speech story

Attendees at the Use of Force Police Forum, held by local law enforcement Tuesday in the CUB Lounge, witnessed a Taser demonstration and were informed about other less lethal options of force.
“The stuff that I teach is not designed to kill, that’s why I call it less lethal,” Senior Patrol Officer of the Pullman Police Department Scott Kirk said.
Officer Kirk is the Taser instructor and Defense Technology Instructor. The human nervous system communicates with simple electronic messages. The Taser uses neuro-muscular incapacitation, or NMI, to temporarily block the signal, Kirk said. It would be like two people talking on the telephone and I tapped into the same line and began screaming, he said. The Taser temporarily incapacitates the person. This allows for the officers to have control over the person’s actions for the moment. After the volts stop there is no pain or any other effects, Kirk said. However, if a person is Tasered they may fall and hurt themselves so officers have to be careful where they Tase people, he said.
“Tasers do not kill people,” Kirk said.
Brandon Wilson, a police intern and WSU student, volunteered to participate in the Taser demonstration. Held by a man on each arm, he was Tasered in front of the audience. Two probes were shot out of the Taser and hooked into the skin of his back. He tensed and was lowered to the ground.
“I was just frozen, I couldn’t do anything,” Wilson said.
After the display, Officer Kirk asked Wilson if he had any lingering effects and if he would rather be Tased again or be sprayed with OC spray, commonly known as pepper spray. Wilson replied that he had no lasting effects from the Taser but with OC spray it took him at least 40 minutes to recover.
Other options of less lethal materials include CS spray, specialty impact munitions, smoke and pyrotechnics. Due to less lethal options the police force has become a kinder, gentler force, Kirk said.
The Taser display ended Kirk’s description of less lethal materials and allowed onlookers to ask questions.
“I had no idea it [the Taser] pierces your skin,” Alli Rowe, a WSU student, said.
In response to a question Kirk explained that the Taser would not shock the people touching the victim. It sends shocks through the target only, and the best places are the large muscle groups, he said.
“I could Taser the keys and it wouldn’t affect the person holding them,” Kirk said.
WSU police officer Kelly Stewart opened the forum by providing background information on the use of force. He presented a power point slideshow and described the origins of the Use of Force Continuum.
The Use of Force Continuum is a visual representation which shows the amount of force needed for a particular reaction, Stewart said. The Supreme Court developed a new standard for police force after two influential cases in the 1980s, Stewart said.
The definition of necessary force is something that is drilled into officers since the police academy, he said.
“An officer’s presence can be a use of force,” WSU Chief of Police Bill Gardner said.
The continuum begins with a compliant individual and escalates to a life threatening situation. It is structured in a way so that a certain action equals a specific reaction of an officer, Stewart said. However, the Continuum cannot account for all scenarios, like the role of physical size, he said.
Stewart also detailed the level of force used with specific actions. An officer may use a Taser in level one, he said.
The forum was held in an attempt to educate the public on the use of force for both the Pullman police force as well as the WSU police department. Prior to attending the event, WSU sophomore Andrew Stevens didn’t really have any knowledge on the topic, he said. Afterwards, seeing someone get Tasered had the most impact on him and he found it interesting that Tasering was a level one response, he said.
Alli Rowe also left the forum with a higher understanding of the police force, she said. She was expecting to disagree with their actions, she said.
“I have a stronger sense of legitimacy for the police officers actions,” Rowe said.

Sources:
- Alli Rowe (206) 310- 8241
-Andrew Stevens (425) 273-6504
-Officer Kelly Stewart kdstewart@wsu.edu
-Brandon Wilson banw83@msn.com
- Officer Scott Kirk 509-332-0802
-WSU Chief of Police Bill Gardner 509-335-8548
Questions:
-What is the most common less lethal force option used?
-Are there any specific defense techniques that officers have to know?
-What are the most common situations that Pullman officers find themselves in while dealing with WSU students?
Background: Many of the audience members did not know what to expect. For example Andrew Stevens had no previous conceptions of the issue, he said. I also did not know what to expect from the discussion. I assumed that the police officers used force when someone presented a threat. However, with the slide show I now understand the history of the guidelines on force. The supreme court after the 1980s defined the commonly used definitions.