Eugene police may use grant to buy Tasers.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

The Eugene Police Department has won a $68,000 federal grant, the bulk of which is earmarked for the purchase of dozens of Taser stun-guns for city police officers.

Although the department has had the money for about a month, administrators are waiting before buying the controversial stun guns.

"We'd like to get them," Eugene police Capt. Steve Swenson said.

But, he said, "there are an awful lot of issues floating around out there. We're still studying them and hoping to come up with a conclusion on whether to move forward with that.

"There have been enough deaths and things like that that we want to make sure we're not taking on a problem," he said. "We have nothing to lose by waiting for more information."

Police agencies across the country have reported dramatic drops in deadly force incidents and injuries after implementing Tasers.

The devices reduce injuries and save lives because they allow officers to deal with violent people without resorting to deadly force or putting themselves in harm's way, according to Arizona-based manufacturer Taser International. More than 6,000 police agencies in the United States and overseas use the Taser, which fires two fishhooklike probes into the clothes or skin of the unruly person. Insulated wire attaches the probes to the Taser unit. Officers can administer a 50,000-volt jolt from up to 25 feet away. The device can also be applied directly to the skin.

The person being "tased" loses muscular control and experiences excruciating pain that does not linger once the electrical pulse ends.

The company says studies have proven its product is "nonlethal" and more effective than other alternatives such as pepper spray, rubber bullets and bean-bag rounds.

But other evidence contradicts that "nonlethal" claim.

The device has been blamed for deaths across the country. Many of those who die are later found to have high levels of drugs in their systems.

Amnesty International earlier this year called for police agencies to suspend the use of Tasers until an independent medical study can determine whether they're safe. The human rights organization issued a report in November linking 74 deaths in the United States and Canada to the electroshock weapons since June 2001.

Despite the ongoing controversy, Springfield police hope to have a half-dozen stun guns by the end of the year. Junction City police have had Tasers for more than two years, and officers there have said the tools help police defuse tense situations before they get out of control.

Earlier this year the Eugene Police Department suspended plans to train and arm a handful of patrol officers to test the technology on the street.

Department brass said at the time that the agency had other priorities, and it would just as soon wait out the current controversy over the devices' safety.

However, a couple of months later, the department applied for a grant from the federal government's Justice Assistance Grant Program, which provides funds for law enforcement, prosecution, corrections and technology improvement.

The department has at least two years to spend the grant money, Swenson said.

About $12,000 will help provide support staff for the county's Public Safety Coordinating Committee, and another $6,000 will be used to replace some old fitness equipment.

The remaining $50,000 will be used to buy Tasers, which cost about $800 each. The funds will also go toward developing a policy to govern how and when officers use the electroshock devices.

Developing a quality policy will be key to ensuring the devices are used properly, Swenson said.

"There's going to have to be some good policy and some good training," he said. "There will be some serious discussions in the next few months."

Should the department go forward with the purchase, it will call on the city's police commission to help draw up the policy. That process will be public.