Howell Police Recertify On Tasers

HOWELL, NJ — Howell Township police officers recently completed their annual recertification on the use of conducted energy devices, better known as Tasers.

Howell is one of fewer than 100 police departments in the state whose officers have Tasers. The devices, which disable a suspect with an electrical shock, have been approved for use in New Jersey since late 2009, but use of them has been tightly restricted. Last year, the state Attorney General's office issued revised guidelines designed to allow police to use them to subdue someone who actively resists arrest “by using or threatening to use physical force or violence in a manner that the officer reasonably believes creates a substantial risk of causing bodily injury,” the office announced.

"The revised policy recognizes that it was unrealistic to expect officers to be able to predict the degree of injury a person might cause during the course of what could be a prolonged encounter," officials said in March 2016, when the revised guidelines were announced.

"The prior policy had the effect of inhibiting officers from using a stun gun earlier in a confrontation to prevent a situation from escalating to where the officer perceived a risk of death or serious injury, at which point the officer might be compelled to use deadly force," the attorney general's office said.

Officers trained to use Tasers must undergo an initial three-day certification class followed by annual recertification that consists of classroom training and scenario-based applications, Howell police said. It includes a component on mental health and dealing with emotionally disturbed people, according to the state. The attorney general's office said that since November 2012, Tasers have been used by police officers more than 60 times in New Jersey, with only one serious injury.

More departments are adding Tasers, in part because the revised guidelines allow bodyworn police cameras to record the use of a Taser, which is a requirement of using one.

Photos and video via Howell Township Police