The prophecy of Taser

My trainer used a Taser for the first time in his 7 year career last week and is now a true believer. He related the following story to me that I had to share:

He and a partner responded to a domestic violence call at an apartment complex. One of the officers ran to the office to get a key from the manager while the other posted outside the door to listen to the fight. The verbal argument soon turned physical and he could hear a woman yelling, "stop it...quit hitting me..." Just as he was about the kick the door in, the other officer returned with the key. My trainer pulled his Taser and the other officer drew his gun and they both entered the apartment.

They saw a large Indian male choking his wife from behind. The guy was about 6'5" and 250 pounds. They yelled, "police" and then fired the Taser at the male as he started coming at them. One of the metal Taser probes struck the suspect in the chest and the other lodged itself in the groin. Luckily, the second probe didn't penetrate the skin (it just got stuck in his boxer shorts). This was enough to arc the electric current through his body sending him backwards like a rigid board. On the floor, he was writhing in pain for 5 seconds (we call this "riding the light" or "getting the Edison medicine") while thousands of volts of electricity took control over his nervous system.

After being handcuffed and pulled into a seating position, the exhausted suspect caught his breath and the following conversation took place:
Suspect: "Do you guys have enough of those for all the criminals?"
Officer: "Oh yeah, we have tons of them."
Suspect: "They ain't gonna like that."

Imagine that; the police doing something the criminals don't like. I hope he spreads the gospel of Taser to all of his friends in jail.

Friday night, my whole squad was at the academy for training. We practiced high-risk vehicle stops and active shooter scenarios (dealing with people shooting at you). We use simunition rounds which are like paintball except they are actual metal casings with gunpowder and a plastic paint-filled bullet. I was shot a few times in the arm when I approached an angry driver. It was good experience to deal with aggressive suspects trying to fight/shoot. It was also a good reminder to be constantly aware of everything going on and to always watch the hands of people we deal with.

Tonight is my second night riding solo and I'm anxious to hit the streets.