Board holding town hall meeting to review police Taser policy

by Brandt Williams, Minnesota Public Radio

Minneapolis — The Minneapolis Civilian Review Authority is holding a town hall meeting Wednesday night on the police department's Taser policy.

Members of the authority say they're concerned about the removal of specific recommendations from the department's policy manual. Police officials said the items were moved to help streamline the manual, but they said officers are still trained to follow the recommendations.

Lee Reid, the manager of the Civilian Review Authority, said the problem is that the move makes it hard for someone who suspects he was wrongly Tased to get information.

"They have no idea of knowing if the officer followed correct policy in being Tased," Reid said. "Because if they look at the manual that's online, they would not see those limitations. They would only see that an officer should use the Taser in accordance with training."

Police officials said a public version of the Taser training manual is available, but some information is subject to Data Privacy Act protection.