Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Not sure if that’s inscribed on the walls of the Baltimore Police Department, but it ought to be. According to The Baltimore Sun, police in that city deployed their Tasers hundreds of times against people who posed no immediate threat. Also according to The Sun’s six-month investigation, which looked at data from 2012-2014, in those hundreds of cases police did not follow the safety recommendations from experts, including Taser manufacturers.

As part of data reported to the state, police agencies must list the reason why a taser is deployed. There are three options: 1) non-compliant and non-threatening, 2) use of threat 3) use of force. In Maryland:

• Nearly 60 percent of those hit by Tasers in Maryland were described by police as "non-compliant and non-threatening," according to data from 2012 when the state began collecting data through 2014. • In one out of every 10 incidents, police discharged the weapon for longer than 15 seconds — a duration that exceeds recommendations from Taser International, the U.S. Department of Justice and policing experts. The data downloaded directly from the devices often shows more activations than officers document in police reports. • Officers fired the weapons at the chest in 119 incidents in 2014 — even though Taser has warned since 2009 that doing so could cause cardiac arrest. Data from earlier years only shows when police struck the "front torso," which includes the chest. That happened hundreds of times.

Not surprisingly, there are no statewide standards for police use of Tasers in Maryland, and there are no national standards either. Only Connecticut and Vermont have statewide policies regarding Taser use by police.

Its also not surprising that police in Maryland have been sued by families of people who died as a result of being tased.