Detention by electroshock: why the government's initiative is dangerous

The discharge of high-voltage electric current, since it causes neuromuscular paralysis in the body, is an effective tool for repelling an attack. However, law enforcement officers also want to use the relevant special equipment for detention purposes.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared and the Cabinet of Ministers submitted to the Verkhovna Rada draft law No. 11420 of 19.07.2024 «On Amendments to Article 45 of the Law of Ukraine «On the National Police» on Improving the Legal Basis and Peculiarities of the Use of Special Means».

Today, according to the rules of the mentioned article of the Law, electroshock devices of contact and contact-remote action are allowed to be used only in two cases:

• to repel an attack on a police officer, other person or protected object;
• to repel an attack by an animal that threatens the life and health of a person or a police officer.

The draft law proposes to expand this list and allow the use of special means also during the detention of persons who:

• suspected of committing a criminal offense and resisting a police officer or trying to escape;
• physically resist a police officer;
• are trying to escape from custody.

The Ukrainian National Bar Association's Committee on Human Rights Protection analyzed this initiative and noted that the importance of detention is to prevent a person from evading investigation and trial, to stop his or her criminal activity, and to prevent falsification of evidence.

At the same time, in the vast majority of cases, the police do not have information about the person they plan to detain, except for his or her name and the grounds for detention. And if, during the detention process, a police officer decides to use an electroshock device on a person with certain diseases that are not obvious, this will lead to a sharp deterioration in their health or even death.

For example, the use of electroshock devices can be dangerous, for example, in the case of cancer (the threat of stimulating the growth and progression of tumors or metastases), heart disease (risk of heart damage), neurological disorders (impact on the nervous system).

It is important that law enforcement agencies are aware of these risks and avoid using stun guns on individuals if their health status is not established.

Therefore, the UNBA did not support the addition of clause 6 of part 3 of Article 45 of the Law regarding the use of special means during detention with resistance or physical resistance to a police officer. After all, in such cases there is a real threat of causing serious harm to a person's health or death. But for attempts to escape from custody, when police officers are reliably aware of the absence of medical contraindications, the use of electroshock devices can be accepted. However, the relevant warning must be spelled out in the law.

The full text of comments and suggestions to draft law No. 11420 can be found here.