Press release from Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office:
The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office has released a newly updated policy on Conducted Energy Devices, which are more commonly known as Tasers.
The policy reads in part:
“Deputies and detention officers should generally provide a verbal warning to an individual before deploying their TASERs unless providing a verbal warning would be reasonably likely to endanger the employee or a third party, or it is otherwise impracticable to give a warning. When given, a warning should allow the individual a reasonable opportunity to comply voluntarily. The type of warning or warnings given, or the reason/s a warning was not given, should be included in all relevant reports.”
“Our community can expect the Sheriff’s Office to continue releasing new and revised policies in the coming days and weeks and we will be sharing the full policies with the public,” says Sheriff Quentin Miller.
The Conducted Energy Devices policy mandates reporting when a Taser is discharged:
“Personnel who discharge a CED in any situation except for a training exercise shall make an oral report to their supervisor as soon as possible. This oral report is required whether or not the CED was discharged intentionally or unintentionally, or was discharged on or off duty.”
“Personnel shall follow this oral report with a written report which must be completed and provided to their supervisor before the end of shift if the discharge occurred while on duty. If the discharge occurred while off-duty, personnel shall complete this written report before beginning their next shift. A deployment includes targeting with a TASER which also requires a use of force report be completed. (See also the Use of Force policy.)
“If the discharge involves injury or death to another person, reports and statements shall be made as outlined in the Deputy-Involved Shootings and Deaths policy and/or the Use of Force policy, as applicable.”
This policy became effective on August 31st.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.