CITATION:
Scholsberg, M. Recommendations regarding Taser use. September 21, 2004 letter
from the ACLU of Northern California to the San Francisco Police Commission.
http://www.cprc.org/docs/aclu.pdf OR:
http://www.charlydmiller/LIB08/2004SepACLUtaserRecommendations.doc

An upcoming link will take you to an excellent letter written on September 21, 2004, by Mark Scholsberg (then the “Police Practices Policy Director” of the ACLU of Northern California) to the San Francisco Police Commission. At the time it was written, San Francisco’s Police Department was considering their first purchase and deployment of Tasers.

Within his letter, Scholsberg provided many important references to support the 2004 position that:

“While the ACLU of Northern California does not advocate for an outright ban on taser use, we urge you to only allow tasers to be used as an alternative to deadly force or where there is an imminent threat to human life.”

“Recommendations
In light of the yet unanswered questions regarding the safety of tasers – particularly when used on individuals under the influence of drugs or with preexisting heart conditions – we urge you to follow the lead of the police forces in the United Kingdom and only authorize taser use in cases where deadly force would otherwise be authorized or where there is an imminent threat to human life. Adopting this standard will give officers a less-lethal force option to use in lieu of their gun and could result in saving lives, while at the same time, not jeopardizing additional lives in situations where deadly force is not warranted.”

Several of Scholsberg’s references are Taser International Internet Website pages. However, after his 2004 letter was sent (and published by the ACLU), Taser International REMOVED THOSE PAGES from their Website. Thankfully, an Internet Pages Archive search helped me find and capture many of the deleted Taser Internet pages. Additionally, Google helped me find several other of Scholsberg’s references.

Below is a list of Scholsberg references that are available in THIS Library, with their LINKS. I place these links “ahead” of the link to Scholsberg’s letter so that you know about them before reading the letter – just in case you wish to “check” any of Scholsberg’s information during or after reading his letter.

• Page 1, Reference #1: Robert Anglen, “71 Cases of Death Following Stun-Gun Use,” Arizona Republic, September 15, 2004.

• Page 2, Reference #7: Robert Anglen, “Coroner: Taser Pushed for Revision of Autopsy,” Arizona Republic, August 25, 2004.

• Pages 2-3, Part of Reference #8: “TASER International, Inc. provides advanced non-lethal weapons for use in the law enforcement, private security, and personal defense markets. … See .”
  That TASER International page is no longer available. So, see instead, CHAS’ copy of Taser’s “Non-Lethal” Claim Pages.

• Page 3, Reference #9: Alex Berenson, “As Police Use of Tasers Rises, Questions Over Safety Increase,” New York Times, July 18, 2004.

• Page 3, Reference #10: Taser International Press Release, “Taser International Strongly Refutes New York Times Article,” July 2004 [A page no longer available from Taser.]

• Page 6, Reference #22: Taser International, Report on In-Custody Deaths, last accessed on Taser International’s website September 3, 2004 < http://www.taser.com/pages/pr/medical/incustodydeaths.doc>. [A page no longer available from Taser.]

• Page 6, Reference #23: Robert Anglen, “Taser Safety claim Questioned; Medical Examiners Connect Stun Gun to 5 Deaths,” Arizona Republic, July 18, 2004.

• Page 7, Reference #24: Taser International, Press Release, “Taser International Demands Amnesty International Withdraw Its Misleading and Defamatory Statements. A TASER International - Investor Relations - News Release; June 2, 2004.
  [I cannot find the AI statement that Taser is complaining about. And, of course, Taser doesn’t provide a reference for it.]

Here you go! I’ve posted this letter in PDF file format.
If you don’t have an Adobe Acrobat PDF file program, you can download a FREE version HERE.

Email Charly at: c-d-miller@neb.rr.com
(Those are hyphens/dashes between the “c” and “d” and “miller”)