In this section, our attorneys explain Nevada’s criminal laws and legal concepts, A to Z
Criminal Law A to Z
In this section, our attorneys explain Nevada’s criminal laws and legal concepts, A to Z
Crimes by NRS Section
Every crime in Nevada is based in a section of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS). For each crime, our attorneys explain the laws, penalties and best defenses to fight the charge.
Nevada DUI
Getting arrested for DUI does not mean you will be convicted. Police misconduct, defective breathalyzers and crime lab mistakes may be enough to get your charges lessened or dismissed. Visit our page on Nevada DUI Laws to learn more.
Post-Conviction
Even if you’ve already been convicted of a crime, there is still much you can do to seal your record and restore your rights. Our attorneys explain how.
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Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers are permitted to use tasers (an electroshock weapon) when it would be reasonable under the circumstances. The Ninth Circuit has held that tasers qualify as “intermediate force.”[1] This is below deadly force. Therefore, tasers are supposed to be used to subdue but not seriously injure or kill suspects.
Factors police should consider when deciding whether taser use is reasonable include:
Below are examples of circumstances where a single taser use to subdue a suspect would probably be justified in Nevada:
In short, tasing is reasonable if the suspect poses an immediate threat to safety or is actively resisting. Ideally, officers should warn suspects beforehand that they may get tased if they do not follow instructions; this may be enough to deter the suspects from resisting further.
Even though taser use may be reasonable in the above scenarios, police are still supposed to use tasers as sparingly as possible and to stop once tasers are no longer necessary. Multiple tasing is justified only when the suspect is still posing a threat after the previous tasing.
And despite that tasers are not considered deadly force, tasers can become deadly or very dangerous if police tase someone multiple times in quick succession. And this health risk increases if the suspect is overweight or a substance-abuser.
Courts typically do not approve of taser use on suspects who:
In the recent the Ninth Circuit case Jones v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the court approved of the officer’s initial use of a taser to subdue the suspect Mr. Jones. In this case, Mr. Jones fled from a traffic stop. Since he did not threaten anyone’s safety or commit a serious crime, the officer determined that deadly force was unnecessary. Therefore, the officer elected to tase Mr. Jones to subdue him.
However, LVMPD officers continued to tase him even after Mr. Jones was handcuffed and was surrounded by officers. The Court suggested that this continued taser use was excessive since Mr. Jones no longer posed a threat. Furthermore, the repeated tasing may have been dangerous since Mr. Jones was overweight. Mr. Jones ultimately died.[2]
As part of a settlement, the LVMPD agreed to pay a half-million dollars to Mr. Jones’s mother. The LVMPD now limits its officers from using tasers for more than three 5-second cycles. Additionally, multiple officers may not use tasers on a suspect simultaneously.[3]
Learn more about police misconduct in Nevada. Victims of unlawful tasing may be able to bring a civil tort lawsuit and/or a Section 1983 lawsuit in Nevada.
Also see our related article, Nevada Taser Laws – 3 key things to know.
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.