Wednesday, January 25, 2006

WSP gets on the Taser bandwagon

centralkitsapreporter.com has an interesting article about DUI arrests and Taser usage. A summary follows:

SHELTON — Pulled over by a Washington State Patrol Trooper for a DUI and becoming increasingly noncompliant and agressive screaming “Come on, you want to fight me?”... Although this was just a scenario and the “driver” was actually Trooper Kevin Forrester, an instructor at the Washington State Patrol Academy in Shelton, it’s a common situation.

...“The Taser is a technology that has been around for a while, and is proven to be safe and effective in bringing a non-compliant individual into compliance without the need for additional use of force,” said WSP Chief John Batiste.

...Forrester then stood up, continued to resist arrest and was tased a second time before rolling onto his stomach and putting his hands behind his back.

...Trooper Eric Ludlow, of the Poulsbo Detachment, was one of the weapon belt instructors undergoing Taser training at the academy on Thursday.

...WSP will first distribute additional Tasers to those detachments that have shown the highest rate of use of force, for example, areas like Seattle or Tacoma, according to Fakkema.... As for District 8, which includes Kitsap County, Fakkema expects the five detachments — Port Angeles, Poulsbo, Shelton, Hoquiam and Naselle — to each have two Tasers by June.


Originally posted at: Washington DUI News.

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