Introduction of the Conducted Electrical Weapon into a Hospital Setting

Abstract

Background: The TASER^® X26 Conducted Electrical Weapon (CEW) provides painful stimuli and neuromuscular incapacitation to potentially violent persons. Use by law enforcement in society is common. Presenting a CEW is known to de-escalate some situations. Health care personnel sometimes encounter violent persons within the confines of the hospital. CEW use by health care security personnel has not been described. Objective: The objective is to describe results from the introduction of the CEW into a hospital environment. Methods: Upon introducing the CEW into an urban hospital campus, standardized reports were made describing all CEW use by hospital security. Reports were retrospectively reviewed for the first 12 months of CEW use. Collected data included force options used, potential injuries avoided, witness comments, outcomes, and whether the CEW required full activation or if inactive presentation was sufficient to control the situation. Rates of security personnel injuries were also gathered. Descriptive analysis was applied. Results: Twenty-seven CEW deployments occurred: four were inactive presentation, 20 were presentation with LASER sight activation, and three were probe deployments with a 5-s delivery of electrical current. Two persons required evaluation for minor injuries not related to CEW use. Witnesses reported that in all incidents, injuries were likely avoided due to CEW presentation or use. CEW use aborted one suicide attempt. Personnel injury rates decreased during the study period. Conclusion: CEW introduction into a health care setting demonstrated the ability to avert and control situations that could result in further injury to subjects, patients, and personnel. This correlates with a decrease in injury for hospital personnel. Further study is recommended for validation.

Introduction

The TASER^® Conducted Electrical Weapon (CEW) is a tool used mainly by sworn law enforcement officers in public protection situations to assist in controlling agitated and potentially violent persons. CEW use is gaining in popularity, and the use of these devices in criminal apprehension situations in society has been described (1).

Hospital staff and patient safety from violence within the hospital campus has been of significant concern to the health care community and has been discussed in the medical literature (2, 3, 4, 5). Many hospitals utilize civilian, non-sworn personnel to provide safety, protection, and security. These personnel may be equipped with nothing more than a uniform to carry out this mission. The hospital environment often encompasses combative, agitated, and potentially violent persons (both patients and non-patients) who can be difficult to calm and control. The CEW may be a useful tool in de-escalating and controlling potentially violent situations in health care settings. The objective of this study was to examine the utility of using a CEW within a health care environment.