic Control Devices (ECD) was discussed by the City Council Monday and will move to a vote at the next legislative session.
The pilot program calls for nine ECD devices to be deployed in the field. Funding for the program would come from money generated by city speed cameras with $12,500 requested at this time.
“The benefit of this technology is such that police officers will have a use of force tool to gain offender compliance without having to put hands on the offender which risks injury to the police officer as well as workman compensation claims,” said wrote Major David Meienschein, who serves as Administrative Commander.
The results seen in other parts of the country have been stellar, according to SPD Chief Barbara Duncan. As seen by data provided by Taser International, agencies using such a device have seen major drops in officer injuries, between 23 and 80 percent. Reduction in suspect injury was also impressive, usually between 8 and 90 percent.
Duncan told the council that most of her officers are injured during the initial confrontation with a suspect, which is the period when an ECD would be deployed.
“As you can see, I think it’s fairly obvious that most of our injuries to our personnel occur in that confrontation phase,” she said.
SPD is looking at two possible sources for their devices: Taser and a much newer company called Carbon Arms.
“The interesting thing about Carbon Arms is that they’ve had no deaths attributed to their weapon,” Duncan said.
Carbon Arms ECDs are also much cheaper, coming in at $599 per unit compared to $999 with Taser, with a total pilot cost of $9,500 and $17,000, respectively. The pilot program would include the devices, supplies and video recording devices that will be attached to each unit.
While Carbon Arms has a lot of positives, Taser is the biggest name in the business and has established itself over more than two decades. Duncan said her department would weigh both options carefully before picking a provider.
ECDs have a lot of potential to improve law enforcement’s ability to defuse situations in a non-lethal fashion. Council President Jake Day put his support behind the program.
“I’ll state from my perspective that this sounds like an incredibly useful tool,” he said.
Being tagged “less-than-lethal” doesn’t make an ECD risk free, however. Councilmember Shanie Shields worried about the use of devices on those with medical conditions.
“These mothers and families are going to call me when we Taser their children,” she said.
Shields wanted to make sure that any use of an ECD ends with the target being carefully monitored and express concerns about their use in schools.
In regards to monitoring those subdued electronically, Duncan promised that SPD will be following all of the established protocols and looking to form their own. Negative incidents with ECDs in other areas have usually been due to “policy failure,” she continued.
“We’re trying to alleviate harm and reduce our liability,” said Duncan. “We’re not trying to incur additional expenses for the city.”
SPD did reach out to the city’s insurance provider but they weren’t willing to offer an opinion either way on the less-than-lethal devices. As for Shields’ concerns for ECDs being used in schools, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office has already has already forged that path and SPD would follow its policies.