Latest news with #Taser7
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Taser contract for state prisons runs out of power
A 10-year, $2.1 million leasing contract to supply guards, probation and parole officers with state-of-the-art Tasers with body cameras went down in flames before the state Executive Council Wednesday. Correction officers are not allowed to carry firearms behind prison walls and officials say they deploy Tasers to quell any unrest and keep the peace. Tasers fire barbed darts attached to wires that conduct electricity. The darts are propelled by compressed nitrogen. The shock delivered by a Taser is designed to temporarily incapacitate a target by inducing neuromuscular incapacitation. Executive Councilor David Wheeler, R-Milford, led the opposition to selecting Axon Enterprise of Scottsdale, Arizona, to supply 195 Taser 10 technology, an upgrade from the Taser 7 that the Corrections Department has been using. The Executive Council turned down the contract on a 4-1 vote. Wheeler said by his estimate the lone acceptable bid equals $10,000 per unit. 'This is just too expensive,' Wheeler said. 'Our State Police buy their Tasers, they don't lease them, they use them a whole lot longer than five years. We shouldn't be in two-, five-year phases to get new Tasers. We should buy these Tasers and make sure they last for seven to 10 years.' Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks said by agreeing to a 10-year lease the state is getting a discount worth $1 million and it allows the state to upgrade to a newer model in five years at no additional cost if one becomes available. 'The goal was to do the competitive plan and end up with not antiquated equipment,' Hanks said. Wheeler said Axon programs its Tasers to be matched up with body cameras to become a 'too expensive package deal.' Councilor: Told current Tasers work fine Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, said probation and parole officers have told him the Tasers they have now work fine and aren't in need of replacement. 'I'm told this Taser 10 is absolutely not necessary,' Stephen said. Hanks said Concord Police Chief Bradley Osgood worked with the department and agreed that the upgrade made sense. "There is conflicting information," Hanks said. Prior to the vote, Hanks said if the Executive Council rejects the lease she would go back to pursuing a Taser purchasing contract like the one that came before the council and also failed to win enough support. About 115 of the new Tasers would have gone to probation and parole officers, investigators, and officers who transport prisoners. The remainder would have allowed the department to put two Tasers in every housing unit in both Concord prisons and in the Berlin prison. They'd replace the approximately 120 existing Tasers that Hanks had argued were out of date and in short enough supply they were not always readily available. Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, the only supporter of the lease deal, said the camera footage hookup provides important backup information. 'Would rejecting this contract and going out to bid result in a lower price?' Liot Hill asked Hanks. The commissioner said the result of another bid 'would be an unknown.' klandrigan@
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Many officers subdue man accused of chasing girlfriend with crowbar
BEVERLY HILLS / WACO, Texas (FOX 44) – A man is in jail after Beverly Hills and Waco Police officers team up to restrain him after he allegedly chased his girlfriend with a crowbar. Beverly Hills Police Chief Kory Martin says the department received a report at approximately 4:44 a.m. Tuesday from a 19-year-old woman stating that her boyfriend, identified as 24-year-old Romeo Love, of Waco, was in an argument with her at 903 S. Valley Mills Drive. According to the report, the victim said she was going to leave – and this is when Love grabbed a crowbar and approached her. The woman said she ran to her vehicle and was pursued by Love. She reported that as she got into her vehicle, Love began to hit her car with the crowbar. She would later present this damage to the on-duty officer, which was along the driver's side rear passenger door. Chief Martin says the responding department patrol officer was advised that the suspect was still at the location where the Aggravated Assault took place. The Waco Police Department was in the area due to another call they were assisting with. The Beverly Hills officer, with the assistance of Waco Police officers, was able to get Love to exit the business and meet them in the parking lot. Officers approached him and began to take him into custody for the assault. The officers started to give Love the command to face the officer. Chief Martin says Love hesitated and then took a step back. Officers grabbed his arms, and one handcuff was placed on one arm. He was told he was under arrest; however, regardless of three uniformed officers being present, verbal commands being given, and open hand assistance for standard handcuffing, Love chose not to comply and physically resist the handcuffing and arrest. An early warning of the taser was presented to try and get Love to stop the resistance, but Chief Martin says he chose not to listen to the display and warning. Love continued to resist handcuffing even once on the ground. The Beverly Hills officer stepped back and advised that a taser would be deployed if he did not comply. Over just under a minute and after an estimated five to six commands, Love continued to physically resist verbal commands, taser display, and physical handcuffing attempts. Chief Martin says the Beverly Hills officer announced and deployed one set of probes, and there is at least one missed probe, rendering the cycle ineffective. The second set of probes in the Taser 7 was deployed, making proper connection, and a standard cycle was applied. Multiple commands were given to comply, or another cycle would be applied. Love again refused multiple commands to include continued physical resistance, and after warning, the second standard cycle was applied. Dispute over parked truck brings beating and arrest Officers then heard what sounded like Love saying, 'I am good' in a very calm manner. He also asked police to stop using force, in a much calmer manner, and he complied with handcuffing. Chief Martin says handcuff repositioning for suspect comfort was provided, and Love was placed in a seated position with a Waco Police officer providing back support. The American Medical Response ambulance service was notified shortly after Love was in custody. Upon their arrival, Love was outside the vehicle, seated, and was given access to them. He continued to be verbally argumentative and took very little part in assisting with his medical assessment by AMR to include telling them they don't need anything because he is good. Chief Martin says regardless of Love's lack of cooperation with AMR Ambulance service, he was transported to a local hospital for evaluation. Once released, he was transported to the McLennan County Jail, where he was charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon – Family Violence and Resisting Arrest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44.
