NYPD Advised to Expand Taser Program

The NYPD could prevent some police-related shootings from escalating into deadly confrontations like the Sean Bell case by giving cops Tasers, a new report says.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly hired the high-powered Rand Corp. to review weapons training six weeks after officers fired a combined 50 rounds at Bell and his pals in November 2006 in Queens.

A review of 455 police-involved shootings found 25 cases - including three fatalities - where Tasers might have prevented the gunplay, according to Rand's 114-page study released yesterday. The study did not review the Sean Bell shooting.

"If a Taser had been used, the situation would not have progressed to the point where guns were necessary," said Bernard Rostker, who directed the $350,000, 16-month review.

Continue reading article here. [Brooks Holland]