Council seeks Taser data

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POCATELLO - The City Council told Pocatello Police Chief James ''J.R.'' Miller on Thursday that they were reluctant to reopen the city's budget to allocate him the $59,000 he requested to purchase Tasers for his department.

Meantime, the council has allowed Miller to accept four complimentary Tasers offered by the manufacturer to use in researching the merits of the purchase.

Miller, who took over as head of the Pocatello Police Department in October, is looking to provide 63 of his uniformed officers with the electronic control devices as an additional less-than-lethal option to use during confrontations.

He provided City Council members with more than 100 pages of information on Tasers and increasing incidents of violence against police officers, both nationally and here in the Gate City.

During a study session on Thursday, he told the City Council that some of the numbers have gone up since the report was compiled.

''We have had 86 use-of-force incidents through (Dec. 12),'' Miller told the City Council. ''We have had 14 officers injured because of those incidents.''

In the report he prepared for the City Council, Miller included numbers through October of this year, which showed 77 incidents in which officers had to use force on an individual and 12 officers injured.

Since Nov. 1, there have been nine additional incidents and two more injured officers.

''This is a weapon that keeps us from having to put our hands on people,'' Miller told the City Council. ''This is where our injuries are occurring.''

Members of the City Council raised concerns and asked questions ranging from the Tasers' failure rate to the conditions under which they would be used.

Miller said the Pocatello Police Department's policy on Tasers would dictate that they be used only on individuals showing active aggression and after less-invasive means of deterrence have been exhausted by the officer.

Active aggression, he explained, occurs when an individual physically confronts police.

City Councilman Brian Underwood was among the first to voice concerns about adjusting the current fiscal budget.

But he also told Miller he wouldn't mind the department being armed with Tasers.

''If they feel they need it, then I don't have a problem with it,'' Underwood said. ''The issue I have is this $59,000. It's not in the budget.''

Councilman Gary Moore agreed.

''We are two months into the new budget,'' Moore said. ''I am not comfortable today saying you get together and figure it out.''

While the council stopped short of allocating the funds, members also didn't deny Miller's request.

Miller has been asked to return for another study session to provide additional information, as well as more in-depth data on injured officers and incidents during which force was used.

''We also suggested it may be next year before we could do this,'' Pocatello Mayor Roger Chase said after the meeting.

The City Council also advised Miller to work with Dave Swindell, the city's chief financial officer, to find ways to fund the purchase.

By Jimmy Hancock

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