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to restrict its use. The measure would also preclude the use of tasers to punish and intimidate those not <br />doing anything serious enough to justify death at the hands of an officer, and allow citizens to regulate <br />tasers. <br />Ms. Glassberg said in October 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon recommended <br />that law enforcement agencies that employed tasers should use them subject to strict limitations suitable for <br />a weapon that could result in fatalities. The ACLU further recommended that law enforcement agencies <br />should emphasize training and non-violent techniques to minimize the circumstances in which tasers might <br />be deployed. <br /> <br />Charlotte Behm <br />, Springfield, endorsed the naming of the Willamette/I-5 Bridge to Whilamut Passage and <br />thanked the council for considering the name during its deliberation on the Consent Calendar. <br /> <br />Carol Berg-Caldwell <br />, 2510 Augusta Street, shared a poem with the council critical of the Police <br />Department’s public safety efforts downtown. <br /> <br />th <br />Chris Calef <br />, East 35 Street, said he had many good experiences with the Eugene Police Department <br />(EPD) and the majority of officers were respectful and polite. He was concerned about the other 10 <br />percent, who caused the majority of the problem. He averred that those officers were not disciplined and <br />further asserted that Eugene officers were not fired for failure to do their job unless they raped someone. <br />He said without accountability, there would be continued community trust issues. Speaking to the subject <br />of tasers, Mr. Taylor said that officers would use tasers without facing deadly force. He urged the council <br />to place a measure limiting tasers on the ballot. <br /> <br />Randy Prince <br />, PO Box 927, Eugene, identified himself as the chief proponent for a ballot measure to limit <br />taser use. He called on the council to adopt an ordinance to curb taser use. He believed that the <br />community approved the use of tasers only when their use represented a chance to reduce deadly force. He <br />said the council’s action in adopting the Police Commission’s policy recommendation in regard to tasers <br />was not in accord with the opinions of those he spoke to. The council’s deliberations did not consider the <br />range of options, such as banning tasers or a moratorium on their use. The recommendations were from <br />the staff perspective only. He said that police officers have different interests than the community. They <br />wanted to be free from bullying officers and death by taser. He said the council’s job was to represent the <br />citizens’ interests. <br /> <br />th <br />Barbara Edmonds <br />, 27 Avenue and McMillan Street, asked the council to place a measure limiting the <br />use of tasers on the ballot. She reviewed a letter she had written to the editor of The Register-Guard in <br />support of her position asserting that abuses of power occurred in the Eugene Police Department and <br />officers knew but would not admit it. She said that she would support tasers if it was true that they were <br />used only when an officer would otherwise use a gun. However, she did not think that was the case. Ms. <br />Edmonds asserted that tasers were used by officers as an alternative to physical restraint and to inflict <br />punishment. She questioned whether guns rather than tasers would have been used in recent high-profile <br />incidents involving the police. She suggested that if the officers would had not have deployed guns in those <br />instances, they should not have used tasers. She said that citizens could not trust officers to police <br />themselves, and she called on the council to set limits on taser use and to hold officers who abused their <br />authority accountable. <br /> <br />Ms. Edmonds shared the result of an informal poll she conducted of nearly 100 people, a vast majority of <br />who favored her position. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 14, 2010 Page 2 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br />