Bm Ralon, FL
D,I"y Beech NfI'I'

w..t Prim Buah
MilA,.,

o13,31&
NOV 8. 2001

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[I[JJ[JI[lI>RESS CLJ~:I~~~SI
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Ouch! Boca
cops get taste
ofTASERs
Training session teaches ' i
officers correct use of shm guns
,
By SIC : _ 5I.mR

HAl'¥ WIUTlm

Officer Dave Rosenthal said It
felt I1ke he took a shower and
stuck his finger In a I1ght socket.

For

Officer

Kurt

Brower

likened It to a "really bad muscle
spasm," and for Officer sean
Mlle. the feellng'- was "Incapacitating."
Rosenthal, Brower and Miles

were lust three of 13 Boca Raton
police officers who experienced
firsthand what It's like to be shot
by a lASER on Wednesday.

So far, 62 officers have been
trained to use the TASERs, nonlethal weapons Ulst deliver an
electric shock to stun violent
offenders. The stun guns will be
carried by all road-patrol offi·

cers.
Used In place of a baton or
pepper spray, We TASER nres
two probes up to a dIstance of 21
feet from a replaceable Cal'trldge, explained Omcer Mark
Saplno, one of three TASER
training In8truc~rs,
Saplno said that when the
probes - which are connected to
the weapon by high-voltage Insulated Wire - make contact with
the target, the TASER transmlls
powerful electrical pulses along
the wires and Into the body of the
target. TASERs carry a charge of
26 watts, or 50.000 volts,
_ J'he .s~ock can flO through, !ol,P
to 2 Inches of clothing," Saplno
said. ~And 8S long as the probes
are In place, the suspect can be
shocked again. ~
The shock takes over a person's nervous system and temporarily Incapacllates them. said
Sgt. Guy Parrinello.
Rlt totally Immobilizes you, and
everything you do Is Inadvertent, ~ Parrinello said.
For the time being, Boca Raton
Fire Rescue Services workers
will be called to remove the
probes from the suspect, said
Sgt. Jim DeMott.
DeMott said most police
departments have their own omeel'S remove them, but as a precautionary measure the Boca
department would leave that
responf'llbUlty 1,0 the rescue
workers. The pmbef'l leave small
beesung-like marks on the f'lkln.

The purchase of 85 stun 'I guns
was approved by the Boca' Raton
CI~Y Council on Aug. 28 at cost
of $60,790. Boca Raton's If the
nrst department In Palm Beach
County to use the weapon. :
Omcer Brice Allen got a
chance for a real·llfe test 011 the
morning of Tuesday. Oct. 30. He
used It more than four times on
32-year-old Corey M. Davis 'of
the 200 block of N.E. 15th
Terrace, whr,n the man was
arrested for running naked hi the
neighborhood and pounding on
the door of a neighbor.
AccOI'CIlng to a police report, as
Allen began to drive Davl$ to a
holding cell at the Boca Raton
police dep3l'tment, the suspect
smashed the Plexiglas divider
hetween the front and back
seats, causing ple{'.("$ to hit the
back of Allen's head.
Allen said he "I11pped the Cal'
and fired the TA&t<;R twice - with
DavIs kicking at him.
When Boca Raton Fire Rescue
Services workers arrived at the
department to treat Davis' forehead cuts, pollee opened the
holding cell and Davis lunged at
Allen, the report said.
Allen said he shot Davis with
the TASER two more Urnes, and
omcel'B were able to place him In
handcuffs. According to the
report, Davis continued to struggle and Allen ftred the TASER
~several mof'e urnes."
,Davis, who was taken to Boca
Raton Community HospItal and
treated for cuts on his forehead
and chin. was charged w1thlnde·
cent exposure, battery without
Injury and vandalism to government property.
.
He was rele68Cd rrom Palm
Beach County Jail on Monday on
$3,000 bond and Is scheduled to
appear In court on Dec, 7.
'Ihe TASER leaves no Injuries
even under extreme condltJons,"
said Rick Smith, president of
TASER International.
Dr. Paul Hendry, co-director of
the Pacemaker Clinic at the
University of Ottawa, Canada,
sold the TASER should pose no
lncreal'le In risk even to patients
with a pacemaker or Implantable
defibrillator.
*SSJatcl'@boconcrn<l,com

a

Above: 0fHceI SoaIt GIn:ill 01 the Boc:. RatDn Police Department feets the pain after being shot by a TASER stun gun
Wednesday during a training exercise, The Boca police department Is the first in Paim Beach County to use the
non-lethal weapons. Below: TASER stun 9UOs shoot a probe - seen here after being lired ata Boca Raton officer
dur1ng a training exerclse - connected to the weapon by high-voltage wires.

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