In compliance with Maryland's Public Safety Article 3-508 - which requires law enforcement agencies that issue electronic control devices (tasers) to report to the Maryland Statistical Analysis Center (MDAC) certain information regarding their use - this report presents data on all law enforcement electronic device (ECD) discharges in the State during calendar year 2013.
During calendar year 2013, there were 928 ECD discharges reported by 56 law enforcement agencies. Another 36 agencies had issued ECDs to their officers but did not report any discharges. All remaining agencies reported ECDs had not been issued to their officers. The reported discharges were most likely to occur in densely populated areas during the evening hours. The majority of discharges occurred during an officer's initial response to a criminal incident and when an involved person failed to comply with an officer's orders. "Probe " mode was most often used during an ECD discharge. The point of impact of most discharges was a person's center mass (front and back torso). On average, an ECD discharge involved only one 5-second cycle. Persons who received a discharge possessed a weapon approximately 21 percent of the time and showed the threat of a weapon approximately 20 percent of the time. One death occurred as a result of an ECD discharge. Injuries from an ECD discharge occurred in approximately 20 percent of the incidents. Approximately 58 percent of the persons who received a discharge required additional medical care. Comparative data are reported on the race and gender of the persons who received an ECD discharge in calendar year 2013. Extensive figures and tables