taseroftheday

Appleton takes up concealed carry ban

2011-10-18T03:25:00.000-07:00

As Gov. Scott Walker weighs whether to allow concealed weapons in the state Capitol — an idea backed by Republican lawmakers — the Appleton Common Council is poised to ban the practice in municipal buildings.

The council will vote Wednesday on an ordinance that would restrict residents from carrying concealed weapons such as pistols, billy clubs and Tasers in buildings that are owned, occupied or controlled by the city.

Law enforcement officers would be exempt from Appleton's ban, and state law already prohibits concealed weapons in police stations, prisons, county courthouses and municipal courtrooms when court is in session.

If approved, the proposed ordinance would take effect Nov. 1, the first day Wisconsin residents can apply for a license to carry concealed weapons in public.

The council unanimously endorsed a draft of the ordinance earlier this month.

Elected officials across the Fox Cities — including boards in the Town of Buchanan and in the villages of Combined Locks, Kimberly and Little Chute — are racing to put bans in place before Nov. 1.

"We're offering it up to the village boards — is this something you would like to restrict?" said Capt. Mark Recker of the Fox Valley Metro Police Department, which wrote the ordinance being considered by the boards of the three villages served by the police department. "They create the law, so they can tweak it in any way they want."

In accordance with state law, neither Appleton's rule nor the ordinances under consideration in the Heart of the Valley would restrict residents from having concealed weapons in municipal parks or on public transportation.

The ordinances do require municipal staff to place signs near all building entrances alerting visitors to the weapons ban.

Nathan Oberg, 32, of Hortonville, who operates Fox Valley Firearms in Appleton and plans to offer a training course on the concealed carry law once it takes effect, questioned the value of the ordinances and related signage.

"I don't think signs are going to deter crime," Oberg said. "I think a sign is going to prevent law-abiding people who don't want to get in trouble to leave their guns in the car. Things will be fine until someone who has dropped off the deep end wants to cause problems."

Oberg compared it to a drunken-driving offense.

"Drinking and driving is illegal, but people do it all the time with no regard for anyone else's safety," he said. "A gun is a tool no different than a car. People are going to abuse it and hurt people."

Source http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20111018/APC0101/110180438/Appleton-takes-up-concealed-carry-ban?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE

Taser cartridge found in police station

2011-07-28T23:18:00.000-07:00

A taser cartridge believed to be lost while an officer was on patrol has been found, and not on the street as previously believed.

Winnipeg police sent out a press release Sunday stating the cartridge and its pouch were dislodged from an officer's service duty belt while on patrol in the North End.

"The electronic control device unit itself was not lost," said Duty Inpsector Scot Halley in a press release. "This cartridge contains probes on wires which deploy when the device is discharged."

However, the cartridge was found safely inside the police station later that day.

Source http://www.metronews.ca/winnipeg/local/article/924945--taser-cartridge-found-in-police-station

Rookie cop assigned desk duty after Tasering boy

2011-04-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

The junior Prince George RCMP officer who Tasered an 11-year-old ward of the state has been pulled out of circulation while his actions are investigated by an outside police force.

Two detectives from the West Vancouver Police Department arrived in the city Sunday night and are speaking to witnesses and others involved in last Thursday's incident.

West Vancouver police spokesman Cpl. Fred Harding told a press conference Monday in Prince George that the officer in question has 1.5 years' experience and has been reassigned to administrative duties for "procedural reasons."

The incident unfolded last Thursday when Mounties were called out to a report of a stabbing in a rural area outside the city. The 11-year-old boy apparently fled from the home where the stabbing took place, but was discovered by police in a nearby building.

As the boy exited the building, he was jolted with the Taser and taken into custody. Harding was unable to say whether the boy was armed at the time or what other measures the officer took to de-escalate the situation.

The stabbing victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while the boy, who cannot be charged as he is under the age of 12, was "rendered as uninjured," Harding said, and remains in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Police are not releasing the name or address of the facility where the incident took place. Harding said that decision was made in consultation with the MCFD because, "we don't want to stigmatize anybody."

A ministry spokesperson clarified by e-mail that the boy was not in a group home, but rather "a staffed residential resource."

"This is a very different thing. He was in a resource developed for his special needs. There are no other children in the resource, and there are three dedicated staff for him 24 hours" a day.

West Vancouver police Sgt. Paul Skelton, one of two spokesperson sent to Prince George with the two detectives, acknowledged that anytime police investigate other police, there is "always a bit of cynicism, but as police officers we want to do a very good job on this."

The detectives' report, which Harding expects will be made public, could include a recommendation of criminal charges against the officer involved.

Prince George RCMP Supt. Brenda Butterworth-Carr said the circumstances surrounding the incident triggered an internal policy that prompted her to inform the force's B.C. headquarters, which initiated the probe.

"Certainly the age (of the Taser victim) was definitely a factor in that decision," she said.

