By CHRIS MEYERS
Staff writer

     Churubusco Police officers will likely have to undergo a shock from a Taser before they are allowed to carry one, pending the town council’s approval of the police department’s policy for the devices.
     As the policy is currently written, officers must experience the 50,000 volt shock of a Taser before they are allowed to carry one. The council will vote on the policy at its Jan. 21 meeting.
     Churubusco council member and police officer John Hart said at a past meeting that he did not see the need for officers to undergo the pain of a Taser to be allowed to carry one.
He pointed to Taser International’s own policy which does not say officers should be shocked with a device.
     He said it is a good tool for officers to have, but they shouldn’t have to feel its effects to carry one.
     “The Taser is a good instrument, and we need it,” he said.
     Locally, the Columbia City Police Department does not require officers to be shot with a Taser in order to carry one, but the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department does require shocks be given to anyone who wants to carry a Taser.
     Steve Tuttle, vice president of communications for Taser Inc., confirmed in a December phone   interview that the company does not require officers to be shocked as part of training.
     “We leave that up to each individual agency,” he said.
     Tuttle did say, however, that Taser Inc. tends to see better performance from officers who are exposed to the shocks versus those who are not.
     “It’s critical they understand the performance of the device,” and how a subject can rebound instantly from a shock once the flow of current stops, he said.
     Churubusco Town Marshal Chad Fulkerson said at Wednesday’s meeting that he talked with Noble and Allen County sheriff’s departments and Avilla’s police department, and found that they all require officers to be Tased before they can carry a Taser.
     Sgt. Mike Engle of the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, a certified Taser instructor, said liability and reduction for abuse of the device are reasons deputies are Tased.
     “It helps eliminate the possible misuse of it,” he said, adding that having an officer be Tased can add credibility to testimony if a law suit was filed.
     Tuttle said Taser Inc.’s records show there have been about 760,000 instances of officers being voluntarily exposed to a Taser shock, with about 665,000 actual uses in the line of duty. He said about 13,400 police agencies in the United States use Tasers.

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