A police officer Tasers an unruly suspect and the suspect later claims he didn't deserve the shock. It's a situation that could end up in a lawsuit. With that in mind, the Plattsmouth Police Department has added video and audio to the weapon.
Ignore police orders and getting hit with a Taser shouldn't come as a shock. The Plattsmouth Police Department recently had its first Taser incident since being equipped with five Tasers with cameras and microphones nearly two years ago.
“A lot of people are gonna see it before it hits the courtroom and it's going to show exactly what happened,” said Plattsmouth Police Officer Jon Hardy.
There's no way to edit the recording. In this incident, the suspect had pushed over a main street garbage container. The tape shows the officer immediately called for an ambulance as a precaution.
Police Chief Brian Paulsen said the video and audio helps protect taxpayers if a suspect claims police brutality.
“He's not going to come back and saying he wasn't doing anything wrong, this isn't a guy standing on the corner being Joe Q. Citizen, this is a guy who's acting defiant and already damaged city property.”
After being Tasered the suspect was arrested for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. If there's any argument that police went too far a judge or jury won't have to rely on eyewitnesses alone.
Douglas County does not have the cameras because the cost is $500 a piece. Sheriff Tim Dunning said it's too expensive to equip 110 Tasers, and he said it's all or none, because a defense attorney might question why some Taser incidents are caught on tape and some aren't.
The Omaha Police Department has 100 Tasers and doesn’t plan on equipping them with cameras in the immediate future.