Long-Range Less Lethal Prevents Suicide
Tactical Weapons January 2010
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The call came in the middle of the night as a mentally ill female banging on a citizen’s front door. A uniformed officer was dispatched and saw her on the front porch wearing only a bathrobe and obviously not in touch with reality. But the .38-caliber revolver she had in her hand was a reality. Drawing his service pistol he took cover behind his patrol vehicle and called for backup. It was obvious that the woman had mental health issues as officers from the CIT (Critical Incident Team) who are specially trained to deal with emotionally disturbed individuals, attempted to talk her down.
She moved off the front porch to a driveway and sat down. A CIT officer armed with a shotgun loaded with Taser’s new XREP (Extended Range Electronic Projectile) rounds positioned himself behind her using a camping trailer as cover. An opportunity presented itself when she set the revolver down and the CIT officer fired. At a distance of 50 feet the XREP round impacted on her back with the forward facing probes imbedding themselves in her back, the main body of the XREP dropping on a tethered cable and then completing the circuit. She slumped to the side with the 20-second continuous cycle of what Taser calls Neuro Muscular Incapacitation allowing the officers to close the gap, secure the revolver and safely take her into custody.
Sometimes deadly force is called for when a mentally ill subject presents a deadly threat. The Taser XREP prevented a death on this day allowing officers to go home and a sick person to get the help she desperately needed. —Kevin Davis
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