January 09. 2003 6:30AM
Police chief of Alachua gets a shock to his system
Kathy Ciotola
Sun staff writers
ciotolk@gvillesun.com

Alachua Police Chief Robert Jernigan got zapped with an electronic Taser weapon Monday during officer training,
but no one got in trouble.
Jernigan knew full well he was going to get jolted — it was part of a demonstration of the 22 new Tasers the
department recently purchased.
"I wouldn't want to go through that again. But I didn't say a single cuss word — I did good," Jernigan said before
Monday night's Alachua City Commission meeting. "I didn't bring it here tonight because I don't want to have to use
it on anybody."
Tasers disable people by hitting them with an electrical charge. While they are considered nonlethal, critics of the
device say some suspects have died after being shot with Tasers.
The city bought Tasers for each of the 19 officers, as well as a few extras. They were tested and demonstrated
Monday.