By Ryan Smith
07/18/08
July 17, 2008 10:14 pm
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ERIE — One day earlier this year, Erie-area Pennsylvania State Police troopers were called when a man with documented mental health issues and a weapon in hand threatened to harm himself.
A situation that could have played out with a violent end for the man or one of the responding officers instead ended without incident when a trooper fired one non-lethal shot from his Taser, rendering the man disabled enough that he could be disarmed and taken into custody.
That’s one example of how the recent deployment of Tasers to state police troopers for use in confrontational situations is helping to ensure the safety of the public and officers themselves, according to Cpl. Mark Zaleski, spokesperson for state police Troop E.
Patrol members and supervisors from the troop, which covers Crawford and Erie counties, trained earlier this year on the proper techniques for using Tasers at the state police Northwest Training Academy in Meadville, said Zaleski.
Taser is the brand name of an electronic immobilization device, or EID, that fires two darts attached to wires. The device delivers a 50,000-volt charge, incapacitating a person long enough for troopers to take them into custody without causing permanent harm.
“Tasers already have proven to be highly effective, non-lethal weapons for subduing individuals threatening harm to themselves or others,” state police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller said Thursday during a news conference at the State Police Academy in Hershey. “They have been used with great success to control people who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol; suffering from mental health issues; or who simply are intent on harming themselves, our officers or others.
“In some of these cases, there is no doubt our troopers would have been required to grapple with the individuals, strike them with their batons, or fire their service weapons to protect themselves or others,” he continued. “The Taser provides an excellent option to the use of deadly force.”
While several Taser units are now available to troopers at Meadville’s PSP barracks, there has yet to be an incident where one was used on a suspect, said Trooper Darin Greenlee, the barracks’ community service officer.
Statewide, though, Miller said Tasers have been used in a wide variety of circumstances, citing one instance when two troopers in Clearfield County responded to a report of an intoxicated man arguing with his elderly parents. The troopers found the subject armed with a rifle, which he pointed at them. One of the troopers fired his Taser and the man was taken into custody.
Another example of success, Miller said, is an instance when troopers in Cumberland County encountered a man armed with a knife who was threatening suicide. When the man refused commands to drop the knife, a trooper fired his Taser and the officers were able to disarm the subject.
In this region, troopers “have deployed the use (of the Tasers) a number of times in high-risk situations that have ended very well for all involved,” said Zaleski. “The safety of the officers is key, as well as the individual who may not be in a capacity” for safe or logical decision-making.
Miller said state police conducted a two-year study of the possible use of EIDs and initiated a pilot program in 2006 by providing Tasers to 18 officers statewide.
Based on results of that program, Miller said, state police this year began training and equipping 3,000 troopers with Taser X26 model devices made by Taser International Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Tasers, which cost $899 per unit, were purchased primarily with asset forfeiture funds.
Miller said statewide, troopers used their Tasers 144 times during the first six months of this year.
In this region, troopers “have deployed the use (of the Tasers) a number of times in high-risk situations that have ended very well for all involved,” said Zaleski. “The safety of the officers is key, as well as the individual who may not be in a capacity” for safe or logical decision-making.
Ryan Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at rsmith@meadvilletribune.com.
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