Some LR police not trained in all conflict tactics

Taser availability, use on rise, but many are still uncertified

The day Little Rock police Lt. David Hudson was asked by the department's internal investigators why he struck an intoxicated man seven times, he claimed he had no other option.

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Charts and list showing Little Rock police use of force and the officers certified in the weapons and tactics.

Untrained in the use of pepper spray or a Taser, the veteran lieutenant said he couldn't use any type of hands-on approach during the late October 2011 arrest at a Little Rock restaurant other than punches, because he hadn't been properly trained.

Nearly three years after the altercation -- a video of which went viral -- Hudson, who this month successfully appealed a 30-day suspension over the arrest, still hasn't been certified in pepper spray or Taser use.

He isn't alone.

Of the 541 officers in the department, 264 are not trained or certified to use a Taser, an electronic device that is "less than lethal."

While Tasers are mandatory for deputies in the Pulaski County sheriff's office, they have only recently become a mainstream tool for officers in the state's biggest police department.

Capable of hitting a target up to 25 feet away, the device delivers a current that can "lock up" a suspect and allow an officer to swoop in and put on handcuffs without a serious, physical struggle, said Little Rock training Capt. Ken Temple.

"The proximity you have to be in to use pepper spray -- or hard, empty-hand first strikes -- is very close [to the suspect]," Temple said. "You can deploy a Taser very safely at a distance."

In the past, department officials said that they couldn't afford the weapons, and only a select crop of supervisors were issued one.

But after three years of budgets bolstered by the success of a September 2011 sales tax increase, the number of Tasers in the department -- as well as the number of times they've been used -- has gone up.

In late 2011, the department had 25. As of Friday, it had 244, which Temple said still isn't enough to arm all of the officers trained to carry them.

"We buy about four times a year and spend about $48,000 on each order," Temple said. "As the money's available, we're aggressively buying them."

Assistant Police Chief Eric Higgins said his department values the weapons. Top commanders, including Temple, are among the officers not certified to use a Taser, but Higgins said the gap in training is the result of availability, not preference.

"Ideally every officer would be trained and have one. ... But it's a process," Higgins said.

The lack of Tasers is spread throughout the department.

While many detectives, administrative officers and other specialized officers don't use the devices, many front-line officers don't either.

Of the 264 officers not trained to use the weapons, 127 of those are patrol officers and sergeants handling potentially dangerous calls.

Gaps in training aren't limited to Tasers. There are 44 officers who are not qualified to carry a baton, 29 who can't use pepper spray, and another eight who are not certified in "ground control tactics," a program that incorporates physical takedowns, strikes and techniques that officers might need when dealing with a combative suspect.

As the department increases its number of Tasers, department officials say the number of times officers will need to use force will fall as well.

Tasers are a deterrent, Temple said, and unlike other weapons or fists, they leave minimal lasting injuries.

"It's a psychological tool. If they hear it arc, it definitely catches their attention," Temple said. "It definitely makes you re-evaluate whether you want to fight."

The numbers, according to Little Rock police, support the claim.

In 2012, an additional 100 officers were issued Tasers, and total uses of force dropped from 417 to 316.

In 2013, with another 93 Tasers issued to officers, uses of force dropped to 271.

Last year, a Taser was used 36 times, more than double the figure in each of the two previous years, while other types of force such as pepper spray and "hard, empty hand control" tactics such as punches and kicks plummeted nearly by half.

During his July 10 Civil Service Commission appeal hearing, Hudson repeated what he told investigators and was backed up by several veteran officers who testified that they, like Hudson, were never required to participate in the ground tactic training sessions they attended.

Capt. Terry Hastings, a veteran commander who attended recruit school with Hudson, testified that Hudson had no choice but to punch the suspect.

Although former Police Chief Stuart Thomas was not convinced by the arguments -- and other police commanders testified that Hudson's years of experience provided him plenty of alternatives other than coming to blows with a drunken suspect -- Hudson's arguments were enough to convince the commission.

By a 4-1 vote, the commission overturned Hudson's suspension, in part because it thought Hudson was being punished by the same people responsible for not preparing him.

The lone member who voted to sustain the suspension, Roger Ball, said the department needs to re-evaluate how it prepares its officers.

In his time on the commission, Ball said he has seen officers punished for failures to follow procedure, yet the officers are never required to train or retrain in a way to prevent a repeat of the failure.

As with the Hudson case, Ball said in an email to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that those officers often are disciplined and walk away feeling they did no wrong.

"I believe that if the violation [of policy, procedure] is significant enough to warrant a suspension, that there should be a requirement that they are trained or re-trained in that area prior to them getting back on the street and interacting with the public," Ball wrote. "I hope that both officers and the chief feel that if there is training which will enhance the performance of our officers, their safety and our citizens' safety, then the certification of that training would be a serious consideration."

Higgins declined to comment directly on Hudson's case but said that since the incident outside Ferneau in Hillcrest, the department has taken a look not just at Tasers but also at training practices.

The department's training division has focused more on real-time documentation of training certification as well as noting which officers actively participated when they did attend training sessions.

"I think we can always do better," Higgins said. "But the key thing is tracking our records of what training each person has. ... and I think we've addressed that since [the Hudson incident]."

New Police Chief Kenton Buckner declined to comment specifically on the Hudson case, but he said that consistency in training is essential. Like Higgins, however, he said that getting all officers trained in using Tasers would be a long-term process.

Metro on 07/28/2014

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