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CHARLOTTE (MCT) -- Two months after Charlotte-Mecklenburg police suspended the use of Tasers following the death of a suspect, the department wants to spend $1.83 million to upgrade to a newer, safer model.

The Charlotte City Council on Monday will consider switching to the X2 Taser, which Arizona-based Taser International says is more accurate and better regulates how much electricity it discharges.

In July, after the death of a man who was stunned by police at a light-rail station, Chief Rodney Monroe said officers would suspend use of the X26 models, pending a review.

In late August, the department said all of its Tasers had been tested, with a "small number" having minor problems, such as faulty batteries. The department also said that it believed Tasers were still a valuable tool and that their use would likely continue.

Charlotte City Council member James Mitchell said Friday that he'll likely support purchasing 1,600 new Tasers.

"I can accept Chief Monroe's recommendation," said Mitchell, a Democrat who represents District 2. "If he thinks (the new Taser) is the right way to go, I can support that."
Police spokesman Bob Fey said the department wouldn't comment on the purchase before council members hear a presentation from police.

"That's a long-standing policy," Fey said. "We don't want to influence the vote."

Information submitted to council members before Monday's vote said CMPD has conducted an internal review of its Taser training. It also said the department has asked the Washington, D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum to review its Taser policies. The forum is a national organization that works to improve policing through research.

There has long been controversy over the use of Tasers nationwide.

Stun guns, which can discharge 50,000 volts to temporarily incapacitate suspects, have been linked to hundreds of deaths across the country, but supporters say the weapons reduce the likelihood of injury to suspects.

CMPD policy says the devices are not intended as a substitute for other non-lethal force options, but that they should be used "to restrain violent individuals where alternative restraint tactics fail or are reasonably likely to fail."

In an email to the Observer Friday, Taser International said the new Taser is more accurate, owing to a second laser sight that helps an officer aim.

In addition, the company said the X2 Taser "measures and adjusts" the amount of electric charge to be safe and effective. Taser International said each device has a meter that measures the amount of charge that's released.

It also said the new Tasers can emit a loud and visible warning before being fired. The company said it hopes that will persuade suspects to stop being violent. The new model came out this year and has been ordered by the University of Texas police and the South Dakota Highway Patrol, among other agencies.

CMPD officers on July 20 responded to a report of a man beating and choking a woman at a Lynx light-rail station along Old Pineville Road. The suspect was identified as Lareko Williams.

Officer Michael Forbes was the first officer to respond. He fired his department-issued X26 Taser just as Williams was about to strike the woman again, Monroe said at the time.

The officer soon realized Williams was unresponsive and called for help, police said. Williams was pronounced dead about an hour later.

The next day, the department suspended its use of the Tasers for 30 to 45 days.

Williams' death came only a day after a federal jury awarded $10 million to the family of 17-year-old Darryl Wayne Turner, who died in 2008 after a CMPD officer shocked him with a Taser. The jury found that Taser International failed to warn that the weapon could cause cardiac arrest.

All officers were required to undergo more training with the weapons after Turner's death.

Although the city of Charlotte denied wrongdoing, it paid $625,000 to Turner's family in 2009.

Most of the money for the new Tasers would come from the city's general fund. The rest -- $400,000 -- would come from an "asset forfeiture" account.