Cops keep 'current'

Around 15 officers from across the nation, though mostly from Wyoming and Colorado, gathered at the Platte Valley Community Center (PVCC) Monday and Tuesday to become certified to train fellow officers on proper Taser use.

Tasers are devices which fire small dart-like electrodes which stay connected to the main unit by thin wires. When triggered the electrodes fire and attach to a suspect and deliver an electric current to disrupt voluntary muscle control causing neuromuscular incapacitation.

The course was taught by Lamar Cousins, Senior Master Instructor for Taser International CEW (conductive electrical weapon) of Nevada.

The two-day instructor course included classroom theory and application held in the PVCC's White Room while practical lessons including live-fire exercises held outside on the north side of the building.

The instructor certification course was limited to law enforcement officers only but Cousins said he would also train qualified security personnel also.

The units have been a popular non-lethal alternative to guns and have been used in law enforcement for over a decade now. According to a 2010 study entitled "Police Use of Force, Tasers and other less-lethal Weapons," over 15,000 law enforcement and military agencies around the world use Tasers.