HOUSTON -- Black officers are less likely to use Tasers, but black suspects are more likely to be jolted with the weapons, according to the first city audit of Taser use by Houston Police officers, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Members of Houston City Council's Public Safety Committee raised several questions as the 175-page audit was released to them on Monday.

The audit of 2.8 million calls to police from January 2000 to June 30, 2007, found black suspects make up 66.9 percent of all people zapped with the device, despite making up 46 percent of the total incidents and comprising 24.7 percent of the Houston population.

City Controller Annise Parker told the committee, "These patterns are significant and we believe the department needs to analyze why they're happening."

The audit says 55 percent of those zapped were the reason police were called to begin with, while 33 percent were approached by officers, mostly for drugs. Twelve percent were shocked during traffic stops.

The report spells out that most officers have only used their Taser one time, but one officer has used his on 13 people, another used it on 12 people. Two officers had shocked nine people each, and four officers had eight Taser incidents each.

The audit says injury claims to officers went down for officers since Tasers were introduced, but Parker said data was not significant to provide a link there.

Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt called it, "A positive benefit to the department and the community."

Hurtt also said lives have been saved since 53 of the clashes studied in this audit would have allowed for deadly force to be used. Instead, officers used their Tasers and Hurtt called that "exercising restraint and excellent judgment."

The report noted 55 complaints filed against police officers for using their Tasers, only three of which resulted in discipline. Seventy-one percent were filed by black people who had the device used on them, and most filed against white officers.

Thirteen of the complaints were ruled that the officer was justified. The others were listed as unfounded, "no disposition" or not having enough information.

Auditors asked officers during focus groups exactly why they believe black officers use the Taser less than white officers.

"Basically, the bottom line is they felt that African-American suspects related more to the African-American officer," said J. David Ahola, an auditor from Mir, Fox, and Rodriguez, P.C.

The audit said HPD needed more training for officers on when to use the Tasers, also referred to in the audit as "Conductive Energy Devices" or CEDs.

The report mentions that officers were questioned, but some were unclear about whether they could use Tasers on suspects who are fleeing.

The report said training videos shown at HPD academy classes show a suspect being zapped simply for being verbally combative. Some officers answered questions from auditors, indicating they would use it even if suspects were not struggling.

Among the officer's comments about Taser use in the audit, "Once I give you my command and you don't comply, I'm gonna help you."

Another wrote, "If a person is aggressive, we're going to stop him. No, no, we gave you a command. We don't worry about the consequences."

Responding before the council committee, Charles McClelland, the executive assistant HPD chief who reviews all Taser incidents said the public should look beyond the numbers.

"It's a little bit more complicated than what you've heard," said McClelland.

He told the committee, "It's not a matter of race. It's the suspect or individual's behavior that actually triggers the officer's use of force or response."

He said the reason for the disparity is because more minorities are arrested by HPD.

He pointed to Hurtt's response letter included in the audit, saying suspects have a chance of less than one half of one percent of being shocked with a Taser, regardless of their race.

More Information:

Full Audit Online