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Public tells Police Commission that adopting tasers would undermine de-escalation work
Summary
At the commission's public-comment period, speakers criticized the taser stakeholder process, said tasers would undo recent de-escalation policy changes, and alleged the decision had already been made in private.
San Francisco Sept. 13, 2017 During the Police Commission's public comment period, speakers urged commissioners to reject taser implementation, saying the stakeholder process was biased and that adopting tasers would reverse the department's recent emphasis on de-escalation.
An unnamed member of the public, speaking during general public comment, said they had attended two of four stakeholder meetings and felt the sessions were structured to limit public questioning of experts. The speaker described tasers as "a solution in search of a problem," urged the commission to explain what operational need tasers would address, and warned that adoption would turn officers into "war officers" and undo months of use-of-force policy work.
"I was disappointed by the manner in which these meetings were conducted...tasers are a solution in search of a problem," the speaker said, urging the body to prioritize de-escalation and public oversight.
Commission staff and commissioners did not take formal action on the public comment beyond closing the public-comment period. The speaker and other public commenters asked for more transparent stakeholder engagement and said they would file formal input through the scheduled community input sessions.
The commission's agenda included future community input meetings on conducted-energy devices, and notices of a Sept. 19 community meeting and a Sept. 20 special meeting were announced during the meeting.
