Tasers have been used to subdue violent assailants in schools.  Several incidents in the news include:

December 4, 2007: Colorado Springs, CO
Students reported a suspicious man in the high school parking lot.  A school resource officer (SRO) attempted to question him but he refused to answer, drove off fast, and hit a tree.  The officer told him to turn off the car and he moved to the glove compartment, at which time the officer used a Taser on him.  A knife was found in the car.

November 20, 2006:  Henderson, NV

The father of a high school student became combative and was escorted off campus by school police and security personnel after coming to the school nurse's office for his daughter.  The male threatened to return with a gun.  He came back with a knife and was arrested after breaking loose, hitting two officers, and being hit by a Taser from city police who also responded.

 

May 6, 2005:  Middleburg, FL

A school resource officer was treated and released from the hospital for a concussion and bite wound to his hand that resulted from assaulted by an 18-year-old high school student who was trespassing, refused to leave school grounds, and resisted arrest. The suspect reportedly punched the officer in the face and knocked his radio from his hand as he tried to call for help after the officer fell.  The suspect reportedly punched and kicked him while he was on the ground.  The student left the area to go to another office and was subsequently arrested by the officer after the officer used a Taser on him.

August 19, 2005:  Tampa, FL
A 39-year-old mother and her 16-year-old son were charged with felony offenses for allegedly assaulting a school police officer at a high school.  Reports indicate that family had been attempting to register the 16-year-old at high school all week, although he had been suspended from school since last school year.  School officials referred the family to a high school closer to their home when the male reportedly "body checked" the officer, almost knocking him to the ground.  The officer, while arresting the student, was allegedly attacked by the mother and the son.  The suspect's other brother, age 22, reportedly started to also attack the officer but was stopped by a security officer.  The police officer reportedly pulled a Taser and the two ceased the attack, at which time all three family members were arrested.

September 26, 2005: Charlotte, NC
A police officer reportedly used a Taser on a 17-year-old male high school student who allegedly slapped an assistant principal in the face, resisted arrest, and told the officer he was not going to jail and not going anywhere.  This incident followed a separate, unrelated incident on September 23rd where an officer used a Taser on a student at a different high school when the student allegedly assaulted an assistant principal, hit a police officer, and started swinging her belt with a large metal buckle.

October 5, 2005:  Sante Fe, NM
A police officer used a Taser on a 16-year-old who reportedly fought with the officer and resisted arrest.  The student was examined at a local hospital. The incident occurred during a riot involving up to 200 students that became involved in a food fight which led to a riot at the high school around noon. The school was locked down for about two and one-half hours as parents had to respond to pick up students. 

October 27, 2005:  Huntersville, NC
Lunchtime fights resulted in seven students taken to the hospital and 15 arrested, with police officers using Tasers on two students involved in the fights. At least one of the students on which the Taser was used had reportedly pushed a police officer and refused to stop after the officer arrested her brother.

We have yet to find any formal research specifically on the physiological implications of the use of Tasers on the bodies of younger children which would establish definitive recommendations for or against the use on children/adolescents. It is unlikely that there will ever be such a strong body of research reflecting real-life "tests"  actually on children/adolescents since ethical implications of scientific testing and the vast majority of parents will understandably not permit such testing.  In short, there are currently far too many unanswered questions as described by physicians about the use of Tasers on young children and adolescent bodies. 

We recommend that age and developmental stages be given serious consideration in discussions between law enforcement officers and educators about using Tasers in school settings with all children, particularly younger children. We acknowledge, however, that there could be life and death situations, and situations with threats of serious harm, where a Taser may be a necessary option and a better alternative than the use of a firearm. While such situations are rare, society must acknowledge that they can and do occur.

On a day-to-day basis, however, we strongly advise that school officers take a very, very conservative approach to the use of Tasers in a school setting. The use of such a device, or even the displaying of such a device in a crowd of students, will likely draw a great deal of emotional and political responses in a school community.  School-based officers should consider all options before using a Taser on a student, including what they would have done in a similar situation in the past before they were trained and equipped with a Taser, and if that course of action is an option in lieu of using the Taser on a student.   

Fortunately, most school-based police officers have long understood the seriousness of "weapons retention" issues because of their having a firearm in large groups of students.  The vast majority of school-based police officers are highly sensitive to the need for caution, consideration, and conservatism in the use of Tasers or firearms in a school setting. School-based officers are also typically better experienced, trained, and skilled in dealing with students and large groups of juveniles than the regular "street officer" who has not had a daily exposure to school settings.

Some questions we advise school administrators and public safety officials to expect that the community and media will ask, and issues to be prepared to consider include:

1) What policies, procedures, and/or joint memoranda of understanding are in place with the law enforcement agency and the school district regarding use of force issues followed by the police department which could surface in use of force by school-based police officers? 

     NOTE: This is not to suggest that school districts can, should, or even could "negotiate" a separate and/or lower standard "use of force" policy by the police department for officers who are working in a school setting.  What we suggest is that school and police leaders discuss what policies and use-of-force continuum guidelines are in existence by the police department, how they may surface in various types of scenarios in a school setting, what supportive measures can be put in place in consideration that an officer may use a Taser on a student, how schools and police will issue joint communications on the incident to the media and community, etc. 

     One supportive measure that could be incorporated into procedures, for example, is to take to the hospital any student upon who a Taser has been used in school prior to the student being booked/processed by police.  Another procedure could focus on protocols for the joint release of information on the incident to parents and the media by the school district and police department.

     We do not believe the school district should attempt to "negotiate" a lower-standard of police use-of-force policy in reaction to high-profile, emotional, and/or political considerations in the school-community.