Courts across the country are placing greater restrictions on when a Taser may be used by police. For example, using a taser on a nonviolent suspect is ruled as excessive force.

“It largely comes down to department policy, but Taser use has changed over the years from when they first came out,” said Scott Stumpf, a law enforcement and Taser instructor at Alexandria Technical and Community College. The legal frameworks and proper use of Tasers are still being discussed overall, leaving police in a state of using “best judgement”.

Circuit courts have previously ruled, “Taser use is severe and injurious regardless of the mode to which the taser is set” after a mentally ill man died when Tased by police.

Owatonna Police Sergeant, Joshua Sorenen said, “All use of force incidents, we review as a department. They go through the supervisor that night, and then to the patrol captain and through me as well, so it’s kind of a checks and balances of making sure we’re all in accordance to law,” he said. “If there is some training that can come out of it, that’s what we’ll do, or if its excessive force obviously we would pursue that with the officer as well.”