Traverse City Record-Eagle

Archive: Wednesday

February 8, 2012

Tasers take down two suspects this week

Lt. Clark: Suspects 'have to show some aggressive behavior'

BY JAMES RUSSELL jrussell@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies used Tasers to subdue suspects in two separate incidents this week.

Deputies stunned two men who allegedly tried to flee from arrest. Police said policies spell out when Tasers can be used.

"You can't just have someone showing passive resistance," said Lt. Chris Clark. "They have to show some aggressive behavior — a boxing stance, a clenched fist or throwing a punch, for example."

In the first Taser incident, deputies responded early Monday morning to reports of a suspicious person on Carriage Hill Drive near Garfield Road. They found a 23-year-old Williamsburg man outside a residence who allegedly attempted to assault the deputies and then tried to flee.

"He was uncooperative, then he began not following commands," Clark said. "He assaulted the deputies, and he was Tasered."

Deputies later determined the suspect broke into a home late Sunday, but no one was injured and nothing was stolen. The man was arrested for third-degree home invasion, resisting and obstructing arrest, and two counts of assault and battery for the assault on the deputies. His name was not released pending arraignment.

In a second incident shortly after midnight Tuesday, a deputy tried to pull over a 48-year-old Traverse City man in East Bay Township on an outstanding warrant. The suspect drove off, and deputies followed him to Hull Park in Traverse City, where they used tire-puncturing "stop sticks" to slow him down.

The man allegedly tried to run away, but the chase ended with a Taser shot. He was arrested for fleeing and eluding, resisting and obstructing a police officer, operating while intoxicated, and assault and battery on a police officer.

Sheriff Tom Bensley said the department began issuing Tasers to sergeants in 2004. Deputies were armed with the devices in 2010 after the county authorized the purchase of 61 new guns for $58,000. Bensley said deputies must attend an instructional class on their use.

Traverse City Police Department officers began carrying Tasers in April 2008. Capt. Steve Morgan said incidents involving the weapon are down as criminals realize they're at risk of getting stunned.

"They are an equalizer for an officer presented with a violent person," Morgan said.

City police policy restricts when Tasers can be used.

"We are allowed to use Tasers when a person's actions constitute active aggression — unless other factors are present that place an unreasonable risk on the offender, the officer or another person," Morgan said.

Both city police and the sheriff's department document all Taser uses, but officials were unable to provide statistics Tuesday.

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