After months of waiting for Tasers, the Hollister Police
Department is still without the newest commodity in law enforcement
because of miscommunication with the manufacturer, according to the
police chief.
Hollister – After months of waiting for Tasers, the Hollister Police Department is still without the newest commodity in law enforcement because of miscommunication with the manufacturer, according to the police chief.
While the stun guns were supposed to be strapped to officers’ sides by now, the 15 guns, and holsters for every officer, were only ordered last week, and Chief Jeff Miller now hopes to have his staff equipped with them in six weeks. The department received a $20,000 grant from the state in October to purchase the guns.
Miller ordered the guns because he believes they will reduce injuries to the officers and suspects. The guns are touted by the manufacturer as being “less than lethal” and can shoot up to 50,000 volts of electricity into a subject up to 21 feet away. The jolt is supposed to leave the person incapacitated for about seven or eight seconds.
“Our department is so short-staffed, every injury an officer suffers really affects the department and our ability to provide for the community,” Miller said.
While the department has been waiting for the guns to arrive, officers have called San Benito Sheriff’s deputies on calls where they think the Tasers would be more effective, said Sheriff’s Lt. Pat Turturici.
The sheriff’s department purchased the same model the police department will be receiving – the Taser X26 – in August and have used the Tasers four or five times on patrol and twice in the county jail, Turturici said. Gilroy’s police department also purchased the Taser X26 for its officers earlier this year.
“This will give them (police officers) a tool they desperately need,” Turturici said. “It’s probably the best tool that has come out in the last 20 years for police officers.”
The guns have been shrouded in constant controversy, however, after people around the country have died after being shot with them and recently officers have been criticized for shooting young children with them.
In November, Miami-Dade County police shot a 6-year-old boy at school when he threatened to cut his leg with a piece of broken glass, and police shot a 14-year-old Detroit boy twice with one of the guns when he refused to stop playing a handheld video game during class, according to media reports.
Miller said if the situation warranted it, Hollister police officers would use a Taser on a juvenile.
“Anyone under 18 is considered a juvenile. A 17-year-old gang member with a knife is just as deadly as an 18-year-old,” he said, “but that still doesn’t mean you’re going to go right to Tasers.”
The instances around the country where young children were shot for seemingly minor actions infuriated Miller, who said his reaction to the news was the same as much of the rest of the country’s.
“The ones in Florida were absolutely ridiculous. Give me a break. We’re not going to be doing stuff like that here,” he said. “We all sit back like everyone else and think, ‘What were these guys thinking?'”
Turturici said the sheriff’s department hasn’t used a Taser on a juvenile, but there’s no age limit on who deputies can use the guns on.
“Obviously it concerns us when we hear stories about 6-year-olds being tased,” he said. “I hope some of the agencies can understand it’s a great tool, but bad practices could create limitations to them being used in the future.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
