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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Police in Connecticut were more likely to fire their stun guns at minorities than at whites in 2015 and more likely to shock Hispanics multiple times than shock other racial groups, according to an analysis released Thursday of the first statewide data of police stun gun use in the country.
The findings didn't surprise Wilson Ramos, whose brother died after East Hartford police shot him with a stun gun two years ago. But police and state officials were quick to warn against making conclusions about the data.
"It's my hope that this report kind of gets the attention that it needs and that the officers discharging the devices get proper training so people won't continue to suffer from permanent damage or death," Ramos said. He and his brother are of Puerto Rican descent.
Ramos has a lawsuit pending against police, saying officers beat his brother, Jose Maldonado, and shot him with a stun gun for about 20 seconds, leading to his death. Police officials deny the stun gun was deployed for 20 seconds and say the officers were justified.
According to the analysis by Central Connecticut State University researchers, when officers drew their stun guns last year they fired them 60 percent of the time in confrontations involving whites, 81 percent of the time in those involving blacks and 66 percent of the time in those involving Hispanics.
In stun gun incidents involving Hispanics, 27 percent were shocked twice, compared with 18 percent of whites and 15 percent of blacks. Hispanics also were more likely to be shocked more than twice.
Across the state, 610 people were involved in police stun gun incidents last year, and 419 of them received an electrical shock. Nearly 300 people were injured after being stunned, and two died.
Hartford had the most police stun gun incidents — 51 — including unholstering and shooting. Norwalk was second with 35, followed by East Hartford with 34.
Researchers said it was difficult to draw conclusions from the information because it was the first data to be collected and many police departments appeared to underreport their stun gun use.
The report calls for improved data collection but doesn't make conclusions about whether police are engaged in racial profiling in their stun gun use.
Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane and other state officials said they were concerned that the public would make hasty and inaccurate judgments from the data and that already strained relations between police and some communities would be unnecessarily harmed.
The report comes as police across the U.S. face heavy scrutiny over their use of deadly force against blacks. Although stun guns have been billed as nonlethal alternatives to firearms, they have resulted in deaths, and reliable information on how police use them has been lacking.
"With this basic information you can start asking more questions and figure out whether policies governing Tasers need to be modified," said Michael Lawlor, Connecticut undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning. "You can expect the use of Tasers will change simply because law enforcement is aware this data is being collected and reported publicly."
A 2014 law made Connecticut the first state to require all police departments to report every instance in which an officer fires or threatens to use a stun gun.
Among the report's other findings, about 53 percent of the people shot with stun guns appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, despite guidance in 2013 from a leading stun gun maker, Taser International Inc., to avoid using them in such cases because of the risk of injury or death.
The report also found that 33 percent of people involved in police stun gun incidents were described as "emotionally disturbed" and 13 percent were labeled as "suicidal."
Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran, a vice president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, said it isn't clear why Connecticut officers are firing their stun guns at so many impaired people. He said it often isn't immediately clear to officers whether someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and using a stun gun is preferable to using deadly force with a firearm.
"If you've got an immediate threat that's coming at you, you need to protect yourself or that innocent third person," he said. "Tasers, I can honestly say, have saved officers from injury. They've saved some suspects from injuries. Probably a lot of suspects."
David McGuire, legislative and policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, called the stun gun data "alarming" and noted past reports on Connecticut police traffic stops found racial disparities.
"If police truly want the benefit of the doubt, they should start addressing the underlying issues that lead to disparities and misuse," he said. "Adopting Taser cameras, providing full Taser incident reports, and improving regulations and training would be good places to start."
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