Details about this story

• Source: Orlando Sentinel
• Date: May 07, 2006
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Anthony Colarossi , Jim Leusner , Katy Moore
• Topics: Crime
• Data Types: Local Data
• Description/Excerpt: The analysis found that Orlando police have used Tasers against 1,243 people, sometimes to halt carjackers, control mentally ill people and stop angry individuals from beating their spouses. But it also found that police are as likely to use the stun guns after traffic stops for minor offenses in Parramore and on angry drunks downtown and at Universal's CityWalk. The computer-assisted analysis, which also tracked 765 Taser cases through the criminal courts, showed that: More than half of the people tased were neither violent nor suspected of committing felonies. Instead, they were charged only with minor misdemeanors, almost always including resisting without violence, which can mean as little as refusing to immediately obey a police officer's order.