March 11th, 2008
» Paper Trail: San Marcos police use of force statistics

From staff reports

A San Marcos police officer used a Taser this weekend on a woman officers said was resisting arrest following a automobile accident on River Road. Monica Shiel, 40, and her son, James Shiel, 20, each face a Class A misdemeanor resisting arrest charge and James Shiel is charged with Class C misdemeanor charge of minor driving under the influence.

San Marcos police reported using a Taser 30 times in 2006, down from 38 in 2005. The department’s annual use of force report — which, it should be noted, is not required by state or federal law — is usually issued in March but numbers for 2007 were not immediately available.

A Texas State University public administration student’s statistical analysis of San Marcos police records from 2004 and 2005 found a total of 543 instances of use of force with officers using no weapon in the vast majority of cases. Officer-reported use of force also showed “no relationship found between race and the level of force officers display. There is a significant relationship found between race and the level of subject resistance,” according to an abstract.

— BRAD ROLLINS

CORRECTION

This story originally said driving under the influence for a minor is a Class B misdemeanor. It is a  Class C misdemeanor.

DOWNLOADS

» 2006 Use of Force report

» 2005 Use of Force report

» “An Analysis of the San Marcos Police Departments 2004-2005 Use of Force Data” (2005)