October 5, 2003

Purdue police add new tool for campus safety

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue Police Department has purchased nine Tasers, devices that use a brief electric impulse that leaves a suspect immobile for several seconds. The Tasers will give patrol officers a way to subdue suspects from a distance without causing any lasting side effects, said Deputy Chief Steven R. Dietrich.

"The Tasers give our officers another alternative if they are forced to subdue a suspect," said Deputy Chief Steven R. Dietrich. "Tasers have been more effective than pepper spray and expandable batons in some circumstances, and suspects will not suffer the residual effects that that those two methods can leave."

For example, while some people can still feel the effect of pepper spray several days after being exposed to it, the Tasers typically have no side effects and are safe, Dietrich said. There are times when it is more effective than pepper spray because wind can diffuse the spray before it reaches a suspect, and people react to the chemicals in the spray in different ways.

Officers also can use Tasers from a distance of up to 21 feet from a suspect, which keeps officers safer.

Tasers use compressed nitrogen to fire probes at a speed of almost 200 feet per second. The probes that are connected by thin, insulated wires back to the Taser carry a 50,000-volt shock, which incapacitates a person for several seconds. The probes need only to come into contact with skin or clothes to be effective, and do not need to pierce the skin to be effective.

"The Purdue Police Department is the first department in Tippecanoe County to make the devices available to all patrol officers," Dietrich said. "But across the country, law enforcement officers are recognizing Tasers as an effective tool in keeping communities safe."

For example, this year, police departments in cities such as Cincinnati; Portland, Ore., and Orlando, Fla., have used Tasers in arrests between 30 and 50 times a month.

The Purdue Police Department has purchased nine Tasers for $9,000, and each patrol car will be equipped with one. Every officer in the department will undergo training to learn how the devices work and when it is appropriate to use them, Dietrich said.

Writer: Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu

Sources: Steven R. Dietrich, (765) 494-8221, srdietrich@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: The Purdue Police Department will provide a demonstration of the new Tasers for student leaders at 4 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 6) at the department headquarters, 205 Intramural Drive. During the demonstration, a Taser will be used on an officer, to demonstrate the effects. Journalists are invited to attend and photograph or video the demonstration. Contact Matt Holsapple (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu for further information.

To the News Service home page