The Rincon Police Department has taken the first step toward putting tasers in the hands of its officers.

City council members voted Monday night to start the bid process to put the conductive energy devices, better known as tasers, in the hands of patrol officers, following a request by Chief Mike Bohannon.

The tasers would allow the officers more stopping power than a chemical spray on a suspect and would keep them from having to resort to the use of deadly force.

“The good thing about tasers is you get hit anywhere on the body, it’s effective,” Bohannon said. “Once it hits you, it’s going to do what it’s made for.”

The chemical spray officers are equipped with don’t have the range of tasers — the spray has to be used when the officer is much closer to the suspect — and they also are only effective if sprayed on the face or upper chest of its target.

“The Georgia Municipal Association stressed it was a good alternative to deadly force,” council member Paul Wendelken said.

Bohannon also pointed out that several officers have been hurt in recent years in the line of duty.

“It’s cost the city thousands of dollars,” he said.

While using the tasers may make it safer for officers in potentially dangerous situations, Bohannon said the injury rate among suspects who are tased is low — among 692 cases, 99.7 percent resulted in no injuries.

Should the city acquire tasers, the police department will have a policy that calls for EMS will look at anyone who is hit with a taser, Bohannon said.
The police department is looking at purchasing tasers that have cameras attached, so the use of those weapons can be reviewed. Tasers with cameras are about $400 more each — approximately $1,500 apiece — than tasers without cameras.

“They are expensive,” Bohannon said.

Mayor Ken Lee said preferred procuring tasers that had cameras.

“We talked about cameras in our patrol cars so much,” he said. “If we’re going to get them, I feel much more comfortable with the camera tasers.”

The chief said they will look at a system that will show who pulled the trigger on a taser when one is used. No officer will hit the street with a taser unless they are trained in its use, he said.

“There will be accountability for that taser,” Bohannon said.

The city is eligible for a $6,000 grant that could go toward buying the tasers, but the grant is a 50-50 match. Bohannon also has talked with other law enforcement officials about going in for a group buy and perhaps getting a discount on a larger volume of tasers. Bohannon asked for five, with tasers being distributed to each shift and returned at the end of the shift.

“We could use eight,” he said.