People often say that the FOP never has anything good to say about this administration or the mayor. This is not true. Look at all the things that are not criticized and you will see the vast majority of policies and the way the department is handled we agree with. When an issue arises that we don't agree with or we feel violates our contract, then we step in. In our business, No news is Good news. Now though, I find that I do want to publicly applaud a good decision from our Department. I find myself not only congratulating the Chief and the Department , but also the Mayor this time for being foresighted and making a really good decision to purchase Tasers for every officer on the Louisville Metro Police Department.
The weapons hit the street on December 1 st in the wee hours of the morning on the belts of CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) Officers. The 143 CIT Officers were sporting the bright yellow devices on their duty belts. These Officers will monitor and report on the weapons on weekly basis before they will be issued to the rest of the department in January.
You will hear from sources like Amnesty International and other groups that Tasers have killed at least 74 people in the last 4 years in the U.S. and Canada. They, like many activists are quick to criticize but never there to offer solutions. What they don't tell you about are the thousands upon thousands of successful apprehensions that were made by using Tasers that could just has easily become deadly force encounters or encounters where suspects and Officers received serious injuries because of a fight.
These groups fail to tell you that in almost every instance there was an underlying medical reason why this person died after being tased. Massive amounts of illegal drugs in their system combined with poor health and other factors in which the suspect would have died if he broke into a sprint or engaged in any other strenuous physical activity. Another thing they fail to point out is that NONE of these people were innocents. All of them were in violent unlawful scenarios that the Police were forced to respond to.
I would suggest to Amnesty International that they create a brochure to pass out in gang and drug infested neighborhoods that if you don't break the law, your chances of being tased are between slim and none! If you don't threaten someone else or the police, you can bet good money that the Officer will not have to zap you with his Taser.
If you see an Officer sporting the canary yellow Taser and are curious about it, ask him or her about it. If you would like more information about it I would suggest going to the following website http://www.taserx26.com.
I was one of the Officers that volunteered to feel the full effects of the Taser. I can tell you without a doubt that it is the best Law Enforcement tool that I have ever been issued. I am confident that even the biggest, baddest SOB that wants to fight will be taken down swiftly and efficiently with my X-26 Taser. I feel confident in this tool and know firsthand its effects. Kudos to the Louisville Metro Police Department, Chief White and Mayor Abramson for stepping forward and making a really good decision about an excellent tool that will ultimately save lives and keep both Officers and suspects from getting injured.