A police union representing cops in Chicago is fighting new use of force policies that would ban officers from using Tasers on fleeing suspects or when the use of the device might cause injury to the suspect.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago Police Department changed the new rules of Taser use after a string of high-profile stories about misuse of the device that incapacitates victims via a high voltage shock.
According to the new rules, officers are advised to not deploy the hand-held device on "people who run away, are intoxicated or could fall and suffer a head injury, among other things," adding that the the new rules are not set in stone and stating, "when practicable, department members should avoid” those uses.
Chicago's largest police union, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, has now filed a complaint with the Illinois Labor Relations Board asserting that the department violated the union’s collective bargaining rights which they say should have been negotiated as part of their contract.
According to Martin Preib, a spokesperson for the union, the new Taser restrictions are not reasonable and the policies should have been subject to bargaining.
“We have stated frequently that the city is not negotiating policies when (it) should be,” Preib stated in an email.
The Tribune stes that the changes also came after they reported that "4,700 Taser uses over the last decade found that the weapon’s use has been loosely overseen and that African-Americans made up nearly three-quarters of the people targeted."
You can read more details about the change in use of force policy here.
