INVESTIGATORS TO GAIN EXTRA PROTECTION PUBLIC WORKS PERSONNEL TO GET TASERS IN 1-YEAR TRIAL.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer

Worried for their safety during late-night surveillance and arrests, a team of code enforcement investigators got permission Monday to carry Tasers despite nationwide controversy over the potentially deadly stun gun.

The Board of Public Works approved the one-year trial, giving the devices to 15 plainclothes investigators, who currently wear body armor and carry pepper spray -- a weapon they've never had to use.

Still, the investigators say they're coming in contact with tougher characters while staking out illegal dump sites and cracking down on vendors selling pirated DVDs.

After one investigator had his shirt ripped during an arrest and another received a phone threat from gangsters, the Department of Public Works decided the workers needed another level of protection.

``All of a sudden we're in a mean alley at 2 a.m. in South L.A. or in the Valley somewhere, and our guys have no protection whatsoever and they have to walk up to the person to arrest them and they have to use their people skills,'' said Bill Robertson, head of the Bureau of Street Services.

``We just think these guys deserve that extra protection out there.''

Roughly 70 security officers who monitor municipal buildings and parks carry Tasers, which send an electrical charge into a suspect and stun him into submission.

In addition, the Los Angeles Police Department plans to equip every patrol officer with a Taser small enough to wear on their utility belt.

Nevertheless, officials warned that equipping Street Services investigators with Tasers could open the city to additional liability and use-of-force lawsuits -- especially since the devices have been linked to at least 150 deaths nationwide.

With the scrutiny of Taser injuries and deaths, civil-rights attorney Stephen Yagman questioned the wisdom of giving the devices to employees who aren't sworn police officers.

``Enforcement of law and situations that might result in confrontations or violence are properly best left to police officers,'' Yagman said.

Councilman Jack Weiss said he will bring the issue to the City Council's Public Safety Committee and ask police and safety experts to weigh in on the use of Tasers by Street Services employees.

Board of Public Works Chairwoman Cynthia Ruiz also wondered whether carrying the Tasers might put investigators at a greater risk.

``Sometimes if people are carrying a weapon or what the public sees as a weapon, sometimes you bring on people who are more aggressive with you.''

Al Armijo, an investigator and vice president of Service Employees International Union, Local 347, said some investigators have concerns about liability and safety and might refuse training. Others, however, are eager to have the extra protection.

While the stun guns can reduce injuries to investigators and subjects, they do pose a risk, the chief administrative officer wrote in a memo to the Bureau of Street Services director.

``There are risks inherent to the use of electronic control devices, such as deadly force impact areas (head, neck, throat and groin) and multiple shock cycles from the device which has been associated with serious injury or death.''

The CAO's office said the bureau should follow LAPD protocol for training and concise policies to reduce liability. The city's risk managers also recommended that the Bureau of Street Services work closely with the City Attorney's Office to deal with potential legal issues on use of force.

Robertson with Street Services said the Tasers would be used only in life-threatening situations, so he hopes that -- like the pepper spray -- his investigators will never use the Tasers.

``They cannot pull that Taser until they feel there is a threat of physical, bodily harm,'' Robertson said. ``We may have one case in a million when we have to use this and it saves a life. But we don't expect a use.''

Street Services investigators receive 228 hours of training, including peace officer and safety instruction.

Investigators assigned to special task force operations have the authority to arrest suspects and the right to defend themselves, under an agreement with the LAPD.

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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