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During Waynesville's city council meeting Thursday night, Waynesville Police Department officer Josh Hazel gave presentation about tasers in hopes of getting city council approval for the purchase of ten for department use.
The council voted to pass a resolution allowing the department to purchase the tasers after much discussion over the last couple of months.
WPD Chief Bob Carter requested to purchase the tasers during a November meeting of the Waynesville Emergency Service and Police Committee meeting.
The request was heard at the city council meeting that month. Council members expressed concern about purchasing the tasers due to deaths recently in Camdenton and Springfield after the use of a taser.
Officer Hazel's presentation to the city council included discussing an incident he was personally involved in where he felt a taser would have prevented a situation from escalating to a physical fight.
Hazel was attacked while answering a domestic dispute call by two individuals causing him to have to a lateral vascular neck restraint or “choke out” in order to subdue the subject.
Hazel said he felt that if he had a taser available to him, that situation may not have escalated to physical violence. Sometimes knowledge that officers have tasers acts as a deterrent by itself.
Hazel discussed why he and the rest of the department felt tasers were a better option than other non-lethal avenues currently available to WPD officers, such as pepper spray.
While discussing pepper spray, Hazel said, “the only people that suffer is everyone involved, officer included. It gets on you, it gets on your hands, it gets in your eyes, everyone is affected. For close quarters it's difficult to use.”
Hazel said he wanted to reassure the council that getting tasers is “about officer safety” and he will be the officer receiving the initial training so that he can train the rest of the department. “I do personally believe that, trained properly, everybody in the department will be able to properly deploy and use (tasers),” Hazel said.
The type of taser WPD will be purchasing will be an X26 that is yellow instead of black and worn as the offhand weapon to avoid confusion with the firearm. The X26 shoots probes that can hit a target up to 34 feet away.
Hazel passed a black X26 around so that council members could take a look at it and ask questions.
During the question and answer session, Mayor Cliff Hammock asked, “The area departments, St. Robert, Pulaski County Sheriff, the Military Police, are they all approved for tasers?”
During Waynesville's city council meeting Thursday night, Waynesville Police Department officer Josh Hazel gave presentation about tasers in hopes of getting city council approval for the purchase of ten for department use.
The council voted to pass a resolution allowing the department to purchase the tasers after much discussion over the last couple of months.
WPD Chief Bob Carter requested to purchase the tasers during a November meeting of the Waynesville Emergency Service and Police Committee meeting.
The request was heard at the city council meeting that month. Council members expressed concern about purchasing the tasers due to deaths recently in Camdenton and Springfield after the use of a taser.
Officer Hazel's presentation to the city council included discussing an incident he was personally involved in where he felt a taser would have prevented a situation from escalating to a physical fight.
Hazel was attacked while answering a domestic dispute call by two individuals causing him to have to a lateral vascular neck restraint or “choke out” in order to subdue the subject.
Hazel said he felt that if he had a taser available to him, that situation may not have escalated to physical violence. Sometimes knowledge that officers have tasers acts as a deterrent by itself.
Hazel discussed why he and the rest of the department felt tasers were a better option than other non-lethal avenues currently available to WPD officers, such as pepper spray.
While discussing pepper spray, Hazel said, “the only people that suffer is everyone involved, officer included. It gets on you, it gets on your hands, it gets in your eyes, everyone is affected. For close quarters it's difficult to use.”
Hazel said he wanted to reassure the council that getting tasers is “about officer safety” and he will be the officer receiving the initial training so that he can train the rest of the department. “I do personally believe that, trained properly, everybody in the department will be able to properly deploy and use (tasers),” Hazel said.
The type of taser WPD will be purchasing will be an X26 that is yellow instead of black and worn as the offhand weapon to avoid confusion with the firearm. The X26 shoots probes that can hit a target up to 34 feet away.
Hazel passed a black X26 around so that council members could take a look at it and ask questions.
During the question and answer session, Mayor Cliff Hammock asked, “The area departments, St. Robert, Pulaski County Sheriff, the Military Police, are they all approved for tasers?”
Councilman France and Hazel agreed St. Robert, Richland and Pulaski County were, but Fort Leonard Wood is not.
According to documentation provided in the city administrator's report, St. Robert has had tasers since May of 2011 and have not had to use them. Pulaski County Sheriff's Department has had tasers since July of 2011 and has to use them six times. Richland has had tasers since October of 2006 and has only used theirs three times.
Hazel pointed to the low numbers that tasers have been deployed as proof that the threat of taser use helps subjects be more compliant.
The vote to approve the purchase of the tasers was unanimous with councilman Perry Roberts absent from the vote.
Carter said his officers would receive their training at their yearly re-qualifying for weapons in May and the officers would have the option to be shot with a taser, but wouldn't be required to.
