STONONIGTON — The police department has purchased two Tasers and plans to deploy them as soon as the Board of Police Commissioners approves a policy for their use, which it could do when it meets Thursday.
Police Chief David Erskine said the Tasers will give officers another nonlethal option when they are called upon to subdue a violent or dangerous person. The weapons send 50,000 volts of electricity along wires connected to darts that can be fired up to 20 feet from a target.
The department also has trained its officers to use a shotgun that fires beanbags to knock down a suspect.
Erskine was unsure how much the Tasers cost. He said the department's supervisors, including sergeants and a lieutenant, have been trained in the use of the Tasers. One will be kept in the supervisor's car and another in the police station. Eventually, all officers will be trained to use them.
The devices have become popular with police departments across the country, although their popularity has waned a bit amid reports that their use has resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people since 2001. In some cases, the exact cause of the fatalities has been hotly debated.
Erskine said his department reviewed a great deal of information about the devices and felt it was appropriate to use them. Departments in Waterford, Norwich, Groton Town and Plainfield have Tasers.
Last Thursday, Waterford police used a Taser to help New London police subdue a man holding two large knives to his throat.
The Stonington department has modeled its policy on those used by the Groton Town and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., departments.
The policy states that the primary purpose of the Taser “is to save human lives and prevent injury.” It can only be used when other less lethal options have been ineffective or it appears such options will be ineffective or unsafe to deliver.
“The Taser will only be used in situations where the subject poses an immediate or imminent threat to the safety of himself/herself, a citizen or an officer,” the policy says.
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