Rochllllr, MH
POST - BUllETIN
Rochellor -M8l1ln CI1y -AulUn

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NOV

Mit At..

D(2,060
28, 2002

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P3282

C LI PPINGS

Police armed with
new Taser guns
fAONTPAGE
.
By Janice Gregorson

A new poli cy and n ew
Taser stun guns are now in
use by the Roch est er Poli ce
Department '
Th e cha nges follow a
review of departm ent procedures and eq uipment mad e
afte r a city ma n was shot by
a poli ce officer who th ought
he had fired his elec tric stun
gu n instead of his handgun.
That shooting occurred .
Sept 2 whe n officers were
respo nd ing to a ca ll abo ut an
intoxicated man who was
fighti ng and dam aging property.
Christofa r Alak, 31, ende d
up being shot once in the
ba ck and spent seve ral
weeks in the hospital.
Au thorities said the officer,
Greg Slem, was trying to
subdue an intoxi cated Atak
who was scuffling with
another officer when he
used his handgun instead of
his Taser.
The Minnesota Bure au of
Cri minal Apprehension
investig ated the shooting and
has rul ed it an accid ent Th e
matter is still under review
by the Ram sey County Attorneys Office to determ ine if

" Visually it is
Identifiable asa raser
as opposed to being a
handgun. "
- Police Capt. Jim Pittenger
it is identifiable as a Taser
as oppose d to be ing a
han dgu n," Pittenger sa id.
That benefits the officer and
citizens who immediately
know it is not a real gun.
Policy changes also have
been mad e, Pittenger sa id.
Scott Jecobso nlPost-Bulietin
Eac h officer now must
The Rochester Pollee Department has switched to a carry the stun gun on the
different model of the Taser Gun.
opposite sid e of where the
officer's han dgun is carried .
charges will be filed aga inst ruled accidenta l, th e incithe officer or Atak. The Atak dent automatica lly triggered Siem was carrying both his
an internal review of depart- handgun and Tase r on th e
family also has hired civil
tri al lawyers to investigate
.ment policy and the equipsa me s ide the night Atak was
ment, .
the incid ent
shot
Police Chief Roger
Police Capt Jim Pitt enger
When not in use , the stun
Peterson sa id at the time
sai d Wednesd ay that the goal gun must be carried in a
is to make the gun more dis- fanny-pack type compartthat the Taser stun gun in
use by the department
ti ngu ishable and still make it ment
looked and felt identical to
a safe option for officers to
Electric stun guns bec ame
handguns use d by the om use in emergency situations.
Standa rd equipment in all
ce rs. In thi s cas e, he sa id
The new Taser stun gun is city squa d cars in June 2001
Siem mistakenly gra bbed his . yellow as oppose d to black,
as a tool to help officers
.handgun, thi nking it was the and has a slightly different
subdue violent peop le
stun gun.
grip.
without ca using permanen t
While the shooting was
"Th at mean s that visua lly
lnj ury.