The New York city experience

Abstract

This chapter seeks to examine all 820 incidents involving the use of TASER CEWs by police officers in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) over 6.5-year period, January 1, 2002 through May 15, 2007. Drawing from police reports of incidents in which an officer used the CEW, the chapter seeks to accomplish several objectives: (1) to track the prevalence of CEW use over time in the study site; (2) to describe the typical situations in which the weapon is used; (3) to examine the demographic and behavioral characteristics of police officers and suspects involved; (4) to assess the effectiveness of the device; and (5) to investigate whether it is used in compliance with departmental guidelines. © 2009 Springer-Verlag US.