Do people go unconscious when hit with a Taser?

There has been extensive research in the development of the Taser, and in my opinion it is by far one of the best tools police have in dealing with aggressive behavior.  That said, I can only relate what my experience has been and what I have read. 

We often see Hollywood using the Taser or Stun Gun in various movie situations.  Often, we see a Taser deployed against someone and the person goes to the ground unconscious.  Even though this scenario makes it easy for a movie director to complete a particular scene, in reality it does not happen.  The only way someone will end of unconscious from a Taser is if they happen to fall and strike their head on some object causing the black out. 

I have had the Taser activated on me at least three times during training simulations.  The effects of the Taser only last as long as the trigger is depressed.  The total length of time is 5 seconds. It shuts down immediately upon completion of the 5 second cycle.  You have to depress the trigger a second time to start a new 5 second cycle. 

The effect of the Taser is the total and complete disruption of the electrical/muscular system of the entire body.  This causes the body to tense up and the person experiences a pulsating sensation to the muscle system.  Once the cycle completes the sensation immediately stops.  The only sensation that I had after being hit with the Taser is similar to a weight lifting work out.  All of the large muscle groups feel pumped up. 

The Taser is by far the most useful and effective tool we have to use against aggressive or non-compliant behavior.  For most departments, its use is authorized at the beginning of the Use of Force Continuum and it is classified as a non-lethal option. 

In my experience of deploying a Taser against someone, most do not want a second round.  Those who choose to continue in the aggressive behavior and get a second dose rarely need a third. The last person I witnessed getting "Tased" was a real hard case who was wanted for rape and several other felony offenses.  He went down and cried like a baby after being hit with the Taser.  It only took one cycle to get his attention and compliance.  He was taken into custody without anyone being hurt. 

Preparing for Winter

I was following a vehicle the other day while on patrol.  All of a sudden the right rear tire of the car blew out causing the vehicle to swerve back and forth in the roadway.  The driver was able to  bring the vehicle back under control and then slowly pull to the berm.  I pulled in behind to check if the driver needed assistance.  She was obviously a little jittery after nearly crashing her car.  I asked her if she had the tools needed to change a tire.  She did not know if the tire changing tools were in the car or where they were located. 

I was able to locate the equipment and change the tire.  I asked the driver if she knew how to change a tire.  She did not.  I then asked her to pay attention and showed her the process of changing the tire.  How to use the jack, how to make sure the emergency brake was on, how to break the lug nuts free, and then how to put the tire on and secure it back with the lug nuts. 

She said thank you and hurried off to her child's soccer game.  It occurred to me that many drivers do not know how to take care of the basic needs of traveling.  I hope that most men are capable of changing a tire.  I know that a lot of woman are also able to take on the challenge.  We are entering the rough driving season and I thought it would be good idea to review the basics of safe traveling during the winter months.

Things to do.

Get your vehicle serviced.  Top off all fluids.
Check your tires for wear
Make sure you know how to use the tire changing equipment
Make sure you have a spare
Either buy or put together a vehicle emergency kit
     Flares                   Jumper Cables
     Blanket                 Flashlight
     Air Pump              Duck Tape
     Hand warmers      WD-40
     First Aid kit          Extra Fuses
     Bottled Water       Small Shovel
     Energy Bars

You can add to this list based upon your needs.  If you have kids you may want to include a few games for entertainment. 

Remember that if you get stuck in the snow you will have to make sure the tail pipe is free from obstruction.  If not, the CO2 will seep into the car.  If you think you will be stuck for a long time, ration the gas by turning the engine on, as needed.  Get everyone together and use body heat to keep everyone warm. 

There are a lot of things that can happen on the road.  You can't prepare for everything.  If you take the time to prepare for winter by adding a few emergency supplies you may just get through a tough situation.

Do police pull drivers over for texting while driving?

Good question. Some states have passed laws related to driving and texting which allows officers to take enforcement action. Ohio has not passed any specific to texting. Presently in Ohio an officer can pull you over for erratic driving or weaving in the lane, which often occurs when people are not paying attention to their driving. There are many citable offenses caused be texting. Often the erratic driving is what gets the officer's attention and once the vehicle is stopped the officer learns why. Then comes the lecture and a possible citation.

Do Police Departments Have Ticket Quotas?

This is a question that I hear every once in a while.  While I am not aware of any department in my area having citation quotas, I cannot say with certainty that all departments do not. 

I do know that most departments leave the decision up to the officer when it comes to citation writing.  It is one area of policing that the officer has descretion. 

Most departments do periodic evaluations of officers.  As part of that evaluation, there is usually a part defined as "Self Initiated Work"  This is the area that supervisors critique to determine if the officer is activily involved in his/hers daily duties.  Is the officer making arrests?  Is the officer doing secruity checks?  Is the officer activily involved in enforcing traffic laws?  These and many others are topics for discussion and evaluation of the officers daily routine. 

