Lovlllnd, CO
REPORTER - HERALD
Fort C.II"',-lov.l.nd
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D18,803

Manllry

JUL

23. 2001

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L!A!lL!JI'A'ESS CLIPPINGS

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Reporte....Herald photoslKRIS LINDAHL

Above, Loveland Police Sgt. John Manago demonstrates a nonlethal weapon that shoots batons to help officers contain a
suspect. Top, a taser gun with a laser points out where it is being aimed.

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Police amp up nondeadly weapons armory
OUS instances, Metzler said.
Loveland police have not used

By PAIUELA DICKMAN
RepQI"ler-IIerwld Staff Writer

the baton gun yet

Police reI>: on training, wits
and the available tools to handle different situations.
Loveland police officers
have two new tools to add to
that kit.
Within the last year, police
officials bought two laser
guns for $400 each and a
$1,200 Sage gun, which shoots
rubber batons. Both are
aimed to be nonlethal methods of controlling a situation
or arresting a resistant per-

It could be used to disarm

someone or to arrest someone
with a weapon, he said. Manago gave the examples of
someone with a gun in his or
her waistband or in his or her

hand but not pointed at anyone

However, the baton gun will
not replace traditional guns
in a situation in which a person has a weapon drawn and

is threatening others, Manago

son.
The weapons do not replace
current options such as batons, ~pper spray or even
guns If a certain situation
caDed for one of those options, Sgt. John Manago explained. They do, however, increase the number of options
police have for stopping a situation before someone gets
hurt, he said.
-We're trying to layer our
less leUlll1 tools, so we have
options available at all levels
in all instances," Officer Phil
Metz.ler said.
The taser gun uses an electrical current to cause a person's muscles to contract,
tumbling the person and allowing other officers to arrest
that person without resis·
tance. The voltage can be
fired from a distance - wires
connected with metal probes
that resemble a needle connect with the subject or the
person's clothing to administcr the current {or as long as
five seconds,
The subject will not have
any lasting injuries and the
voltage - 50,000 volls at 26
watls - is far below the dan-

Lovelvtd Police Officers Phil Mettler,left, vtd Steve Frledle,
right, spot Officer Aaron Belk, middle, while demonstrating
what happens when shot with a taser gun. The taser sends a
current of electricity through probes attached to wires Into
the body to make the muscles contract, causing a suspect to
fall so officers can detain him or her.

ger level, said Officer Steve
li'TiedJe, who is certified to
teach other officers how to
use the weapon. Once the officer lakes his or her hnnd off
the trigger controlling the
current, the effect subsides,
FriedJe said.
"You get the incapacitation,
and they drop to the ground,"
he said. "After the five seconds arc over, it's like a light
switch."
.
li'riedle, Metzler and Manago demonstrated the effect on
Officer Aaron Belk on Sunday. In less than one second,
Belk, a large man, started to
sink to the ground.
Aller the current stopped,
he was able to sland up and
display only a small blemish,
which resembled a bee sting.
-Basically, it just tightened
everything up to where I was

said.
81t's nol a substitute for
deadly force" where such
force is necessary to prevent
a dire result, he said.
Police already have beanbag rounds they can fire from

their shotguns, but the new

baton gun is more accurate

and can be fired from a farjust sinking into myself," ther dislance and result in
more force, Metzler said. The
Belk said.
Police have used the taser 37 mm gun can shoot a rubber
weapons five times, and no baton 80 yards accurately,
one has had lasting injuries, Metzler said. The revolving
Fried1e said. The guns rolate cylinder aUows police to fire
on the different shifts among as many as six rounds with·
officers certified to use them, out reloading.
Three Loveland police offiwith a goal of having them
available at all limes.
cers, aU members of the
Friedle s~ke of one inci- SWAT team, are certified to
dent in wInch officers used use the gun.
The baton flies at about 400
the taser. A man was coming
at police with a large tool feet per second. Metz.ler has
brandished as a weapon. The heard the impact described
situation could have escalat- as -like being hit by a fasted to ph~sical violence and ball,"
possible mjury to police or
It can knock over a persall,
the man if the laser had not leaving bruises and in some
been used, he said.
situations even broken bones,
The laser is used in low-risk Metzler said. Although there
situations, perhaps if a person wiU be some injury, it could
will not comply with police stop a situation from escalatorders, while the baton gun ing to wbere deadly force is
comes into use in more seri- used, he said.