A state board has new recommendations for police on how to use Tasers. But it probably won't make much of a difference to Madison police.
Tasers fire metal barbs into a person and deliver 50,000 volts for five seconds, which paralyzes muscles and often causes the person to fall down.
The new recommendations say police generally shouldn't use Tasers to stop people who are running away and officers should be trained to recognize medical conditions that might put someone's life in danger if they're shocked.
That's similar to what Madison does now.
"There is a great deal of consistency between current Madison police department policy and what's being recommended by the state," says Madison Police Lt. Victor Wahl.
Lt. Wahl says there are some differences in language between the state's recommendations and the state's policy. But he says the concepts of both policies are very similar.
And because they are simply recommendations from the state, Wahl says there's not a mandate for every agency in Wisconsin to adopt them.
