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State lawmakers are advancing a bill that would provide the first step in allowing police officers to use electric guns, commonly known as stun guns or tasers. Bill takes first step
toward HPD stun-gun useBy Lisa Asato
Star-BulletinHouse Bill 1211 H.D. 1 would allow law enforcers to study the effectiveness of the tasers, which are illegal in Hawaii.
The Senate Judiciary Committee today was to hear the bill, which has already won unanimous approval on the House floor.
"It's a less lethal approach to a lethal situation," said Maj. Louis Souza of the HPD legislative liaison office.
The measure would move the HPD closer to expanding its nonlethal arsenal, a high priority of Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue. Last year, the department began training sergeants and patrol officers in the use of beanbag shotguns, another nonlethal weapon.
Souza said the HPD is looking to study the AIR taser, which discharges 50,000 volts for up to 30 seconds, providing "enough (immobilization) time to cuff the person."
Joe Waldron, executive director of a gun-rights group that lobbies at the national level, said much attention is being paid to nonlethal weapons. Seattle police also are examining the use of stun guns, said Waldron, of the Bellevue, Wash.-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
"They are useful in certain circumstances," but they are not a panacea, he said. He pointed to Saturday's accidental shooting in Sacramento, Calif., where a police officer shot a man in the buttocks after grabbing his pistol rather than his taser.
Many times, police officers carry both their guns and tasers in holsters, causing confusion between the two, he said.
The Hawaii measure would allow each county police department to incorporate, at most, three stun guns in its study. The study would probably involve assigning the tasers to field sergeants, who would then assist patrol officers in times of need, Souza said.
Other states that restrict the use of stun guns include Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, according to Security 1st, an online marketer of self-defense products.
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