by Reginald James, Black Hour editor

BART temporarily stripped its police force of Tasers April 15. The decision was a result of two recent federal rulings, BART said.

Interim Police Chief Daschel Butler issued a memo (PDF) to staff Thursday suspending use of Tasers for two weeks. Officers will be retrained and will be able understand the revise Taser policy, Butler said, which will comply with the rulings.

"The rulings essentially say that an officer can now only use a Taser to defend his or herself or someone else's life," BART said in a press statement. "Previously, an officer, under certain circumstances, could also use a Taser to get a suspect to comply with a direct order."

The memo comes just days after a BART police sergeant in a moving patrol car shot a taser at a 13 year old on a bicycle leaving the Richmond BART, the SF Chronicle reports. BART claims the chief made the decision to retrain officers on the policy prior to the incident. Butler would not discuss the case because it is under investigation, but said that the darts did not hit the boy.

For the rest of this story, go to The Black Hour.