A group calling itself the Coalition to Control Tasers is asking the Columbia, Missouri, police department to review its policy on the use of the weapons.
According to the Columbia Missourian, the coalition wants the police department to adopt a 52-policy guideline outlining how and when its officers should use Tasers. Last July the police department caught flak when they tasered a man who was threatening to commit suicide. Once shot, the man fell off a 15-foot overpass. The city later reached a $500,000 settlement with the man. The Columbia police now prohibit use of the weapons in misdemeanor offenses.
Meanwhile, in Jefferson City, state Sen. Joan Bray (D-St. Louis County) is pushing a bill that would create a statewide task force to review the safety of Tasers. The task force would include doctors, scientists, lawyers, police and two private citizens who've been shot with Tasers.
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