RITTMAN — The use of Tasers has sparked some controversy over the years, but a Rittman police sergeant can remember a time when a Taser saved a man’s life.
Sgt. Robert Shows recalled the 2011 incident during a discussion of how a grant, from the Andrew Berkey Fund of the Wayne County Community Foundation, for new Taser guns would benefit the department.
Shows and officer Chris Cerino were looking for a suspect involved in a home invasion who stabbed the home owner. The two saw the man in question walking between houses, and Shows called out to him. He repeatedly told the man to show his hands, which were covered with a shirt.
When the man finally did show his hands, he brought out a knife and threw it Shows. The sergeant already had his Taser …show more content…
Shows used his Taser on the man a second time.
“Without the option of subduing the suspect with a Taser, we most likely would have had to resort to deadly force,” Shows said. “My Taser saved a knife-wielding perpetrator.”
Chief Ray Arcuri said the $4,000 grant will be used to offset the costs to buy a new Taser for each full-time officer is welcomed news, and it is a great Christmas gift for the officers.
The Tasers in use now are outdated, and there are not enough for each officer. “Officers need a reliable piece of equipment for an emergency,” Arcuri said, adding Tasers are a necessary tool for officers who need a less-than-lethal force option during encounters with violent suspects.
“This is a great opportunity,” Shows said. “Most of our current — obsolete — Tasers were purchased by officers with their own money or with their uniform allowance. We’ve never owned more than two or three. Officers had to sign them out at the beginning of a shift and sign them in at the end of shifts.”
Rittman police use their Tasers several times a year. “It’s the preferred method of counteracting resisting suspects and reducing injury to officers, suspects and the public,” Shows
Sgt. Robert Shows recalled the 2011 incident during a discussion of how a grant, from the Andrew Berkey Fund of the Wayne County Community Foundation, for new Taser guns would benefit the department.
Shows and officer Chris Cerino were looking for a suspect involved in a home invasion who stabbed the home owner. The two saw the man in question walking between houses, and Shows called out to him. He repeatedly told the man to show his hands, which were covered with a shirt.
When the man finally did show his hands, he brought out a knife and threw it Shows. The sergeant already had his Taser …show more content…
Shows used his Taser on the man a second time.
“Without the option of subduing the suspect with a Taser, we most likely would have had to resort to deadly force,” Shows said. “My Taser saved a knife-wielding perpetrator.”
Chief Ray Arcuri said the $4,000 grant will be used to offset the costs to buy a new Taser for each full-time officer is welcomed news, and it is a great Christmas gift for the officers.
The Tasers in use now are outdated, and there are not enough for each officer. “Officers need a reliable piece of equipment for an emergency,” Arcuri said, adding Tasers are a necessary tool for officers who need a less-than-lethal force option during encounters with violent suspects.
“This is a great opportunity,” Shows said. “Most of our current — obsolete — Tasers were purchased by officers with their own money or with their uniform allowance. We’ve never owned more than two or three. Officers had to sign them out at the beginning of a shift and sign them in at the end of shifts.”
Rittman police use their Tasers several times a year. “It’s the preferred method of counteracting resisting suspects and reducing injury to officers, suspects and the public,” Shows