Posted: 6/7/05
Police officers get Taser training
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Three seconds was quite enough of a Taser gun blast for Reed Welch, thank you very much.
Welch, 20, was taking pictures of a Taser training class at the Caledonia Police Department on May 25 when he volunteered for a dose of the electric weapon.
He didnít want to be shot with the darts from the gun, so he got the jolt from two clips that were attached to his body.
ìI didnít want to get pierced by needles,î he said.
Caledonia Police Officer Jim Logan, who was instructing the class of local officers, pointed a Taser at Welch and shot him with 50,000 volts of electricity for three seconds. (Five seconds is the normal dose in a real-life situation.)
A shock of pain went through Welchís side. He figured it was like sticking his hand in seven light sockets at one time. Two police officers were holding Welch up, otherwise he would have fallen to the floor.
ìI was all right two minutes afterwards,î Welch said. ìIíve seen it on TV and it doesnít hurt as much as it looks like on TV.î
Welch said he would never run from a Taser nowñnot that he would have before, he added quickly.
Caledonia police officers just recently started carrying Tasers, thanks to a $5,000 grant from the State of Minnesota, which covered the $800 cost for five tasers, plus cartridges and training. A Taser training class is required every year for officers. Caledonia Police Chief Randy Shefelbine said he wants his officers to be ìtazedî at least once, so they know the effects of the weapon.
ìOnce is more than enough, believe me,î Shefelbine said with a laugh.
The weapons work by shooting out two probes similar to fish hooks; the electrical charge from the gun goes between the probes.
The Taser points a red dot laser beam where the probes will go, and that beam is often enough to get a person to surrender, especially if they have experienced a Taser before.
ìBelieve me, they remember it for the rest of their life,î Shefelbine said. He has experienced the shock, and he has used the guns as a former Houston County Sheriffís Deputy.
ìOnce you go through it once, you donít want to go through it a second time,î Shefelbine said, echoing Reed Welchís comments.
The guns, which are bright yellow, are carried on the side opposite from the gun.
Tasers are intended for use in place of firearm, Shefelbine said. Other options besides a gun used to be just mace or a baton ìThis is the type of instrument to neutralize the central nervous system,î he said.
They give a quick recovery without the permanent damage that mace or a baton can inflict. ìItís a very effective. tool,î Shefelbine said.
Tasers work even on people on drugs or alcohol, he added. It puts them on the ground. stuns them, and allows them to be handcuffed.
Each gun also has a computer chip that can be downloaded to tell how long it was used. That avoids someone saying that a Taser was misused.
ìI think itís one of the best tools that law enforcement has seen in a long, long time,î Shefelbine said.
Caledonia Argus
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E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com