Created: 11/19/2009 10:47:53 AM 
High Point, NC -- Tasers have been a hot topic in the Triad in recent months, especially their use in schools. Since September, there have been at least three instances where teens were tased at school. The use of tasers was the topic of a panel discussion in High Point Thursday.
Tasers shoot 50,000 volts of electricity throughout the body of its target. Some call it a tool, others call it a weapon. High Point Police Chief Jim Fealy said, "One of the primary reasons that I decided to deploy tasers in our department is to reduce injuries to suspects and officers." Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said, "It enables us to not have to use the gun, for example, and maybe have one more tool that would enable us not to have to take a life." Chief Fealy and Sheriff Barnes stressed that the use of tasers depends on the situation, and how the subject is behaving. They said every situation is different, and officers and deputies go through the necessary training. Ian Mance, a program associate with the ACLU of North Carolina, said there are still too many unanswered questions and tasers. "They are weapons, they can do a great deal of harm and I think some of the ways in which it's been marketed to departments has given an incorrect impression about the dangers that they can pose," he said. Mance is part of the NC Taser Safety Project, and helped conduct a survey over the past year about the use of Tasers in North Carolina, and their potential misuse. The survey cites examples of harm done to tasing minors, the elderly, people with disabilities and mental illness, as well as pregnant women. Sheriff Barnes said, "Is it appropriate to tase a pregnant woman? Well if a pregnant woman has a butcher knife and is threatening you or threatening someone else's life, would you prefer us shoot her or tase her?" Much of the discussion at the forum focused on school resource officers carrying, and using, tasers. "We've had tasers in schools for three and a half years. In those those three and a half years that we've had tasers in schools, they've been used four times," said Sheriff Barnes. Mary Southern is a parent who attended the forum. She said she doesn't agree with tasers or resource officers being in schools. "They are our kids and yes, there are times when they are out of control, but I think there other ways to handle that without tasering or shooting or pepper spraying," she said. Chief Fealy said the number of injuries to suspects and officers has gone down since his department started carrying tasers. Mance said since tasers aren't classified as weapons, it's difficult to regulate policies associated with them. The forum was part of Front Porch Discussions, a monthly forum hosted by the city of High Point and the YWCA.
