Taser training
Published 12:32 pm Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Investigator Dewayne Smith is incapacitated by an X26 Taser shot by Sgt. John Elfer of the Warren County Sheriff’s department during a training demonstration at the Vicksburg Police Department. Young is held up by Officers Gary Cooper, left, and Cleon Butler so he does not fall while the shock from the taser stops his muscles. A Taser uses a compressed nitrogen cartridge to shoot two barbs into the person being tased. The barbs deliver a high-voltage low-amperage shock that disrupts the brains communication with the muscles but does not do any permanent damage to the body or brain. The city just authorized the purchase of 14 X26 Tasers for $18,328.64 in addition to the 12 already at the police station. During Tuesday’s training 15 VPD officers experienced the jolt the guns produce and learned how to removed the barbs safely. Chief Armstrong said that the trained officers will be issued Tasers by next week. (David Jackson/The Vicksburg Post)