Title: TASER Risk Avoidance Program RAP
1MICHIGAN MUNICIPAL RISK MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
- TASER Risk Avoidance Program (RAP)
2MICHIGAN MUNICIPAL RISK MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
MMRMA is a public entity self-insurance pool
which provides liability and property
coverage. We provide local governments the
opportunity to protect their organizations, their
employees, their offices and their citizens from
unexpected liability and property losses. In
addition to our broad and high limits of
liability and property coverage's, MMRMA provides
risk management, claims administration, legal
defense and reinsurance services to its members.
3OUR MEMBERS ARE
- Villages, Townships, Cities and Counties
- Health-related facilities
- Municipal authorities
- Boards and commissions
- Library and library systems
- Courts
- Transportation authorities
- 911 Public Safety Communication systems
- Cable Communication systems
4 LAW ENFORCEMENT DEMOGRAPHICS
- MMRMA represents 149 law enforcement agencies in
Michigan - Approximately 6,000 officers are employed by
those agencies
5TASER ELECTRONIC CONTROL DEVICES (ECDS)IN
MICHIGAN
6LEGISLATIVE HISTORY FOR TASER ECDS IN MICHIGAN
- January 2003 TASER ECD use approved in Michigan
for - Police officers
- State correction officers
- Licensed Private Investigators
- Aircraft pilot or crew member
- Probation officer
- Court officer
- Bail agent
7LEGISLATIVE HISTORY (cont.)
- September 2004 statute amended
- Local correction officers added
- Michigan has a distinction between a sworn peace
officer and a corrections officer
8RISK AVOIDANCE PROGRAM (RAP)
- Projects which involve the potential for
reduction in risk and liability exposure - May of 2003 the TASER RAP reimbursement project
approved - Policy Procedure for TASER developed for Public
Safety Officers
9RISK AVOIDANCE PROGRAM (RAP)
- MMRMAs program began in 2003
- By 2006 123 law enforcement agencies were taking
part in program
103 TASER RAP PROGRAMS
- Law enforcement reimbursement program
- Jail and lock-up program
- Court program
11REQUIREMENTS OF TASER RAP PROGRAM
- Each department to have a use of force protocol
- Each officer to be trained in use of TASER ECDs
- Protocol must include supervisory review of each
TASER ECD use (we believe key to success in low
claims) - Copy of police report forwarded to MMRMA
- Medical clearance on subjects (first 18 months)
- Adopt our model policy/procedure
12TASER RAP PROGRAM
- Train-the-trainer program around state
- Included presentation at Ingham Regional Medical
Center - July 2003, began partial reimbursement for TASER
ECDs - 2005 recognized as a standardized RAP grant
- As of December 2008 distributed over 289,550
13TASER REPORTING DATA
- 123 police/sheriff agencies taking part in
program - Represents 5000 officers
- 75 Departments have complied with our incident
reporting requirement (60)
14TASER USE DEFINITIONS
- Deployment probes are discharged
- Drive stun contact pain compliance
- Presentation TASER ECD presented with laser
and/or spark demonstration - Failure (defined by agency)
15TASER DATA
- 1,768 TASER incidents consisting of
- 1,002 TASER ECD deployments
- 560 Drive stuns
- 132 Presentations
- 74 Failures
161,768 TASER INCIDENTS REPORTED BY PARTICIPATING
DEPARTMENTS
74
132
560
1,002
TASER DATA 2003-2008
17TASER INJURIES
- Of the 1,768 incidents, there have been 83
reported secondary injuries or 4.6 - Significant injuries
- 1 injury reported -- probe contact to the eye
- 1 injury reported -- infection developed while at
hospital (second party involvement) - 1 injury reported -- probe contact to the head
18TASER ECD USE DATA (cont.)
- Of the 1,768 TASER ECD incidents
- 899 reported instances of substance abuse
(50.8). Of this - 748 involved the use of alcohol (42.3)
- 151 instances of drugs/narcotics use (8.5)
- 152 or 8.5 incidents were reported involving
individuals needing psychiatric intervention
19EXCESSIVE FORCE CLAIMS REPORTED BY MEMBERS
- Year Claims
- 2000 66
- 2001 46
- 2002 61
- 2003 84
- 2004 125
- 2005 68
- 2006 57
- 2007 49
- 2008 17
20EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE REPORTED BY MEMBERS
125
84
68
66
61
57
49
46
17
21REPORTED LOSSES FOR EXCESSIVE FORCE CLAIMS
- Year Claim Amounts
- 2000 2,712,979
- 2001 922,147
- 2002 2,081,971
- 2003 7,068,232
- 2004 6,448,316
- 2005 6,085,516
- 2006 831,943
- 2007 508,340
- 2008 366,600
22LOSSES FOR EXCESSIVE FORCE
7,068,232
6,448,316
6,130,516
Dollars
2,712,979
2,081,971
922,147
891,943
550,840
366,600
Year
23LITIGATION INVOLVING TASER
- MMRMA did not receive any claims, notice of
claims or lawsuits for excessive force involving
our members utilizing the TASER ECD for the
calendar year 2008. - Of the 1,768 TASER ECD incidents occurring over
the last 6 years - 27 incidents (1.5) have been reported
- 7 closed with 0 distribution
- 9 closed with 255,500 total distribution
- Average of 28,389 per incident
- Of the remaining 11 incidents which remain as
open and active in litigation, none appear to
offer significant opposition to their defense
24FUTURE TRAINING CONSIDERATIONS
- Drive stun as pain compliance technique very
limited success on subjects under influence - Social perceptions and concerns creating need
for elevated justification factors - Seniors, subjects age, children, restrained
subjects, passive subjects being seized, use on
animals male officers/female subject activation - Drive stun to neck
- Securing subject during TASER activation
25FUTURE TRAINING CONSIDERATIONS (cont.)
- TASER ECD activation on elevated platform
- Instructor selection
- Probes missing intended target, not a TASER ECD
failure - Two or more TASER applications on single subject
documentation - TASER ECD application for controlling diabetic
reaction
26PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Negligible number of claims in reserve
- Decreasing excessive force complaints
- Low reported cases involving litigation
27MICHIGAN MUNICIPAL RISK MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
- Mike Bertha
- MMRMA
- 14001 Merriman Road
- Livonia, MI 48154
- Office 734-245-7764 Cell 734-216-9789
- Email mbertha_at_mmrma.org