Wyandotte Police Officers Could Soon Carry Tasers

Wyandotte police officers might soon be carrying a new weapon while out on patrol.

is recommending that the department purchase 10 Tasers for officers to use during their shifts.

Rather than purchasing one for every officer, Grant said, the Tasers will remain at the station and officers can check them out during their shift.

Carrying them will be optional, but Grant said he hasn’t heard of any officer who plans not to.

“They’re a great tool if used properly,” Grant said. “Most Downriver agencies already have them.”

Like most departments, Grant said, Wyandotte officers abide by a use of force continuum, which dictates the level of force that should be used on a person in any given situation.

It ranges from a verbal command all the way up to deadly force. The use of a Taser falls in the middle, Grant said.

A recent case is a perfect example of when a Taser would have been helpful, the chief said.

A man weighing more than 300 pounds was high on drugs and very combative when officers tried to arrest him.

“It was a bad situation,” Grant said. “He was a very large man and had no threshold for pain.  … Our officers used pepper spray on him and he just laughed. It took four officers, using physical force, to take him down.”

Had a Taser been an option, Grant said, he believes the situation could have been handled much differently.

“It would make it a whole lot easier for everyone involved,” he said. “A Taser is a good alternative weapon.”

Grant said he plans to ask the City Council at Monday’s meeting for the OK to purchase the Tasers. They’re expected to cost about $14,000 and will be paid for with drug forfeiture funds.

If they’re approved, Grant said, one Wyandotte officer would be chosen as the lead and would receive instructor training by Taser International Inc., the maker of the devices.

That officer would then provide a one-day, in-house training to the other officers on how to use the device.

For more information on the brand of Taser being considered, the Taser X26,