TASER X26 offers safe gun power

Harrison County Sheriff Mike Deatrick recently decided to purchase a new tool for each of his paid officers. They will begin carrying the TASER X26, a non-lethal weapon, on their gun belts later this month.
The TASER, which looks similar to officers’ duty weapons, can stop suspects in their tracks. The difference, though, can be a matter of life and death.
In a situation where an officer has to decide in a split second if his or her life ‘ or even the life of bystanders ‘ is at risk, there isn’t room for hesitation. And that’s why more than 8,600 law enforcement agencies across the country and abroad have made the TASER available to their officers. The officers still have the means of stopping a suspect but without the risk of causing serious bodily harm or even the possibility of taking their life. That, in turn, can reduce possible lawsuits against police accused of being ‘trigger happy.’
Unlike a regular duty weapon that fires a bullet that can’t be recalled, a TASER deploys two tiny wires with probes that, when making the proper contact, send an electrical charge through the person at the other end.
The Harrison County Sheriff’s Dept. has already seen the results TASERS can produce; jail personnel already has them and has used them on a few occasions.
While the charge from the TASER ‘ 50,000 volts ‘ is quite painful, the affliction is over instantly once the weapon is turned off. It usually doesn’t take more than one hit from a TASER for an unruly person to comply with the officer’s demands.
The sheriff is purchasing 21 TASER X26s from a discretionary fund he has at his disposal, thus safeguarding his officers and the public without using tax dollars.
We applaud Deatrick for this decision to equip his officers with this valuable tool. We just hope they don’t have to use them, but it’s nice to know they’re there when needed.