Complaint

Harold Gates ee ee November 16, 2020 Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau (PESH) NY, NY 10013 ‘To Whom It May Concern: My name is Harold Gates and I am a Sergeant in the NYC Police Department. 1 am making this complaint to PESH regarding Taser distribution within the NYPD. Under the NYS Penal Law, a Taser is considered an “electronic dart gun.” It shoots out a projectile and sends an electronic shock through the human body. In order to save money, rather than purchasing a Taser for each officer, the department requires the Desk Sergeant to store the Tasers at the command desk and then assigns them to officers at the beginning of each tour. In short, each Taser is carried by three different officers working cach tour during the workday. This procedure is dangerous. In 2014, a Bronx NYPD Sergeant accidentally shot a police officer in the face with a Taser. Since this discharge was at close range, the darts needed to be surgically removed from the officer's jaw. This occurred within the desk area which is the heart of every police command. Officers congregate to receive the Tasers from the Desk Sergeant. There is an imminent danger of another officer being shot during the course of this distribution procedure. In March of 2020, the NYPD issued a new-Finest-message order (annexed hereto) modifying the above NYPD Patrol-Guide procedure for Taser distribution. Since then, accidental Taser discharges have been increasing at an exponential rate. Thousands of NYPD Police Officers are exposed to this danger. This month the NYPD launched the NYPD Force Dashboard on the internet. This website is, designed for the public to analyze the department's use of force in terms of incident quantity and technology applied during police action in real time. In 2019, the NYPD made 214,617 arrests. During last year, out of 95 total department Taser discharges, 224 were accidental. According to the Dashboard, as of October, the department has only made 103,379 arrests. By the end of the year, the 2020 arrest rate will be almost half of what it was in 2019. Yet, the Dashboard reveals that Taser discharges, and, therefore, accidental Tasers discharges are increasing. In my command alone (PSA4), the Taser accidental discharge rate has increased by 600% since last year. The NYPD Dashboard indicates that as of October 1, 2020 there has been 1092 Taser discharges by NYPD officers so far this year. Since the arrest rate has plummeted, my calculations indicate that there have been approximately 300 accidental‘Taser discharges this year thus far based on the discharge classifications provided on the Dashboard. This number is accurate to about plus or minus 5 accidental discharges. This spike in accidental discharges inercascs the risk of officer injury. The Taser distribution procedure promulgated by the NYPD is flawed. It creates an imminent risk to officer safety. If this procedure continues another tragic workplace injury is a mathematical certainty. As stated above, the Desk Officer must hand an entire squad of officers a Taser. Before assigning the ‘Taser, the desk officer must remove the cartridge (projectile) and inspect it for damage. This cartridge is plastic and weakens each time it is removed from the Taser gun. The assigned officer then spark tests the Taser at a safety station within walking distance of the command desk. The desk is the most heavily trafficked area of a command. This increases the risk of someone getting hit by an accidental discharge. It defies common sense. ‘A Taser is a gun which shoots a projectile that can kill. ‘This Taser distribution procedure is similar to an officer inserting a loaded clip into a 9MM semi-automatic firearm while standing in ‘a crowded room. Loading any gun within close vicinity to other employees should never happen. It is extremely unsafe and can prove fatal. The NYPD continues to use this taser distribution procedure because it saves money. Rather than purchase a Taser for each officer and geometrically reducing the spark test rate for an individual Taser, the department wants every officer to share a Taser. Therefore, the department does not have to purchase as many Tasers or cartridges. The NYPD is placing minor budget concerns over officer safety. ‘The Los Angeles Police Department, the Chicago Police Department and the Philadelphia Police Department do not have the high rate of accidental Taser discharges as the NYPD. Tam asking PESH to investigate and change this procedure before another officer gets shot by accident, Recent documentaries have shown that Tasers are deadly. Unfortunately, the NYPD, as a para-military institution, crushes dissent by employees. Yet it is the police officers on patrol that suffer the most from accidental discharge injuries. Patrol Officers are on the front lines. They are treated the worst by management and are viewed as disposable by the department. ‘These brave men and women continue to work in extremely dangerous conditions in unjust silence. Officers assigned to non-patrol related details are less likely to be exposed to the dangers of Taser discharges because Tasers are not assigned to officers who do not have to routinely maintain physical control of combative crime suspects or violent emotionally disturbed people. If you have any questions, please contact me at f= ake Thank you. Sincerely, ‘Sergeant Harold Gates ‘New York City Police Department PSA4

Complaint

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Complaint

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Complaint

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like