Brockport police department
purchases Tasers; safety questioned

Given a choice of using lethal force or "less lethal" force, Brockport's police chief was determined to allow his officers to exercise the latter and that decision led to the recent purchase of two Taser guns.

Taser company officials claim that their weapon offers "instant incapacitation without injury." A Taser works by emitting a 50,000 volt charge that overrides the central nervous system, forces muscle contractions and is virtually impossible to shrug off.

The purchase of the "stun guns" came up during the regular village board meeting on July 19 when Trustee Mort Wexler questioned an invoice and asked Chief Dan Varrenti why he purchased the weapons without prior board approval. The $3,375 purchase was within the village's procurement limit of $5,000. "I have concerns that Brockport has purchased Taser stun guns," Wexler said. "When you (Varrenti) came to us last year, I asked that we discuss this before you went and purchased them."

While Wexler said he had concerns on the price of the two weapons, he had more questions about the "so-called non-lethal weapons." He pointed to an article in the "Arizona Republic" over the weekend which linked the use of Taser guns to three deaths and likely contributed to the deaths of two other individuals. "I have problems with the Taser guns and I have a problem with the Village of Brockport having them," Wexler said. He also questioned Varrenti's purchasing the weapons before receiving approval from the board.

Varrenti told the board he sent two officers to New York City for training on the use of the Tasers before a purchase was made. "I also talked to my then-liaison trustee Peter DeToy and he agreed with the purchase," Varrenti explained. "There is also no such thing as a non-lethal weapon. There is lethal and less lethal and the Tasers are effective in defusing situations."

The very presence of a Taser, Varrenti said, is sometimes enough to make a suspect cooperate. "I certainly don't want my officers to have to shoot and kill a suspect," he said. "I'd rather have them use a Taser to incapacitate them so they can take them into custody."

Varrenti said he is trying to run a progressive police department - one that keeps up with the times and offers the officers the latest in technology as well as offering alternatives to bullets and Mace. He pointed out that Mace is more debilitating than the Taser. "After you're maced, there is a two hour decontamination period and sometimes the suspect suffers asthmatic attacks and burns from the chemicals," he said. "I'd personally rather be hit with a Taser."

To underscore his belief in the weapons, Varrenti offered to put on a presentation for the board on the use of the weapons and offered to take a hit from one himself. "If the board wants me to, I will take a hit from a Taser," he said.

Trustee James Whipple agreed that in a hand-to-hand battle, it is better to have the officers have other weapons at their disposal. "It's better to disable a scoundrel than to have to think about killing someone," he said.

Mayor Josephine Matela reminded board members that the purchase was well within the village's procurement policy and therefore required no prior approval. "From what I've learned, it appears that the use of a Taser could save lives," she said.