Radar Guns Banned to Preserve Health of Officers

MERIDAN, Conn.--Connecticut State Police ordered a ban on hand-held radar guns yesterday, a state police spokesman said. Concerns that troopers might develop cancer due to long-term exposure to the radiation the guns emit drove the decision.
State police spokesman Adam Berluti said, "The feeling here is to err on the side of caution until more is known about the issue." The decision to withdraw the guns is unique among state police departments.
The precautionary ban will give researchers a chance to study the possible links between cancer and use of the devices without further risking danger to state troopers. This ban affects 70 guns, which will be withdrawn from service.
Since state troopers use radar units with transmitter mounted on the outside of their vehicles, those units will remain in use. Two months ago, three municipal police officers in Connecticut filed worker's compensation claims, saying they had developed cancer from using hand-held radar guns.