Cactus Village Community

Less than Lethal Weapons ...by Councilman Dave Seibert, Dist 1

Jul 09, 2003

As chairman of the Public Safety Subcommittee, the issue of public safety is first and foremost on my agenda. It is my goal to update and inundate our public safety services with the newest and most effective technologies available. One of the newest technologies introduced by the City of Phoenix for use by the Police Department is the M26 Advanced Taser.
The Taser is an electro muscular disruption device. These weapons use a powerful 18 to 26 watt electrical signal to completely override the central nervous system that directly controls the skeletal muscles. This effect causes an uncontrollable contraction of the muscle tissue, to physically debilitate the suspect regardless of pain tolerance or mental focus. The Taser is a non-injury causing weapon, specifically designed to stop even the most elite, aggressive, focused combatants by causing the skeletal muscles to contract until the target is in the fetal position on the ground. This makes the Taser an excellent tool for suspects under the influence of drugs who are resistant to other methods of restraint. After deployment, the Taser can be checked electronically for frequency and duration of use by supervisors.

At my request, the Police Department introduced the M26 Advanced Taser in a pilot program, as a less-lethal weapon. 149 Tasers were issued to uniformed officers in the patrol division, with 400 officers being trained. During a nine month period, when the Taser was used, the number of officers and suspects injured from use of force decreased dramatically. These results have led to the purchase of 1,175 additional Tasers to allow for full deployment within the Phoenix Police Department. We are the largest police department in the country which is fully deployed with the M26 Taser.

As new technology is available, it is essential that we keep our services as up-to-date as possible. With these advances as well as others, I believe that we will see the safety and effectiveness of our police department greatly enhanced. . .☺