Madison Police held a community forum Wednesday night at Monona Terrace to address community concerns related to Tasers following the Jan. 21 Tasering of a 14-year-old Memorial High School student.
UW-Madison Professor Mike Scott acted as moderator for the forum. He said the goals were to educate the community on police use of force and hear concerns from the community regarding Tasers.
\We're searching for the magic wand with effective control and no harm over anyone,"" Scott said.
Madison Police Chief Noble Wray briefly informed those in attendance that the Jan. 21 Taser incident would not be discussed.
""It's really a public trust issue,"" Wray said. ""We will be successful as a community and a city as long as we don't overreact.""
Officer Eric Anderson took the stage and with the help of Officer Paige Valenta showed several force methods police may use depending on the severity of the situation.
Valenta demonstrated knee kicks and baton strikes on a fellow police officer wearing a heavily padded body suit and face mask.
Anderson said the methods were examples of various types of countermeasures.
Anderson expressed that Tasers are necessary because other methods such as OC Spray, also known as pepper spray and ""passive countermeasures"" are not effective with perpetrators.
""There isn't water [on stage], this isn't a slope, it's not a gravel lot,"" he said. ""And OC Spray doesn't always work. It sometimes results in a further struggle.""
Lieutenant Victor Wahl went on to describe how the electro-muscular disruption a Taser emits interferes with the brain's ability to control muscles for a brief period of time.
""There have been no cases where the Taser has been a primary cause of death,"" he said.
Wahl showed several videos of officers and perpetrators being Tasered to demonstrate the effects of the weapon.
After the officers spoke, members of the Madison community had the opportunity to express their views on Tasers.
Ald. Andy Heidt, District 13, said he felt strange questioning the authority of the police force, but questions if the data on Tasers is objective enough.
""Sometimes with these studies they cook the data to make it look right,"" he said.
Former UW-Madison professor Theodore Bernstein said he did the first study on Tasers more than 20 years ago, and the fear people have over voltage is totally irrational as it is the current that causes the damage.
""If it was the voltage we might want to outlaw carpets,"" he said. ""All this misinformation would make me want to pull out my hair if I had any.""
Madison resident John Peck is not happy about the use of Tasers, and said they will be used to target community activists like him.
""There's an arms race in the community,"" he said. ""Madison Police have Tasers and now UW Police want Tasers. What's next?""
There will be a hearing on Tasers in the Madison community, which will be held by the Public Safety Committee Tuesday March 8 at 5 p.m.
