Deputies get certified with non-lethal device
Robbinsville – A case of trespassing escalated to a physical fight with a sheriff’s deputy that Sheriff Brad Hoxit said revealed a deficiency in his department – several of his deputies needed tasers.
But to do that, they needed qualification training.
Hoxit said the deputy’s injuries were fairly minor – a black eye, cuts and bruises – but the incident could have been kept under control had the deputy been armed with a taser.
A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner, according to Wikipedia.
The Sheriff’s Office’s designated trainer – Detective Travis Brooks, who joined the Graham County Sheriff’s Office last month – has led taster qualification and refresher courses for the entire force, with half attending morning-long classes last week and the other half getting the training this week.
Six deputies were receiving the training for the first time and it was those six who got the opportunity to feel what it’s like to be tased first hand.
Two were tased during training at the Robbinsville High School wrestling room on Dec. 16, following classroom training that morning. The remaining four will be tased following classroom training this week.
Brooks said the qualification process requires trainees to actually be tased, so that they know first-hand what it’s like and also in case they need to testify about tasers in court.
Brooks said he has been tased three times himself during previous training.