Kodiak’s police officers have been approved to carry the latest Tasers after the City Council gave the go ahead for a new 5-year agreement with Axon last month on July 24. The company and the Kodiak Police Department believe these newer weapons could help save lives.
Sergeant Phillip Christman is firing probes from a Taser 10 at a test dummy, the latest model from Axon, a company that is geared toward law enforcement and public safety.
Christman has been working for the Kodiak Police Department for 13 years since March of 2012 and he said he’s seen Tasers change a lot during that time. For example, the newest ones don’t have a direct contact stun feature that involves officers zapping a person’s skin with the Taser.
“I think what they’re trying to do is maybe create distance, don’t make us the ones to compress and create the situation," Christman said.
This latest Taser has single rather than double shots, 10 per cartridge and a range of up to 45 feet. It can also track data, like how far the probe was fired, what time the Taser was armed and more, as soon as the weapon is taken out of its holster.
The Taser 10 also uses Bluetooth to communicate with body cameras. Unholstering or arming the Taser 10 can trigger body cameras to record, according to Kodiak Police Chief Tim Putney.
These perks are part of the reason why Putney wanted to upgrade. He said that using these less lethal weapons will minimize the risk of serious injury or death for officers and the public.
“I mean I’ve been tased like four times, it definitely sucks," Putney said. "But the long-term effects are so minimal when you consider going hands on with somebody, when people are out here talking about delivering strikes and kicks and punches, the ability to break bones, or the officers to break their own bones.”
So far this year, Putney said the Kodiak Police Department has used a Taser in six incidents, with no serious injuries or deaths.
According to a video posted on Axon’s website, this weapon will help the company achieve its goal of reducing gun-related deaths between police and the public by 50% in the next ten years.
But Tasers can cause serious injuries or death in some cases. That’s because the weapon fires probes with an intense electrical current, that causes the victim’s muscles to involuntarily contract and temporarily incapacitates them. This is called neuromuscular incapacitation or NMI.
Christman will be using a virtual reality program from Axon to help train his fellow officers to use the Tasers properly in the coming weeks.
He said this training emphasizes shooting specific areas of the body and avoiding others that are color coded to prevent more serious injuries.
“You see the yellow, that’s a sensitive area. You don’t want to shoot that," he explained. "You want to stay in the green area, from the front, we say split the belt. To help people get NMI in 12 inches.”
Christman is the only one who is certified at the Kodiak Police Department to use a Taser 10 as of Friday, Aug. 15.
The department’s five-year agreement for new Tasers cost roughly $132,000 total and includes 20 weapons for local officers.
