The amount of ignorance in this world still amazes me. I work as a sworn peace officer for a community college district in California where short-sighted administrators are the ones calling the shots. The officers at our department have been trained according to POST standards and sometimes receive more training than our municipal counterparts. Our administrators decided, only after a long union battle, to provide us with .40 cal sidearms. Do we still need other force options like Tasers, shotguns, rifles, pepperball guns, etc? Of course we do. Why don’t we have them? Their answers: “Too aggressive” or “not right now”. When is a good time? After people are killed or injured?

Campus life is similar to that of other small affluent towns, where people want to believe there is a magical bubble protecting them. Unfortunately, the bubble does not exist in real life; only in their minds.

Would I rather not be needed as a police officer? You bet! I would rather there not be violence, corruption and evil in this world, but the sad reality is it does exist and in staggering proportions.

So, before the taxpayers and students decide to send me into harm’s way…I would appreciate the courtesy of having an advantage over our would be assailants.

Ponder this scenario: a suicidal 18 year old male is armed with a knife. He is approaching a crowded public area. Officers arrive and have no quick, effective means to disable the subject WITHOUT shooting or getting close to him. The subject lunges at officers, whom draw their service weapons and fire. The subject is killed instantly. Officers approach and see the knife was made of rubber.

His family is outraged and files lawsuits against the city for negligence and wrongful death. The city settles out of court for millions of dollars and must pay thousands for Workers’ Compensation Psychiatric claims for the officers involved.

If the responding officers had all the tools necessary (a taser or beanbag rounds) to quickly and safely disable the man, the outcome would have been totally different…and much more positive.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

To the many good Police Officers..both men and women..who put their lives on the line every time they go to work..They need to be armed with anything that will help them to combat against those that choose to bring harm to others..

I am glad they have tasers..I know of two personal examples where it not only saved the police officers life but the life of which he was trying to protect..

I appreciate that; what in particular do you find incorrect?

I agree on all counts. I always find it interesting that when officer “A” screws up, we feel the need to take that tool away from “B” and “C” as well. Thank you for the kind words!

PC

The M26/X26 Taser has been deployed on literally THOUSANDS of LEO’s during training sessions with zero deaths. NOT A SINGLE ONE.

What most of the highly published deaths have resulted from is most likely ‘excited delirium’. Most of these deaths have involved folks who have been under the influence of drugs esp. stimulants such as cocaine and/or methamphetamine. When you get the added stress of being in a fight with law enforcement and then get tased as well, bad things can and will happen.

What is not very well known is that when the taser was being developed, one of the tests was applying the taser current directly to heart tissue. The result; no change or damage to the heart function. The taser operates on a different electrical frequency then the heart does.

Does the taser get over-used sometimes? Yup. Each agency has its own ‘use of force’ policy that dictates when you can use various levels of force. On my agency (a very large dept in So Cal), the suspect has to be either directly assualting you or someone else, or a ‘high risk’ suspect before you can deploy a taser on him/her. For us, the taser is at exactly the same level of force as an impact weapon or K9 deployment. For other agencies, the taser is at a much lower level on the use of force chart, being the same level of force as OC spray.

BTW, good blog so far, PC…

I could not agree more. As with any profession, it is the bad apples who ruin it for the majority. I think one topic we have to look at is the screening process for who gets hired in the first place. Maybe we can increase our odds that way. But in the end, some bad apples are going to get through. I hope your faith in our men and women in uniform is renewed soon…

PC

Thank you. Of course I should have said “usually.” There are bad cops out there, just like bad doctors, lawyers, and teachers. I appreciate the correction. PC