Sunday’s fatal shooting in a suburb of Minneapolis was the 18th time in the past twenty years that police officers used a gun when, according to a violent researcher, they used a Taser.
By comparison, police kill about 1,000 people annually in incidents, including shootings, according to Campaign Zero, an organization focused on ending police violence.
Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kim Potter resigned Tuesday after a second night of unrest following her shooting at Daunte Wright, a black motorist she and police pulled over. Police Chief Tim Gannon also resigned.
CORI BUSH CLAIMS COP ‘SHOULD KNOW THE DIFFERENCE’ BETWEEN GUN, TASER IF DAUNTE WRIGHT IS NOT A BLACK BOY
Law enforcement researchers and veterans say it is difficult to confuse the two weapons because Tasers are generally bright yellow in color and lighter than handguns, and because most officers wear them on either side of their belts to avoid confusion.
Former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter fired her gun on the right instead of a Taser on Daunte Wright, police said.
With the camera-camera of the meeting, Mr. Wright leaves the car and then gets back in, while police try to pull him out. Me. Potter can be seen firing a gun at Mr. Wright directs and repeatedly says she’s going to use her Taser.
The car then sped away and you could hear her say, “I just shot him.” Officials said Potter fired one shot into the chest from Mr. Wright fired.
The strongest evidence of genuine confusion is when the officer fires only one shot as in the case in Minnesota, said Greg Meyer, the researcher on the use of force. Officers are being trained to fire multiple shots with their handguns.
“In a Taser situation, it can only fire one at a time, so if we have one of these cases of gunshot wounds, that’s the biggest idea,” he said. Meyer, a retired Los Angeles police chief who worked as an expert, said witnesses testified on behalf of police officers.
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Mr. Meyer said officers found in all 18 cases of Taser confusion, pulled their rifle with their dominant hand. Therefore, he recommends that police departments train officers to pull down their weapons with their dominant hand and their Tasers with their hand. Officers can hold their Tasers in such a way that it can only be drawn by hand naturally.
“The way to stop it is to take the strong hand out of the draw,” he said. Meyer said.
Before resigning, Mr. Gannon said officers in the Brooklyn Center were trained to carry handguns on their dominant side and Tasers on their weak side, like many other police departments across the country. The new principal did not respond to requests for comment.
Write to Zusha Elinson at [email protected]