Hartford council asks police to equip officers with tasers amid recent deadly incidents

The Hartford City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution asking the Hartford Police Department to purchase enough nonlethal stun guns (commonly called tasers) so that each officer can carry one while on duty.

The nonbinding resolution does not appropriate funds but directs the council’s intent that the department be equipped with tasers. Councilman Mitchell, who spoke in support, said two residents were killed in recent months by police officers and that while it is not certain tasers would have prevented those deaths, increasing nonlethal options could reduce future harm.

"In the months leading up to our budget deliberations, Hartford police, killed 2 of our residents, shot them dead, and it's not clear that tasers would have prevented those killings," Councilman Mitchell said. He added that the police chief had not requested the roughly $2,000,000 that would be needed to equip officers and urged the department to reallocate existing budget resources to acquire the devices.

Councilman Thomas said requiring tasers for officers was a common-sense step and expressed his support for the resolution. The motion carried on an affirmative roll call of the council.

What it does and does not do: the resolution asks the police department to buy the equipment but does not itself appropriate the funds; Councilman Mitchell described the $2,000,000 figure as an order-of-magnitude estimate and said the department had not requested that money in its budget submission.

Next steps: implementation would require department-level budgeting or a future appropriation; council members noted the resolution asks existing budgets to be reprioritized if necessary.

Quote: "This proposal just says, police department, take the budget you have and figure out how to buy the equipment you need," Councilman Mitchell said.

Outcome: the council adopted the nonfinancial resolution by unanimous roll call.