California Highway Patrol officers are now carrying conductive energy weapon, or Tasers. The 1,200-volt weapons are already being used by thousands of law enforcement agencies all over the country. Now, 6,500 more CHP officers will also use the devices. CHP officials said they recently purchased more than 1,600 stun guns for officers to use on duty. Amador County CHP officer Craig Harmon says that some local CHP officers have been trained to carry Tasers -- next month the remainder of the office will receive training to use the weapon. “The Amador office will be issued enough conductive energy weapons to cover each shift. They will not be issued to each officer,” said Harmon. According to Amnesty International, from June of 2001 to September of 2007, 290 people have died as a result of being “tasered” in the U.S. and Canada. CHP officials said if a Taser were used on a person, the person would be taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation.
Monday, 21 January 2008 00:35