Recruits learn the shocking truth about tasers

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Monday, the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office put their recruits through taser safety training.

Stun guns can temporarily immobilize a person by jolting them with 50,000 volts of electricity. According to the New York Times, more than 200,000 people have been saved from death or serious injury due to an officer using a taser instead of a more aggressive, and possibly lethal options.

“It’s a tool we can use to de-escalate a situation, that’s the best outcome. It can also be used instead of pulling out a firearm. Obviously we want to decrease the amount of times that happens,” said Gunner Hanzel, taser instructor for the Pennington County Sheriffs Office.

According to Hanzel, overusing a taser does create risks to an individual’s health, such as metabolic and physiologic effects, along with changes in blood pressure.

“When somebody’s experiencing the effects of the taser, essentially assuming the probes have good connection, it’s causing what’s referred to as NMI, neuromuscular incapacitation. What that does is it locks up the central nervous system, specifically the sensory nervous system and the motor nervous system, and overrides the body so they don’t have control,” continued Hanzel.

Whether the taser is used, or the situation de-escalates because of the threat of the taser, the goal is to apprehend the suspect, and take them into custody safely.

Copyright 2023 KOTA. All rights reserved.