BCPD, Boston PD forgo tasers

After the recent incident at the University of Florida in which a student was tasered by university police, his classmates protested, claiming that campus authorities had used an excessive amount of force. Andrew Meyer had spoken out of turn during a question-and-answer session with Sen. John Kerry and struggled as police tried to remove him from the forum, which ended in the controversial use of the taser.

Regardless of the ensuing debate, the incident at Florida raises questions about security on other college campuses. Are students at Boston College, for example, likely to experience a similar encounter with campus authorities?

"No officers of the Boston College Police Department are equipped with tasers," said BCPD Chief Robert Morse. "And as far as I know, none of the officers in the city of Boston or at any of the universities in this immediate area have them, either."

Morse said that there is a great deal of controversy concerning whether the devices are safe. A taser works by firing two small, barbed projectiles that can reach up to approximately 15 feet, effectively, which latch themselves to clothing or the victim's skin. The hooked projectiles have wires attached to them that lead back to the taser, which pulses up to 50,000 volts of electricity into the person.

"Most police departments tend to shy away from them," he said.

BCPD officers carry pepper spray and batons with them, which Morse said are standard issue. "We've had to use them on a few occasions, but very rarely," he said.

Officers have a particular process that they are to follow in situations of conflict. Morse explained that officers are instructed to use force that is one level above that which is being used by the person who they are attempting to apprehend. Officers are to start out with verbal commands, followed by physically restraining the individual if he or she does not comply with said commands.

At this point, Morse said, if the individual is still not complying and the officers feel that lives are in danger, they are to move up to the next level of force - the use of their issued equipment.

The occasional need to use pepper spray or batons has led to some complaints. When asked if there have ever been claims of police brutality, Morse said, "I would not go as far as to say 'brutality,' but there have been people who have filed claims concerning the excessive use of force by the BCPD. Some people don't agree with or understand the level of force that we have to use. That's just the nature of the job." He also said that a procedure posted online explaining the proper investigation for the BCPD to undergo in the case of a complaint being filed.

"People who protest do not understand the legality of a cease and desist order," Morse said. "Once it has been issued, they have to surrender to the authorities. For instance, if people are on private property and we ask them to get off, they have to leave. If they refuse to comply, that's when situations occur in which people sometimes get hurt," he said.

"We only use the amount of force that is appropriate for the situation," he said.

Morse said that there have been similar incidents to that which occurred at the University of Florida - when students have spoken out of turn and were asked to leave a lecture or forum - but it has never escalated to the same extent. "Generally, students comply and cooperate," he said.

This does not necessarily mean that the BCPD's job is easy in these situations. "There's the issue of freedom of speech on both sides," Morse said. "It requires a delicate balance and it creates a difficult position for law enforcement in those situations, since people are free to say what they want, and people are free to speak out and disagree."

The ideal situation is that the BCPD does not even have to step in when conflicts of this nature occur. "We like to have the University try to deal with the students before the police have to step in," said Morse, who cited the Office of the Dean for Student Development and Residential Life officials as support for neutralizing such problems.

Morse added that students have also been very compliant in situations where large groups or masses have been asked by the BCPD to disperse. "Students have always been very agreeable and they work with us in these situations," he said. "The crowd has to obey the order when we ask them to disperse, and we've never had a situation in which students haven't complied."

Between the cooperative students and the practices and equipment of the BCPD officers, it is apparently unlikely that an incident like that which occurred at University of Florida would happen at BC. "If I was in that situation," Morse said, "I would not have handled it like that."