BART police officers are being asked to turn over their tasers.
A memo went out late Thursday afternoon from interim Police Chief Daschel Butler asking the rank and file to hand over their tasers to their individual sergeants immediately. The memo said the decision is only temporary until officers can receive more training.
There are reports the decision follows an incident between a BART officer and an assault suspect on April 1. The suspect was on a bike and a tasert was used at some point during a pursuit or arrest.
The chief told KTVU his decision is linked to a recent court decision that said tasers should only be used defensively and not during a pursuit.
Of course, tasers have been in the news connected to BART ever since the death of Oscar Grant on New Year's Eve night a little more than a year ago. Johannes Mehserle allegedly shot and killed Grant during his arrest. Mehserle's defense lawyer says that Mehserle thought he was discharging a taser and not a gun at the time.
