• 4

BOCA RATON TIMES, September 5, 2001

BTP

NEWS

Stun ning((~ontrol
Bocapolice
to arm officers'

greatest of stun, ~ns and
the most effectiv~;" Boca
Police Chief Andre\'\ZScott
said. ,'..
/}}'
For $60,790,tl'IedepartIIlent. will rec~hre,. ,• 8§
lJ1odel...M~~·A.pvanced
TASERs, Ina.nufactur~d by
Arizona-based
TASER
International.
ByCHRISTINESELVAGGI.
. The model, resembling
TIMES STAFF WRITER
a ., semi-automatic handCriminals runrtingaW'a¥ gun;' is only sold to law
from the law may soon be enforcement, said Steve.
getting ajoltof reality.
1:'uttle, director of governThe Boca Raton·· Police ment affairs. Boca Police
Department ,•• will· begin purchased the M26s .•• in
arIIling its uniformed black with yellow striping, '
patrol
offic:ers
with hoping; subjects dO.nC?t
TASER stun guns.
mista.keit for a gun.. ...•.
The gun, which can be
IntroPllcepin 19~~, m~
'used to. subdue ,unrul¥ 1\1126 " Advanced ,••·Tt\.s§E
suspects, from 21 . • feet' ()ffers 26 watts (50,090
away, is •. considered ,' the .volts) with a low amper~
hottest non-lethal item on age rate that will not cause
the law enforcement mar- heart problems or effect
keto
pacemakers. It does leave
"This is the latest' arid a small, red mark on the

withTASER
stup.guns·

skin Where the two probes
carrying the voltage make
contact, Tuttle said. Older
TASERs administer seven
to 14 watts and are sometimes unable to inhibit
stronger,more focused
subjects, he added.
"This was designed to
stop
goal-oriented,
focused
individuals,"
Tuttle said. "It does not
use pain to stop the bad
guy."
Considered an 'electromuscular
disruption
weapon, the TASER will
"overwhelm the central
nervous system and cause
muscles to lock" for about
five seconds, Tuttle said.
Chief Scott said that it's
enough time to take a subject into custody safely.
"We can subdue a violent subject at a safe distance," he said.
The gun also keeps a

TASER
POWER:
The Boca
Raton Police
Department
will soon be
receiving 85
model M26
Advanced
TASERS for its
officers to
carry for
protection.
Submitted photo

log of the date, time and
number of times fired something useful in police
litigation.
Currently, Boca police
officers are equipped with
handcuffs, two extra bullet magazines, pepper
spray, an expandable
baton, and a firearm. Scott
said the stun guns could
replace the pepper spray
or baton.
"This is just another
tool for the tool box,"
Tuttle said.
More than 100 law
enforcement agencies in
Florida use stun guns,

including half of all sheriffs' offices.
Boca
officers
will
receive eight hours' of
training on the guns and if
requested, can be stunned
by the. TASER.
Tuttle said most officers
walk in skeptical of the
results, and walk out as
believers.
"[Police] are not looking for toys or gadgets.
They are looking for
weapons that put people
down," he said. "It's not a
magic bullet, but it's as
close as you can get."