'Opposite side of the lethal force': Local police say placement on belts, training help officers distinguish Tasers from guns

Apr. 16—Somerset Borough police officers carry highly visible yellow Tasers to help differentiate the nonlethal electroshock weapons from their black handguns during heat-of-the-moment, possibly life-or-death situations.

It is one of the steps departments can take to reduce the chance of incidents such as the fatal shooting on Sunday by a Minnesota police officer of a motorist during a traffic stop.

Officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, apparently mistook her Glock pistol for a Taser before firing a single fatal shot at Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who had gotten into the front seat of his vehicle after slipping away from another officer who was trying to handcuff him.

Potter, who resigned as a police officer, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

"Our Tasers are all a bright yellow color," Somerset Borough Police Department Chief Randy Cox said. "You can get them in black, but we opt to get them in a bright yellow so that even looking at it you'll know whether it's a Taser or not. (There is also) the position the officer wears it on his body. Our officers wear their Tasers cross-draw, as opposed to strong-side draw."

Brooklyn Center requires officers to put Tasers on the opposite side from their dominant hands to reduce confusion.

Potter, whose stun gun is not seen in the body camera footage, yelled "Taser! Taser! Taser!" before firing and immediately saying, "Holy (expletive), I just shot him," as the vehicle pulled away. What appears to be a yellow Taser can be seen on the left hip of another officer involved in the scuffle.

'Physical differences'

Pennsylvania State Police officers also use Tasers with yellow markings and carry the weapons in the cross-draw position.

"Physical differences between a Taser and a firearm, as well as placement of each piece of equipment on our duty belts are designed — and that training takes place — to prevent one from being mistaken for the other," Cpl. Brent Miller, director of PSP's public information department, said.

Geistown Police Department officers also keep their Tasers in a cross-draw position, according to Chief Nicholas Zakucia.

"I think it's very common," Zakucia said. "I've seen a lot of officers in this area carry it that way, on the opposite side of the lethal force."

Zakucia had not watched the video of the Minnesota shooting incident prior to a Tribune-Democrat interview, but he could see how "there can be some confusion" between a firearm and Taser.

Cox said he did not know "whether it was the anxiety, the stress of the event itself" that may have caused the incident.

"It's just a question I can't answer," Cox said. "There are some ways that departments try to avoid that."

Police officers, including those with PSP, Somerset and Geistown, receive initial training in how to use Tasers, followed by refresher courses throughout their careers. They learn how to fire the weapon, what situations warrant using it and how the electroshock affects a body.

Some officers also receive expanded training.

"Current cadet classes at the academy have a volunteer list that five cadets from each platoon are randomly chosen for five different types or combinations of Taser exposures," Miller said.

"The selected cadets are Tased or exposed to the device by a Master Taser Instructor.

"They are then shown how to remove the probes, render first aid, and collect Taser-related evidence. The Tased cadets are monitored throughout the day by medical staff following the Taser exposure."

Still, incidents such as the one involving Potter and Wright occur.

"Accidents do happen," said Deacon Jeffrey Wilson, president of the Johnstown Police Advisory Board. "But the difference between a policing job and an average job is that those types of accidents can cause someone to lose their life.

"That's why police go through the type of training that they do. That's why they are trusted to carry a weapon.

"And that we trust, as a community, that when they make those type of decisions they're going to make good decisions."

The shooting of a Black man by a white police officer sparked protests in Brooklyn Center, located about 10 miles from the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged in the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in an incident that led to both peaceful demonstrations and violent riots across the United States in 2020.

Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5056. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Sutor.