The Law Enforcement Advisory Board will be back at work Monday on guidelines to regulate the use of stun guns.
A public meeting of the board is set for 1:30 p.m. Monday in Room 11 of the Statehouse.
The board had intended to deliver a draft version of a policy on “Conducted Electrical Weapons” (often referred to by the brand name Taser) to the Legislature this month. At its Dec. 23 meeting, the board elected to continue taking input from advocates and the public before voting on the draft policy. The board will still issue a report to lawmakers without the approved draft policy, said Richard Gauthier of the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council, who serves as executive director of the advisory board.
“Several themes emerged during hearings,” Gauthier said. “The working group took the information (from comments) and came to conclusion that the policy probably warranted more work before being finalized.”
Gauthier said the board will hold several more meetings, including some in the evenings, before finalizing the policy.
He said the themes recurring at previous hearings included concerns about what level of resistance by a suspect warrants use of the weapon, how suspects with mental illness should be considered and how to make certain the devices deliver the proper charge when fired.
The policy proposal, requested by Attorney General Bill Sorrell, is the result of an effort to establish statewide minimum standards for the use of the devices in the wake of the June 2012 death of Macadam Mason, 39, who was hit with a Taser by a Vermont state trooper during an incident at Mason’s home in Thetford.
