Original Article Tempe school cops will get stun guns By Beth Lucas, Tribune Troublemakers in Tempes secondary schools may be in for a shock next time they threaten other students. The Tempe City Council on Thursday approved spending up to $200,000 to arm an additional 170 Tempe police officers with Taser guns including the school resource officers who spend their days overseeing and educating students in middle and high schools. Tempe parents were unaware of the plan, but some said they would approve of the idea if it was used only to prevent serious injury and not just to break up regular schoolyard fights. "Where it would make sense is if you had a fight with weapons," said Bob Nullmeyer. Warren Brown, who recently transferred his son from Tempe High School, said the Tasers may help prevent fights from getting out of control - and, if used correctly, keep kids safer. "I think it would definitely be a deterrent," he said. The Tempe schools will join Chandler and Gilbert, which have had Tasers in every high school for more than a year. The school resource officer at Mesa Vista High School alternative campus in Mesa also is trained to use a Taser. Tempe officer and spokesman Jeff Lane said the stun guns would provide another nonlethal tool for police dealing with extreme situations. "To tell you the truth, Tasers would be beneficial on campus because of the fact you could take care of a 12- or 16- or 17-year-old (out of control) in five seconds, with nobody else getting hurt," Lane said. "And after five seconds, the situation is completely calm." A school officer could restrain a student who is attacking the officer, a teacher or another student with the Taser, which causes the victims muscles to contract simultaneously during the five-second jolt, Lane said. Tear gas also is an option officers have used to restrain students, but it leaves students stinging for 45 minutes and can hit other students and teachers trying to break up a fight or deal with a student, Lane said. Tempe began using stun guns almost three years ago, beginning with bicycle officers and then expanding about two years ago to street patrol officers, Lane said. He said the department was careful to ensure the Tasers were a safer way to protect the public before considering expanding their use. "Its another tool we can use to safely take care of any situations we encounter," Lane said. The Scottsdale Police Department does not issue Tasers to school resource officers but may begin doing so in January when the city purchases more. If they do, detective Sam Bailey said they may first create a special policy for how to use the weapons on juveniles. Anna Battle, principal at Tempe High School, said she has heard nothing about Tasers on campus. "All police officers on duty must be armed," she said. School Resource officers carry guns along with other weapons, including tear gas and batons, on campuses. Police departments whose officers now carry Tasers on school campuses said they did not recall them being used on any students. In Gilbert, the only time an officer used a stun gun on a student was during a nonschool related domestic violence call at a home. No numbers were available in Chandler or Mesa. Gilbert Sgt. Mike Angstead said officers can use Tasers on a school campus the same way they do on the streets. "We basically react to the threat that presents itself," he said. Mesa Sgt. Chuck Trapani said policy requires officers to first try to restrain a student physically before using a Taser if possible, depending on the situation. Steve Tuttle, spokesman for Scottsdale-based Taser International Inc., said tests have proven that the guns are safe on people who weigh as few as 60 pounds. He said about 1,700 schools in the nation have Tasers on campus. Contact Beth Lucas by email, or phone (480) 898-7731 http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/1211taserZ14.html Tasers coming to high schools Phoenix buying stun guns for school officers Colleen Sparks colleen.sparks@arizonarepublic.com The Arizona Republic Dec. 11, 2004 12:00 AM School resource officers in Ahwatukee Foothills' two public high schools are expected to be armed with Tasers within a year. Phoenix police plan to buy the stun guns for all school resource officers in the city, including those who patrol Ahwatukee high schools, within the next year and maybe as soon as six months, said Sgt. Sylvester Johnson of Phoenix police. School resource officers at two of Kyrene School District's three middle schools in Ahwatukee - Kyrene Akimel A-al and Kyrene Altadea - already carry the stun guns. It is unknown whether the officer at Kyrene Centennial Middle School also carries the weapon. Tempe police on Monday will present information about Tasers to administrators in a private meeting in the Tempe Union High School District. Police plan to equip their school resource officers with Tasers in Tempe's high schools and middle schools, pending City Council approval next week. "It's a good idea for all officers to have Tasers even if they are SROs because SROs are police officers," said Phoenix police Officer Melina Walker, stationed at Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee. "I doubt I would have to use it on a child. "When I'm not in school, I'm working patrol. When there's something that goes on around the school within the neighborhood, I'm the closest one." The school resource officers do not use Tasers now on any of the campuses in the Tempe Union district, said Nicole Greason, district director of communications. The district has high schools in Ahwatukee and Tempe. Tempe Union has one school resource officer per comprehensive campus, Greason said. Some school resource officers in Phoenix, which includes Ahwatukee, have Tasers, only if they received them while working in patrol jobs, said Sgt. Colin Pierce, school resource officer coordinator with the Phoenix Police Department. The rest don't have them because the city didn't have the money to buy Tasers for all its officers, Pierce said. Phoenix police officers, including those on the school campuses, carry Glock guns, pepper spray and batons, Pierce said. Phoenix Officer Rick Tamburo, a school resource officer at Ahwatukee's Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School who has a Taser, thinks it's a good idea to have the weapon, especially at high schools. He said sometimes "good-size kids" get into "large fights" with each other or teachers. "It allows you to diffuse a problem without anyone having to get hurt," Tamburo said. Ahwatukee resident Sheilah Dancer, who has a daughter at Desert Vista High School, says the idea of Taser-armed school resource officers "seems a little overboard to me." "I personally don't know of any incidences that would have required that kind of restraint," she said. In the Kyrene Elementary School District, school resource officers work at each of the middle school campuses, including the three in Ahwatukee, said Johnny Cruz, district communications supervisor. Phoenix police Officer Terry McHugh, stationed at Kyrene Altadea Middle School, says he carries a Taser in his briefcase. He doesn't think he would have to use it at school, but might in the surrounding neighborhood. "Word of mouth gets around about the Taser," McHugh said. "Someone who will otherwise fight with you will see that you have that. That will dissuade people from otherwise fighting with you where they would before." Reporter Katie Nelson contributed to this report.