Cape Girardeau police trained on Tasers

Criminals refer to them as "nana guns."

The bright yellow Tasers resemble a banana, and like a slippery banana peel, a Taser can bring a suspect to the floor in an instant.

Cape Girardeau police officers began Taser training this week, learning not only the components of the weapon and how to load and use it; they also learned what it feels like to be shot with one.

"You need to know what they can and can't do," Sgt. Rick Schmidt, a Taser instructor, told around 15 members of B platoon Monday afternoon.

What a Taser can do is drop a burly man to his knees in two seconds flat. Schmidt gave the officers only a taste of what the Taser can do -- one second of 50,000 volts (0.004 amps) of electricity going through their bodies. A real suspect would get five seconds worth of a Taser charge. In the first two seconds, Schmidt said, most suspects stiffen and fall to the floor. During the next three seconds, the charge diminishes, to conserve the battery.

That one second they experienced was enough, the officers said. Six officers lined up on their knees in the training room, elbow to elbow in what Schmidt called a "daisy chain." One electrical probe was fastened on each end of the line, and the charge was conducted to everyone between the two probes. Schmidt counted to three, then pulled the trigger. Six police officers simultaneously stiffened, yelled, then hit the floor like a dynamited building.

No control over your body"I can't really describe it," said patrolman Chris Arbuthnot. "Your whole body just gets tight and you have no control over your body."

When a suspect is shot with a Taser, two probes that resemble fishhooks enter the suspect's clothing or his body and emit a disabling electrical charge. The officer uses that five seconds to handcuff the suspect. If the suspect still resists, the officer zaps him again for another five seconds. Most of the time, Schmidt told the officers, that second blast makes the suspect compliant.

The Tasers have a memory that can record up to 1,500 trigger-pulls and can tell what date and time the contacts were made. That can protect an officer in court testimony if a suspect claims he was "tazed" more times than he actually was. The information can be downloaded into a police department computer, and cannot be tampered with, Schmidt said.

The Taser is safe to use on someone who is on drugs or is intoxicated. It will not harm an unborn fetus, but Schmidt cautioned officers if they have to use it on a pregnant woman to be careful she doesn't fall and injure herself or the baby. The Taser can be used on persons in the water and will not electrocute either the suspect or the officer who will have to go in after the person.

"I can tell you, if you taze a person in the water, he will sink like a rock," Schmidt said.

What a Taser does is immobilize a suspect without harming him.

Patrolman Jeff Bourbon said he could have used a Taser Sunday night. He was chasing a suspect who had seven warrants against him.

"He ran from me," Bourbon said. "I told him to stop but he took off running."

As soon as the police officers have gone through their training, the "nana guns" will go on the street. Schmidt said the street sergeants will have three to dispense among the patrol officers on their shifts and the two K-9 officers will each get one.

Right now the police department has 15 Tasers. Most of those were made possible by a $10,000 donation from the local Kiwanis Club.

Chris Adkisson, vice president of the Kiwanis, said the organization raised the money from its Monday night bingo proceeds. Each year, it gives needed equipment to the police and fire departments.

"If we didn't do it, they weren't going to get them," Adkisson said.

There will eventually be enough money to buy more Tasers when the special sales tax money starts coming in, said chief Steve Strong, but that won't be until January.

"Without their donation, we would not be able to put Tasers on the street," Schmidt said.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160