The best answer to this question that I have heard from a police officer is, Yes, we are allowed to write as many as we want. 

As a rule of thumb I wrote citations for about 30% of the people I stopped.  I believe that our job as police officers is to deter, and if our presence or a warning is sufficient then a citaiton is not necessary.

A word of caution. Those that think it is safe to go 10 miles per hour above the speed may want to rethink that rule of thumb.  With the economy in the tank and revenues down, many departments have increased citation writing as a means to increase revenues, so be careful out there and drive safely.

Beware of The Courteous Driver

The title of this post may sound a bit negative.  There is nothing wrong with being a courteous and defensive driver.  However there are times when courtesy has superseded the rules of the road, resulting in the disruption of the rhythmic flow of traffic for which laws were designed to regulate. 

How many times have you been driving down the road following a vehicle in front of yours?  The road appears clear ahead.  The traffic is not heavy, it is flowing in all directions without major issues.  There is a road or lane off to the left ahead.  A car is waiting at the intersection to make a left turn.  All of a sudden the car in front of you hits the brakes, slows or comes to a stop and motions to the other driver to pull out and make a left turn.  The car in front of you then proceeds to go forward again.  If you were driving along and if you had not been paying attention to the flow of traffic you may have ended up crashing into he rear end of the vehicle in front of you because there was no noticeable reason for him to stop. 

I have seen this all to often.  I have been at an intersection waiting to make a left turn, and the driver of the vehicle that was turning left into the street I was pulling out of is motioning for me to make the left turn before he makes his.  This could be a courteous act or it could lead to catastrophe.  If you are not watching traffic and take his waving you out as a signal that it is safe to make the turn, you could very well be pulling out into the path of a vehicle that you did not see. 

The bottom line is that the traffic laws were made to ensure safe movement of traffic.  For some reason drivers seem to think it is good thing to disrupt the normal flow of traffic to be courteous.  I often have drivers try to flag me out, or let me pull out in front of them when they have the right of way.  I always motion for them to move on or make their turn.  I would rather wait and make sure that my turn is done safely and within the law.  That way I reduce the chance of an accident resulting from an act of kindness.

If you have had a similar experience, please write and let me know how you handled it.

Let's Get Started

Throughout my career I have had many people ask me questions about police work and law enforcement in general.  Judging from the number of police shows on TV, there is tremendous interest in what we do.  Although I have spent nearly half my life as a police officer, I am not an expert on every aspect of law enforcement.  My career spans many areas of law enforcement.  I began my career working in a county jail. I worked on the road patrol and in a detective division of a Sheriff''s Office. I also worked as a County Coroner Medico-Legal Death Investigator, known in the TV world as a CSI investigator.  In 1990 I was hired as a Assistant Chief of Police and Detective Captain until the summer of 2008, at which time I took a leave of absence to work for the State Department training police in Iraq.  I am now back at my department working on my last year for retirement.  I am also a member of a Regional SWAT team.

I wanted to start this blog as a means for people to ask questions and to obtain answers to questions they  have about policing and about issues they have with those in my profession.  I will also use this blog to offer some interesting things that I believe are important to share. 

I will begin this blog with a story that illustrates some of the issues that we as police officers deal with almost everyday.

It is my opinion, and I could be wrong, the general public has lost some very basic rules of the road skills.  I say this because I see motorist doing things that really disrupt the general and orderly flow of traffic.  I can illustrate one problem with the following story.

I came upon an intersection with a car sitting at the light with its left turn signal on.  I watched as three cycles of the light went from green to yellow and then to red.  During those cycles, the car did not move into the intersection to make the left turn.  I finally turned on my overhead lights, got out of my cruiser and walked up to the driver.  I politely asked the driver is there was another color that I could put up in the light that would encourage her to make the left turn.  She stated that she could not make the turn because cars that kept coming straight through the intersection, and the light turned red before she could turn.  I explained to her that she would be sitting there all day, unless she took possession of the intersection.  She looked at me with that "deer in the headlight" gaze.  She did not know what the heck I was talking about.  So I explained that she had to move to the center of the intersection and wait until the light turned red.  After the light turned red she could safely make her left turn before the crossing traffic could move.  When the next light turned green I walked out into the intersection and motioned her to the middle and then held up my hand for her to stop.  I then told her "as soon as the light turns red, make your left turn."

For some reason, people have forgotten how to take possession of the intersection in order to make left turns.  They sit at the cross walk line, cycle after cycle.  Unless they have an arrow directing them when to turn, they are completely lost. 

This is just one example if various issues police deal with daily, and I have thousands to talk about.  So get ready for a ride that should be informative, fun, interesting and sometimes sad, as we explore the world of law enforcement.