State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Shock Tactics: As Taser warns of risks, cities bear a burden in court

Reuters: CINCINNATI, Ohio – Officer Richard Haas says he never meant for Everette Howard to die. He just wanted to stop him.

A top high-school grad staying on the University of Cincinnati campus for a college prep program, Howard, 18, had broken no laws that hot August night in 2011. It was about 3 a.m., and he was agitated after a run-in with neighborhood kids who’d tried to rob his friends.

Blocks away, university police officer Haas’s radio crackled with reports of an assault. Nearing the scene, he intercepted several people running away and ordered them to the ground. He unholstered his Taser and panned its red sighting beam over them “to get their attention.”

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