wow, yeah, great fucking idea. give tasers to ISD fake cops...the new freedom is a police state dictatorship...but we're allowed to have that here because we have freedom.

[align=left]Officers issued Tasers at Cabarrus County high schools[/align]

[align=left]Independent Tribune | August 26 2005[/align]

CONCORD - Concord police officers assigned to city high schools will be armed with Tasers when school starts today.

Concord Police Chief Merl Hamilton told the Cabarrus County School Board of his decision on Thursday during its work session.

School resource officers at Jay M. Robinson, Central Cabarrus and Concord high schools will be issued the weapons today.

Resource officers at those schools were given Tasers stun guns at the end of April as part of a trial run. Officers did not use the weapons, but Hamilton said he wants officers to be able to have the tool when necessary.

â??When a police officer physically confronts somebody, there is a possibility somebody will get hurt,â? Hamilton said. â??We believe the Taser will be a tool that we will use to keep our schools safe.â?

Hamilton said that during the 2003-04 school year, a school resource officer was out of work for three to four months because his shoulder was injured after having to wrestle a student.

Hamilton said that injury could have been prevented if the officer had a Taser.

Wayne Williams, Cabarrus County School Board vice chairman, said he spoke with parents about Tasers.

â??Police officers have been wearing (guns) however long youâ??ve been in school and there hasnâ??t been any concern,â? he said.

Williams said if itâ??s a choice of an officer having to use a Taser or a handgun, the option should be there.

â??If you look at it that way this is just another tool folks can use without as serious an injury,â? he said. â??A lot of people are hit by Tasers and able to get up. Look at it that way. This is something less lethal than a handgun.â?

Hamilton said officers armed with Tasers receive several hours of training and are subjected to a Taser blast, which lasts about five seconds.

A Taser sends 50,000 volts of electricity, pumped at .0164 amps through a person.

Hamilton said since Concord officers started carrying Tasers in 2003, they have only used the weapon about 50 times.

Hamilton said every time an officer uses a Taser or uses force, other than putting a suspect in handcuffs, the incident is documented and reviewed by the officerâ??s supervisors.

Witnesses are also interviewed after the incident, Hamilton said.

Hamilton said school resource officers initially discussed being armed with Tasers not just for the students in school.

â??Our goal is to protect our schools from people that come on campus that shouldnâ??t be on campus,â? he said.

School board members asked about officers using pepper spray instead of Tasers.

Hamilton said there were less than five cases that pepper spray was used in City of Concord schools.

Cabarrus County Superintendent Dr. Harold Winkler said the problem with pepper spray is more than one person can be affected when officers use the spray. The Taser offers an alternative.

â??I can see deploying that in a room where you want to try and affect one individual,â? Winkler said.

Officers have said the device can help restrain a suspect without having to use a gun or fight the offender.

But those who oppose Tasers say itâ??s not clear how people are affected after a Taser has been used. There were 103 Taser related deaths in the U.S. and Canada from June 2001 to April 2005, according to an Amnesty International report.

The Cabarrus County Sheriffâ??s Office and Kannapolis Police Department school resource officers are not armed with Tasers.
pisshead Reviewed by pisshead on . Officers issued Tasers at Cabarrus County high schools wow, yeah, great fucking idea. give tasers to ISD fake cops...the new freedom is a police state dictatorship...but we're allowed to have that here because we have freedom. Officers issued Tasers at Cabarrus County high schools Independent Tribune | August 26 2005 CONCORD - Concord police officers assigned to city high schools will be armed with Tasers when school starts today. Concord Police Chief Merl Hamilton told the Cabarrus County School Board of his decision on Thursday Rating: 5