Many Wilmington police officers will soon be carrying more advanced Tasers that the city’s police chief said will be safer than the older, outdated models.
The Wilmington City Council on Tuesday approved Chief Ralph Evangelous’ request to buy 145 new Tasers at a cost of $188,384, which he said was needed because the Tasers that officers currently use were no longer being made or supported by the manufacturer.
Evangelous said the new models, an upgrade from the X26 to the X26P Taser brand model, regulate the electrical flow of the device, as well as track data from its usage, including date, time and length of charge.
“The new device is safer. It regulates the amount of electricity to a maximum of five seconds of activation,” Evangelous said. “On the older Tasers, as long as you hold the trigger, it will continue to activate.”
A Taser, also called a conducted electrical weapon, is considered a less-than-lethal option for police, as it delivers an electrical charge that causes pain and involuntary muscle convulsion. The Wilmington Police Department has used Tasers since 1999.
“In a highly emotional, adrenaline-driven incident, it can be difficult to determine how long five seconds is,” Evangelous said.
Currently, the force has 115 Tasers, Evangelous told the council, but they go out of service “on a daily or weekly basis” since they can’t be repaired once they stop working. Those Tasers will stay in use by the department until they are no longer operational.
“A big portion of the department now will have a Taser,” Evangelous said, adding that officers will continue to carry a sidearm, pepper spray and a baton.
Every officer gets six hours of Taser training, he said, and every year, officers that carry Tasers go through two hours of recertification. Officers trained in Taser use will have to go through a two-hour review in order to be trained in the functions of the new model.
Wilmington police saw a 15 percent decrease in the use of force between 2013 and 2014, while Taser use dropped 55 percent during the same period.
“What we have seen is that the mere display of a Taser gets people to comply,” Evangelous said.
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