SCOTUS May Review Police TASER Use

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider reviewing police use of TASERs as possible excessive force when justices review cases for the upcoming term later this month.

At a May 24 conference, the justices will consider whether to hear two cases from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals involving the use of TASER stun guns against resistive subjects in Seattle and Hawaii.

"One could argue that the use of painful, permanently scarring weaponry on non-threatening individuals, who were not trying to escape, should have been known to be excessive by any informed police officer," wrote Appellate Judge Mary Schroeder, reports the McClatchy Newspapers .

In the first case, a Seattle Police officer stunned pregnant Malaika Brooks, after she was pulled over for driving 12 mph over the 20-mph limit and refused to sign the citation.

In the second case, a Maui Police officer stunned Jayzel Mattos, who fought with officers who attempted to defuse her drunk husband during a domestic disturbance in 2006.

Related:

Ninth Circuit: Stun Gun Use Excessive In 2 Cases