A handful of law enforcement officers will be honored during a
Hollister City Council meeting Monday for text-book use of a Taser
stun gun that officials say saved the life of a suicidal man and
left all the officers involved unharmed.
Hollister – A handful of law enforcement officers will be honored during a Hollister City Council meeting Monday for text-book use of a Taser stun gun that officials say saved the life of a suicidal man and left all the officers involved unharmed.
Five Hollister police officers and two San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies will be recognized with the John H. Cover Medal of Non-Lethal Heroism from Taser International, the company that produces the stun guns used by law enforcement.
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said the incident involving a suicidal man with a loaded gun could easily have turned deadly quickly if not for the Taser.
“The Taser was probably the only tool that could have neutralized him,” Miller said. “I want to commend all of the officers who were out there. They showed excellent teamwork, excellent restraint. Nobody got antsy or anything.”
The award, which recognizes officers who use less-than-lethal force to diffuse a situation, stemmed from an incident in May when police received a call of a man who had fired rounds from a handgun through his car window, according to Miller. Sheriff deputies John Pena and Roy Iler found the man in the parking lot of Westside Liquors on San Juan Road, where he was sitting in his car, armed with the gun, according to police.
Police sergeants James Egan and Dan Winn, along with officers David Blair, David Westrick and Shannon Moretti, also responded, and attempted to talk the man out of the car, but to no avail.
The man put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger several times, each time landing on an empty chamber. He loaded it with three bullets and again put it to his head and pulled the trigger – landing on an empty chamber for the second time.
Before the man could fire a live round from the gun at himself or an officer, Egan shot the man through the window with his Taser, which caused him to drop the gun. He used the Taser three more times while Blair retrieved the gun and the man was taken into custody, according to police.
While media reports continue to surface across the country concerning people dying after being shot by a Taser, and questioning whether the electric shock from the weapon contributed to their deaths, Miller said any time a new weapon is included in police officers’ arsenals controversy ensues and eventually dies down. He believes the same will happen with Tasers.
While Iler gave the majority of the credit to Egan, who he termed the “hero” of the day, he said it is a perfect example of the Taser’s effectiveness and value to police officers. Without the option of the Taser, he said there is a definite possibility the man could have succeeded in killing himself.
“This should be an eye-opening incident for most of the public who had doubts about the Tasers because it shows Tasers save more lives than hurt people,” Iler said. “If we didn’t have these Tasers we wouldn’t have had an option.”
The seven officers will be recognized by Hollister city council members during their meeting Monday at 6:30pm.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
