New Taser guidelines: cop tased man who twice fled

In Chicago, after being pulled to the curb for a traffic stop, Stephen Baldwin had handed over a fake NJ driver’s license. An officer tried to place Baldwin in handcuffs outside his car. Then suddenly he ran away.

The incident occurred a little more a month after the Chicago Police Department tightened its guidelines on Taser use, rewriting the rules to discourage officers from shocking people who are running away or otherwise vulnerable to injury.

Under the new guidelines, officers should try to avoid using the weapon during a number of situations “when practicable,” including if a suspect is running away, elevated above ground or could fall and suffer an impact to the head. Thus in a case like this officers need to keep running until the suspect is “ready” to be tased.

The officer waited for her partner to arrive. She can not tase him for no reason. Now she has to remember not to tase if the suspect is running away, elevated or could fall and injure his head. Then Baldwin tried to climb over a chain-link gate to elude her again. “I’m gonna tase you! Taser! Taser!” she shouted as he fell over the fence head- or face-first and into an alleyway. Thus, she tased him when all the conditions applied: he is running away and elevated and fell and injured his head.

Baldwin fell over the fence, smacking his head on the pavement. He was treated for a brain bleed at a local hospital. He faced felony charges of forgery, identity theft and possession of a fraudulent ID card.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) continues to investigate the incident because of the new taser guidelines.

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