Although eight deputies at the San Benito County Sheriff’s
Department have had Tasers strapped to their side for the past two
weeks, none of them have deployed them against a suspect yet.
Hollister – Although eight deputies at the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department have had Tasers strapped to their side for the past two weeks, none of them have deployed them against a suspect yet.
Every patrol officer will be outfitted with one of the stun guns by mid-October, which Lt. Pat Turturici said will help reduce injuries to both officers and the public during confrontational arrests.
Tasers are a type of stun gun that transmit a powerful, incapacitating shock through two small darts when fired. The sheriff’s department purchased 28 of the guns with $500,000 allocated by the state in August.
Deputies working the night shift who already have the Tasers received a four-hour training session where they learned how Tasers affect the human body, how to use them and when it’s appropriate to deploy them, said Turturici.
“We purchased them to try to stop injuries with our officers so we’re not having to use hands-on force,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of situations where that happens, but occasionally we have to go hands-on and in this regard we don’t have to.”
Controversy over police use of stun guns gained national attention when the Arizona Republic in July reported medical examiners found stun guns were partly responsible for deaths in Las Vegas, Indiana and Florida. However, each suspect was shot with a stun gun multiple times by police and determined to be under the influence of illegal drugs, according to the articles.
Turturici doesn’t believe stun guns were a contributing factor in the deaths, because there are often extenuating circumstances unrelated to the use of stun guns, he said.
“If a person’s high on meth they can die just from the meth – it’s usually because the drug itself is causing the heart to give out,” Turturici said. “There are no studies that show Tasers are something that cause death. We’re pretty confident we have a good tool here.”
In California, a Del Rey Oaks man died after being shot with a Taser in late August, but whether the Taser was the cause of death is unproven.
Deputy Rich Brown said he would prefer to use a Taser in a confrontation over a baton, pepper spray or handgun because he believes it drastically reduces the chance of serious injury.
“Batons will break bones and you have the possibility of missing and hitting a vital area causing death or permanent injury,” Brown said. “With Tasers the recovery of an individual is very rapid.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
