Original Article Posted 4/24/2005 11:43 PM Updated 4/24/2005 11:45 PM Police on weapon company payrolls By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY WASHINGTON Hundreds of police officers nationwide also are on payrolls of companies that supply weapons, riot gear and other equipment to the officers' departments, creating possible conflicts of interest. The arrangements have involved officers who advise their departments on what equipment to buy, according to a survey of at least a half-dozen companies by USA TODAY. Taser International, the nation's leading maker of stun guns, says it pays at least 270 officers to conduct training seminars for other police. It also sends money to the survivors of police who are killed while on duty. (Related story: Taser contributes to police families) When contacted by USA TODAY, several other private companies that supply equipment to police including Armor Holdings, which makes bullet-resistant clothing; ASP, a police baton manufacturer; and PepperBall Technologies, a maker of pepper-spray repellent said they also pay officers to train other police to use the companies' products. Much of the debate over such arrangements has focused on Arizona-based Taser, which in recent months has defended the safety of its products amid reports by Amnesty International and The Arizona Republic that more than 80 people have died after being shocked with electrical stun guns. About 7,000 of the nation's estimated 16,000 police agencies use the device. Taser's hiring of police as trainers has come under scrutiny in several communities. Police officers in Arizona and Minnesota were being paid as Taser trainers while they were involved in making stun-gun purchasing recommendations for their departments. Last year, Minneapolis police closed an investigation when the officer took a full-time job with Taser. In a separate inquiry, the city of Chandler, Ariz., found no violations. That officer also went to work full time for Taser. Such arrangements between equipment providers and police have generated no formal allegations of wrongdoing. Taser International President Tom Smith says police are paid about $600 plus travel expenses to oversee a two-day training session on their days off. "We bring in officers for their expertise," he says. "You don't have nurses train pilots." Armor Holdings spokesman Michael Fox says the employment of police is "widely accepted" in a competitive industry. Law enforcement analysts say the arrangements are troubling. "You have police officers who are supposed to be looking out for their departments when they have another competing interest" in a private company, says David Harris, a University of Toledo law professor who has studied police conduct. Hartford, Vt., Police Chief Joseph Estey, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, says the arrangements are "a kind of minefield" for police executives. Estey says he "probably would not" allow an officer to work for a supplier. Equipment suppliers say the police who work for them are not involved in sales. "Police officers learn best from other officers," says Terry Naughton, ASP's director of corporate sales. One major supplier to police, gunmaker Smith & Wesson, does not employ active-duty officers. "I see it as somewhat of a conflict of interest," spokesman Paul Pluff says. "We don't do it."