France swaps chokehold for stun guns after police protests

Less than a week after France banned police chokeholds, government responded to growing officer discontent by anuncing it would test stun guns for wider use, ding to ranks of European law enforcement ncies that have recently opted weapons that many in U.S. equate with excess police violence.

For Johny Louise, it felt as though 22 seconds of Taser pulses that led to his son’s death counted for thing.

“y need more death so that one day y understand, but it will be more pointless deaths and sufferings for families,” Louise said.

Gendarmes in Orléans responding to a drunken brawl tried to arrest his son, Loïc. One of officers, ham Cardoso, fired his Taser for first time, hitting Loïc Louise in chest with twin darts and jolting him for a full 17 seconds, rar than usual 5-second cycle, n hitting him again less than a minute later with ar 5 seconds, according to court documents obtained by Associated Press. Loïc Louis, who was black, passed out and was later prounced de at hospital.

Cardoso was charged last year with involuntary homicide in v. 3, 2013, death. He has said Loïc Louise was aggressive and appeared rey to attack.

officer’s lawyer, Ludovic de Villèle, can’t fathom why France would replace an immobilization technique with a weapon. He said it would make more sense to invent ar technique to replace banned chokehold.

“It’s a b sign to say, ‘You can’t strangle, but here are Tasers for you to use,’” de Villèle said.

But Tasers, or or stun guns, are increasingly weapon of choice for European law enforcement as y have been for years in United States. In Atlanta, just hours after French anuncement on Friday, a seemingly routine sobriety check outside a Wendy’s restaurant ended in gunshots after Rayshard Brooks grabbed a Taser from officers and ran.

killing of 27-year-old black man in an encounter with two white officers late Friday rekindled fiery protests in Atlanta and prompted police chief’s resignation. One of officers was fired.

Axon, company that makes Tasers, has me a big push outside United States in recent years and ncies in Nerlands and Italy recently expanded use of stun guns, following path of Britain, where use has increased steily since y were introduced in 2003.

Stun guns are in limited but increasing use in France alrey. number of discharges increased from 1,400 in 2017 to 2,349 in 2019. According to French police oversight ncy , stun guns killed one person last year and three suffered severe injuries. After France said it would abandon chokehold last week, police across country std scattered protests , saying y felt abandoned by government.

Police in England and Wales discharged Tasers 2,700 times over 12 months ending in March 2019, according to government statistics, which also showed black people were more likely than white ones to have stun guns used on m.

Britain’s Independent Office for Police Conduct said last month that re were growing concerns “about its disproportionate use against black men and those with mental health issues.”

British rapper Wretch 32 posted video last week of his 62-year-old far being hit by a Taser in his London home during a police raid in April. Metropolitan Police force said a review found indication of misconduct, but London Mayor Siq Khan called for an urgent investigation by police watchdog.

According to Amnesty International, at least 18 people in Britain have died after a stun gun was discharged on m by police, but in many cases it was t determined that weapon caused death. human rights group has said at least 500 people died after being hit by stun guns between 2001 and 2012 in United States.

Italy’s government approved using Tasers in January after a two-year trial and opened a bidding process to purchase nearly 4,500 stun guns to be divided among various law enforcement ncies. Police chief Franco Gabrielli said in March that next phase would involve a period of training and “operational experimentation” in a half-dozen cities.

“ ministration is certainly attentive to guaranteeing that security of our personnel is first, obviously without causing dam to people who might find mselves on or side,” Gabrielli told reporters outside a Gea hospital where he h gone to visit two police officers who were recovering after being injured in a shootout.

Nerlands began issuing stun guns to police in 2017 and is training 17,000 of force’s 40,000 officers. But far fewer of weapons are on order and y will t be part of an officer’s standard equipment.

re are about 15,000 stun guns in France, which has a total police and gendarme force of around 240,000. In United States, by contrast, more than three-quarters of officers carry weapons as standard issue, according to William Terrill, a professor of criminal justice at Arizona State University. Axon says it has standing relationships with 95% of American law enforcement ncies.

Terrill said training must come before widespre distribution of Tasers, which are sold as a way to protect officers from aggressive suspects while avoiding dely force.

“It’s almost asking a police department to make an unfair choice in many respects,” he said. “By articulating it that way, it’s almost saying I value my officers’ safety more than community’s safety.”

For Loïc Louise’s family, from French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, it was a weapon used far too easily on someone with dark skin.

His far does t believe all gendarmes are racist but “some use ir uniform to do whatever y please,” said Johny Louise. “And my son paid for it.”