Source http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/119636674.html

Police, Paramedics Called To Vance High School After Fight

2011-03-29T21:03:00.001-07:00

Police used a Taser on a student at a Charlotte high school after a fight broke out on Tuesday morning.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said the fight broke out in the Vance High School cafeteria shortly before 7 a.m. A school resource officer then called for additional officers.

Three students were arrested: Donovan Meeks, 17; DaQuan Davidson, 19; and D'Aunte Connor, 17. Police said they had to stun Meeks while arresting him.

Paramedics were also called to the school, but no one was transported, Medic said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said there would be additional security at the school for the rest of the day.

In January, 10 students were arrested after a fight at Vance. District officials said that fight started off campus and spilled over onto school grounds. A second fight happened less than a week later.

School officials and police said after those fights that agencies would work to reassess the school’s security needs.

Source http://www.wsoctv.com/news/27354565/detail.html

Pair questions police encounter

2011-03-17T00:17:00.000-07:00

Two weeks after Tyson Salmon ended up in jail after being jolted by a Eugene police officer’s Taser, the west university neighborhood resident said he still doesn’t understand why the officer and employees of a bank across the street from his apartment complex suspected him and his roommate of criminal activity.

“What made us so suspicious?” Salmon, 23, wondered aloud during an interview on Tuesday.

Police say a number of issues led Agent Tom Schulke to question Salmon’s intentions on the afternoon of March 3. The fact that Salmon and his roommate, Josh Kennedy, are black is not one of those reasons, police say.

The men say they don’t want to make an issue about race, although Kennedy did ask Schulke during the incident if the officer had stopped them because of their skin color.

“I said it because of the way he approached us,” the 24-year-old Kennedy said. “But at this point, what we really want to focus on is what happened, and what shouldn’t have happened.”

According to police, Salmon and Kennedy were arrested because they tried to walk away from Schulke, who had detained them outside their apartment complex while trying to determine whether the pair might be plotting to rob a Pacific Continental Bank at 1450 High St. — which is what bank officials told police they suspected.

“When a bank reports this level of concern to us, I expect our officers will do as Agent Schulke did here,” Police Chief Pete Kerns said.

Schulke wrote in a report detailing the incident that he was dispatched to the bank after an employee called police to say a suspicious-looking man dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and baggy clothes — later identified as Salmon — had walked in and requested a job application. A second man — who turned out to be Kennedy — waited outside for him, police said.

“She said (Salmon) did not appear to be dressed for or really interested in a job and (both men) appeared to be furtively looking around,” Schulke wrote in a report detailing the incident.

The pair left the bank and walked across the street to an apartment complex, where the employee said they appeared to be watching the business, Schulke wrote.

“She told me that the behavior of these suspects was so suspicious that they had called private security and were locking the doors and only letting people in one at a time because they thought that the subjects might be preparing to rob them,” Schulke wrote.

Pacific Continental spokeswoman Maecey Castle said during an interview that bank workers are encouraged to call police to report suspicious circumstances in order to ensure the “safety of our clients and employees.”

Kerns said the bank has been robbed several times during the past few years.

Schulke arrived at the bank and spoke with Pacific Continental employees. He then went outside and saw Salmon and Kennedy across the street, “obviously focusing their attention on the bank,” his report states.

After the pair noticed Schulke watching them, they walked away from him. Schulke wrote that he found that suspicious, so he caught up to them and tried to “verify that they belonged in the apartment complex and that they were not planning to do anything at the bank.”

Schulke wrote that Salmon and Kennedy cursed at him while angrily refusing to identify themselves or their address.

Salmon denied raising his voice or cursing at Schulke. He acknowledged that he should have told Schulke that he lived at the complex, rather than press the officer for information about why he was being questioned.

“I probably shouldn’t have said what I did, but I was so irritated, and I just wanted to know what was going on,” Salmon said.

Kennedy said he did tell Schulke they lived at the apartments, although Schulke stated several times in his report that that was not the case.

Schulke wrote that he warned the men that they would be arrested if they tried to leave. When they began to walk away from the officer, Schulke drew his Taser and ordered Salmon to the ground, the report states.

A second officer who arrived at the scene, Lt. Doug Mozan, then grabbed Salmon’s left arm. Schulke wrote that he fired electrically charged darts from the stun gun at Salmon — striking him in the leg — when he saw Mozan struggling to control Salmon. An immobilized Salmon dropped to the ground and bruised his head in the fall, Schulke wrote.

Schulke then pointed his Taser at Kennedy, who complied with the officer’s order to surrender.

Kerns said Schulke acted appropriately when he drew the stun gun and fired it, because the officer was “investigating a serious felony” and because Salmon and his roommate appeared to be physically capable of injuring the officers.

Kerns also said Schulke had reasonable suspicion to detain the men until he found out who they were and what they were doing in the neighborhood. “When a police officer tells someone they’re not free to leave (a particular scene), they are required to stay there,” Kerns said.

