Lake Bluff Police Officer Damon Schmidt displays his taser. Photo courtesy of Lake Bluff Police Department.
LAKE BLUFF — While Chicago continues to debate arming all of its police force with tasers in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting video, all of Lake Bluff’s officers have had them since August.
Lake Bluff placed tasers in the hands of all of its officers in August to reduce the possibility of the use of lethal force, according to Police Chief Dave Belmonte.
“If at any time there is a likelihood we can reduce the need for a serious or lethal injury, we are in favor of the use of that alternative,” Belmonte said.
Though it has been more than 30 years since a Lake Bluff police officer has discharged a firearm in the course of duty, Belmonte said the department wants to be prepared for any situation that may arise.
Belmonte said the taser shoots out a 15-foot cable with a dart at the end that gives the victim an electric shock, temporarily rendering muscles incapable of functioning. He said the officer has more than enough time to put the person in handcuffs after the shock.
“They collapse temporarily,” Belmonte said. “They are not unconscious.”
Once the department acquired the tasers, two officers were sent to a 40-hour class to serve as trainers for the rest of the police force, according to Belmonte.
“They instructed the rest of the officers in a nine-hour session which they will continue to go through annually,” Belmonte said.
When a taser is discharged, it also activates a video recording device, which shows exactly what happens, according to Belmonte.
The department acquired the 13 tasers for $25,582.95, according to Village Administrator Drew Irvin.
In Lake Forest, officers have a bean bag shot guy in their squad cars as an alternative to lethal force, but Chief Jim Held said he does not see tasers on the horizon for his department.
“They’re not cheap,” Held said. “It is very costly to equip 40 (officers). We have not had the opportunity to put this in our budget.”
Lake Bluff is also discussing acquiring body cameras for each of its officers as part of its budget discussions for the fiscal year starting May 1, Irvin said. Belmonte said the discussions are preliminary with a variety of issues still to be resolved.
“They would be very useful,” Belmonte said. “We believe our officers are doing the right thing. We’d like to think it’s not necessary but it would be good to have.”
Both Held and Belmonte said a major concern with body cams is finding space to store all the footage so it is available should there be a request from a prosecutor, defense attorney or the public through the Freedom of Information Act.
“We could easily use up all our space and have to work with a contractor to safely store it,” Belmonte said.
A taser like this shoots a dart affixed to a cable to disable a suspect. Photo courtesy of Lake Bluff Police Department.