Photo by Staff file photo by Skip Lawrence Djoken
	COMPLETE COVERAGE Go to fredericknewspost.com/taserturmoil for complete coverage. — — — DATABASE Search through 44 reports of Taser use by the county's police agencies from April 2007 to July 2008 Age breakdown Click the image for a look at the age breakdown of those who were tasered. — — — IF YOU GO The first public hearing of the task force will be from 3 to 6 p.m. April 23 in the auditorium at the Prince George's County Parks and Recreation Building, 6600 Kenilworth Ave., Riverdale. The second public hearing will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. and from 6 to 9 p.m. April 30 in the Moot Court Room (Room 100) at the Angelos Law Center Building of the University of Baltimore, 1420 N. Charles St., Baltimore.

After the Taser-related death of Jarrel Gray of Frederick in 2007 at the hands of a Frederick County Sheriff's Office deputy, the local and state chapters of the NAACP, as well as the state American Civil Liberties Union, launched a petition for an independent investigation of the use of Tasers, according to an NAACP press release.

In October 2008, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler authorized the creation of the Electronic Weapons Task Force.

The task force reviews law enforcement policies on electronic weapons, as well as their use, according to a press release from the Maryland Attorney General's Office.

Specifically, Gansler was asked that the task force provide recommendations for best practices on training in the use of such weapons.

"Electronic weapons are effective law enforcement tools, however, it is imperative that we ensure that these tools are used in a manner that is fair, effective, and appropriate," Gansler said in the release.

Recommendations are due to Gansler by the end of the year.

So far, the task force has had two meetings to gather information, said F. Michael Higginbotham, a University of Baltimore law professor and chairman of the task force.

In January, task force members heard from state law enforcement, as well as representatives of Taser International Inc., the manufacturer of Taser stun guns, Higginbotham said.

Both were informative, he said, but there were some differences.

The company was selling a product, he said, while law enforcement seemed to look a bit more objectively at the weapons' use.

Higginbotham said the task force hopes to hear from as many people as possible during its upcoming hearings, no matter their positions on Tasers.

Guy Djoken, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is scheduled to testify April 30 at a public hearing at the University of Baltimore, according to a press release.

Additionally, the local NAACP is looking for people to testify before the task force about the use of Tasers.

Djoken said though Tasers are described as nonlethal by some law enforcement agencies, deaths have been linked with their use.

"We are not asking law enforcement to stop using deadly weapons," Djoken said. "For the most part, they know how to use guns."

But some police officers may not be as careful as they should when using Tasers, he said. He has received complaints from residents who claimed to have been shocked excessively by the weapons.

"It is very important we do something to take Tasers out of the hands of law enforcement that don't know how to use them," he said.