Both men were taken to the Lane County Jail. They were released a day later. Both say they plan to plead not guilty next week in Eugene Municipal Court to misdemeanor charges related to the incident. Salmon faces charges of interfering with police and resisting arrest, while Kennedy is charged with interfering with police.

Neither has a criminal record in Oregon, according to court records. They moved to Eugene from Newport earlier this year, with plans to enroll in college and get involved in the local hip-hop scene.

Upset about the incident that landed them in jail, they’re now thinking about moving back to Newport.

“We’ve been trying to do what’s right, but we’re struggling here,” Salmon said.

Source http://www.registerguard.com/web/updates/26009516-41/salmon-schulke-police-bank-kennedy.html.csp

TASER International Gains on New Orders – Shares Rise 4.6%

2011-02-16T23:24:00.001-08:00

TASER International (TASR) announced that it has received considerable follow-on orders for its Taser X26 and Advanced Taser M26 electronic control devices ECDs and related accessories from two international customers. It is expected that these orders will ship in the first quarter of 2011. TASER shares are up 4.64%, or $0.19, to $4.28.

“TASER International Gains on New Orders – Shares Rise 4.6%” is categorized as “business”. This video was licensed from Grab Networks. For additional video content, click the “video” tab at the top of this page.

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Source http://www.americanbankingnews.com/2011/02/16/taser-international-gains-on-new-orders-shares-rise-4-6/

Kaye a national figure in policing circles

2011-02-09T22:43:00.001-08:00

Outgoing Owen Sound Police Chief Tom Kaye is well known in policing circles provincially and nationally from his work, and sometimes controversial opinions, as an executive with both the Ontario and Canadian associations of chiefs of police.

Kaye was vice president of the CACP and the spokesperson on the issue when the organization released a policy paper in February 2009 backing the use of Tasers. He argued then that "to date there is no evidence, either scientific or medical, that a conducted energy weapon, has been the direct cause of death, anywhere, at any time, on any person."

Kaye was asked to chair the CACP committee on use of Tasers after "a major meeting in Orillia" that looked at the issue after the widely reported death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who died in October 2007 after RCMP officers Tasered him several times at the Vancouver airport, and several other deaths in Canada.

"Because of his knowledge on it, his interest in the subject, that's why he was appointed as chair of the special purpose committee in order to guide and direct all policing across Canada," Peter Cuthbert, the executive director of the CACP, said Wednesday.

"He's been very, very active and well respected on the board. I mean he's not an individual who comes to the table and stays quiet and mute, I'll tell you that," Cuthbert added.

Kaye said in January he looked forward to the day when every front-line police officer would carry a Taser.

During his time on the executive of the OACP, "Chief Kaye dealt with a lot of really important issues," said Jim Couto, the director of government relations and communications with the Ontario association.

"For instance, issues of diversity and the issue of racial profiling in policing, those were issues I know during his time were very prominent and he played a really key role in developing policing to a position where we acknowledge the unfortunate existence of that particular issue, racial profiling, and working with communities to move forward," he said.

"This is going to become a growth industry," Kaye was quoted as saying in 2001 about accusations of racial profiling by police. "That's what we've seen in the United States. It's become a multimillion-dollar business for consultants to come in and try and rid your organization of racism."

He was also quoted as saying that racism in police services is "certainly not something that we're that concerned about, because we don't believe it exists."

"Chief Kaye has always been very passionate about policing and what it can do in terms of community building and the role it plays in communities, in everyday lives of people," Couto said.

"Coming from a middle-sized service like Owen Sound, Chief Kaye had a really unique impact on OACP and certainly policing in the province. He was very well respected and his work at the CACP has been phenomenal . . . He's not a guy who shies away from tackling tough issues. I think he's done a fantastic job representing us not only in Ontario but across Canada."

Source http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2970825

Naked US tourist tasered three times after stopping traffic

2011-01-20T00:14:00.000-08:00

Florida tourist gets nude attitude…

While most travellers visiting the sunny US state of Florida enjoy sunbathing by Miami's sexy South Beach or having a family day out at Walt Disney World, it's obviously not enough for one tourist who created a spectacle of his own.

Richard Gervasi (not to be confused with real comedian Ricky Gervais), a 43-year-old man from Pennsylvania, was tasered three times by police in the Florida Keys after allegedly running naked into traffic screaming "I'm the king of the world." It was a Titanic mistake…

Gervasi had reportedly been drinking and taking the hallucinatory drug LSD, according to Florida's Keysnet. He was arrested in a restaurant parking lot early in the morning after attacking one of his two (clothed) holiday pals, which led to the police repeatedly using a Taser gun to subdue him. He was arrested and taken to hospital before going to jail. Nice way to end a holiday!

But, there are some parts of the world where it's A-OK to get your kit off and have a bit of au natural enjoyment. For some inspiration, see our gallery for the world's best nudist spots.

Source http://travel.msn.co.nz/travelnews/8199411/naked-us-tourist-tasered-three-times-after-stopping-traffic