Remaining ACC Police Officers to Receive Taser Training

Taser training will continue for Athens-Clarke County police officers. Sixty officers have been trained to date and the remaining 85 on staff will complete training by the end of the year. The department received tasers in the spring and officers began carrying them in July after receiving training.

Justin Gregory, who heads up taser training in the ACC Police Department, said the most difficult part for officers is the decision-making process to use a taser or not.

Legal precedent for using tasers was determined by the Supreme Court in 1989 in the case Graham vs. Conner, which ruled officers must use descretion when inflicting force. For example, if a police officer is responding to a traffic violation and the person appears to be threatening, then the officer is justified in using the taser, the Court ruled.

Proper use of tasers was questioned earlier this week, when three officers responded to a noise complaint on the University of Alabama’s campus. A video on social media circulated showing them using what some people are calling excessive force.  The officers are now on administrative leave.