Amory police power up their arsenal
AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – Amory Police have new equipment to help handle tough situations, and this new addition comes with a sting.
“Taser, taser, taser, let me see your hands! Let me see your hands! Stop resisting,” said APD Taser Instructor Rick Jones.
That’s the warning you would hear in an arrest before an Amory Police Officer pulls the trigger.
A new upgraded taser is now on their belts.
The department bought the equipment at the end of last year, but officers weren’t able to train until August.
“We strive to make sure that when we’re having to enforce an arrest or stop a situation, that we give our officers all the tools they need. So, that they can safely diffuse the situation, not only for the suspect, but also for the officers also, keeping everyone safe as possible,” said APD Assistant Chief Nicholaus Weaver.
APD has had tasers since 2007, but the new model gives them added advantages such as distance.
Instead of 25 feet, they can now shoot from up to 45 feet away with the new Taser x 10.
“You can shoot from a further distance away, and you can have more shots for firing on the target,” said Jones.
So if officers miss the target or need to get them more under control, they have more cartridges or shots to use — giving them another try.
Jones said officers must go through 8 hours of training before they can use the taser.
Knowing where your taser is, is a big part of the lesson.
That’s so there is no weapon confusion.
“We work on doing the drills during the certification to build up the muscle memory of drawing from the opposite side of your firearm,” said Jones.
Jones said they avoid shooting towards high-risk areas like the chest or head.
The goal is to only get the target’s muscles locked to make a smoother arrest.
So far, they have used the new taser once in the city.
Tasers are only used in special situations.
“Anytime when an officer has to go hands on with a subject …. like say, if we have to respond to a domestic situation, and the suspect is maybe aggressive towards us or aggressive towards somebody else, we can deploy the taser,” said Jones.
Officers have to get recertified yearly to use the weapon.
The city funded APD’s new tasers.
