OKLAHOMAN:AugOklahoma
City, OK
23, 2001

City officers implementing nonlethal electric weapon
By Rabert Medley
.'i,'u/(W,-il('1

The Air Taser, a weapon that
fires electricity instead of bullets. should be on the streets in
about two wecks, Oklahoma City
police said Wednesday.
The 1\'1"26 Air Taser could be
user! in situations such as the
one Sunday, in which a 28-yearold man was shot and killw! by a
lJoliee officer. Police said Shawn Holden raised a
knife and lunged at the officer.
However, it is difficult to pn,dict <,xactly when
i< Taser will come in handy, pollee Sgt. Blake
Vvebster said.
"I can't really give you a set of circumstances

for when the '1'asers will be used," Webster said.
The risk of injury to an officer must be consid·
ered in each situation, he said.
In June, police began training
with less-lethal weapons. Webster, in charge of the training
pmgram, said about 50 police officers have learned how to use
thn weapons so far.
Webster has 50 Tasers stored
in his office and plans to order
another 50. His plan calls for
eight 'fasees in each of the city's four districts at
all times.
The Tascrs an, llot going to eliminate the need
for guns.
The Taser policy will require two officers to be
present when a Taser is in use. One officer will

hold the Taser while another officer, armed with
a gun, will cover him.
"Tasers are not always an option, but the Tasers are another tool in our toolbox." Webster
said.
Sometimes, even a gunshot does not stop a person who charges an officer with a weapon, Webster said.
"It's not like on TV," he said. "When you shoot
someone, they don't always fall over."
Also, police are not trained to shoot someone in
the leg or arm.
"We train to fire at their center mass to stop
the threat," Webster said.
The Oklahoma City Council approved the Tasers Aug. 14. The weapons had not been distributed to officers before Sunday's shooting.
On Wednesday, the state medical exa:niner's of-

fice said Holden died of multiple gunshot wounds.
A final autopsy report has not been released.
Officer Todd Deaton, 86, a seven-year veteran,
is on routine administrative leave while the investigation into the shooting continues. Because
the shooting happened in Cleveland County. Dis·
trict Attorney Tim Kuykendall will revie\v the
case and decide if the shooting was justified.
The Tasers fire two insulated electric wires
with fish hook tips that latch onto clothing or
skin and then cause muscles to contract. The vic·
tim is likely to fall over. Webster said the current
isn't strong enough to cause death, but people can
be injured or killed when they fall over. Those hit
by a Taser current can recover within a few sec·
onds from the shock. Each Taser costs $500, and
the one-use·only cartridges that hold the wires
cost $17 each.