Starting next month, Nashville police will begin upgrading Taser technology in an effort to improve public and police safety and bolster officers’ ability to use non-lethal force in the field.
The Metro Nashville Police Department police and representatives of Axon — the manufacturer of Tasers — hosted a community briefing Thursday concerning the upgraded Taser 7 devices city officers will soon receive.
“Our mission is to save lives,” Axon spokesman Shane Page told community members during the presentation that included live Taser demonstration downtown at Music City Center.
Chief Drake is opening a community mtg at the Music City Center on technology improvements of new Taser 7 devices the MNPD has ordered. Our training academy staff is also providing an update, along with Axon staff, on the training officers will receive before carrying Taser 7s. pic.twitter.com/hxfDH1xXP2
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 10, 2022
Police leaders said the change could make the Tasers more effective and more distinct from firearms. The decision came after a series of high-profile confrontations when police used stun guns that did not work — including the lead-ups to two police shootings last year.
In April, MNPD will start transitioning to Taser 7s. The department is expected to be completely outfitted with the new technology by the first week of June.
All full-time sworn officers in the department (1,395 as of this week) are armed with Tasers on duty.
So far, police reported, 1,400 of the devices have been ordered.
Thursday’s presentation included information on advancements in Taser technology and the significant differences between Taser 7 models and the older devices they will replace, which have reached or are approaching end of life.
The meeting also included an overview of training that each MNPD officer will receive before carrying a Taser 7. It includes how officers will interact with people including those hard of hearing or with autism to people suffering from schizophrenia and other mental health issues.
Two cartridges, two rounds of probes
Nashville Police Chief John Drake floated the idea of upgrading Tasers last spring, after an officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, allegedly mistook her service weapon for a stun gun and fatally shot a motorist.
Tasers used by local police now have only one round, meaning an officer can fire it only once. If the probes from the stun gun don’t connect to a person’s body at two points, the weapon is not effective.
The new technology will have two cartridges, with two rounds of probes. If the first round does not connect to the body, or only partially connects, an officer could fire the stun gun a second time.
The newer Tasers will be bright yellow from the handle forward, which would further distinguish them from police handguns.
So far this year, police have fatally shot one man. The shooting took place in late January along Interstate 65 and involved law enforcement from three departments. In that shooting, non-lethal use of force was not used.
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Last year, Tasers were ineffective in at least two calls where police ultimately shot someone.
In March 2021, police unsuccessfully tried to use a stun gun when they encountered a woman with a pickax who threatened suicide. The Taser “appeared to have no impact,” according to a police account. An officer shot and injured her afterward.
And on May 1, 2021 a police officer tried to use a stun gun to subdue Jacob Griffin in the early phase of a standoff at a homeless encampment. It didn’t work, and an officer fatally shot Griffin, 23, hours later, according an account from the department.
Natalie Neysa Alund is based in Nashville at The Tennessean and covers breaking news across the South for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
