Excessive force, civil liability, and the Taser in the nation's courts: Implications for law enforcement policy and practice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help inform the ongoing policy and training debates over use of the Taser and its proper role in the use of force continuum.Design/methodology/approach – This paper qualitatively analyzes all reported court decisions (n=53 as of January 31, 2007) in which a Taser was used by a law enforcement officer.Findings – The majority of reported cases have resulted in the dismissal of claims against officers and municipalities for alleged Taser‐related excessive force violations. In most cases, plaintiffs were unable to show the existence of an unconstitutional policy or custom to support municipal liability. As for the liability of individual officers, most cases were decided in the officer's favor on summary judgment, particularly when the suspect was exhibiting physical resistance. In a few cases, summary judgment was denied to officers when the plaintiff alleged that he or she was fully compliant when the Tasering occurred.Research limitations/implications – This analys...