Attacker gets Tased by victim
BY JENNIFER BAKER • JBAKER@ENQUIRER.COM • JANUARY 14, 2010

A woman grabbed by a man Wednesday night at the main library in downtown Cincinnati used a Taser stun gun on him before he was arrested, police said.

Aaron Crutcher, 20, was booked into the Hamilton County jail just before 8:30 p.m. on two counts of assault and one count each of disorderly conduct and menacing.

According to Cincinnati police, he grabbed a woman at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 800 Vine St.

She happened to be armed with a Taser stun gun, which she fired at him, records show. He began punching her in the chest.

Library security personnel and Cincinnati police intervened and took him into custody. He screamed and threatened the woman and library staff, court records show.

Taser International, which supplies 15,000 law enforcement agencies with equipment, markets a new model of its stun gun designed for use by private citizens.

It’s small enough at 6 inches long and weighing about 7 ounces to be stashed in a purse or backpack, according to the Arizona-based company’s Web site. The Taser C2 ranges in cost from $299 to $349. It’s less powerful than the police version.

Some states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and New York, ban private citizens from owning Taser stun guns, according to Taser International.

Taser International has sold more than 205,000 stun guns for private citizens since 1994, said Steve Tuttle, spokesman for Taser International.

If the woman doesn’t receive her Taser back from police, the company will replace it for free, he said.

“As long as it’s used in self-defense properly, it’s covered with a lifetime warranty,” he said.

Officer praised for heroic deed

12/8/2009 8:17:00 AM

http://www.dailycall.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=161446&SectionID=119&SubSectionID=205&S=1

By Will E Sanders
Staff Writer

PIQUA, OH – A rookie city cop is being heralded as possibly saving the life of a distraught teen-aged boy who allegedly attempted to shoplift a $2 canister of tobacco following an incident over the weekend that involved a loaded shotgun, authorities said.

With only a year’s worth of police work behind him, Piqua police officer Adam Kimpel deployed a Taser within a bedroom of a city residence, rendering the shotgun-holding 16-year-old male powerless as the rookie officer moved in to secure the loaded firearm and the scene as another officer arrived to the scene, police reports state.

Kimpel responded to the location as a part of an investigation where he tracked the license plate number of the vehicle the teen left in after allegedly attempting to pocket the tobacco from Kwik N Kold, 655 N. Main St., those reports further state.

Upon arrival at the teen’s home, Kimpel allowed the juvenile to go to the bathroom. The officer later found the teen sitting in a bedroom and holding a shotgun, his fingers six inches away from the trigger of the firearm, which was loaded and had the safety off, it was later determined by authorities.

“I was still outside of the room and knowing that I had cover and would be able to remove myself if there was a threat, I then began speaking to (the teen) again about the situation,” Kimpel wrote in his narrative of the incident. “(The teen) stated that he had messed up. His hands then moved down the barrel toward the handle and trigger and he began to say, ‘I (expletive deleted)” … I believe he was going to say ‘I (expletive deleted) up,’ but I quickly raised my Taser weapon and deployed the Taser cartridge at (the teen).”

The teen was later transported to Dettmer Hospital, but was otherwise not seriously harmed, reports state.

The teen was charged with attempted theft, a second-degree misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, a minor misdemeanor, according to Piqua Police Department records.

Due to his age and the nature of the incident, the juvenile is not being named.

Deputy Police Chief Tom Steiner said Kimpel might have saved the teen’s life, or prevented potential harm to himself or other officers, or both. He called Kimpel’s actions “commendable.”

“He made a very good, quick judgement for any officer, especially a younger guy,” Steiner said. “Our feelings is he may have very well saved (the teen’s) life by doing that.”

Oftentimes coming under fire from critics, Steiner said Tasers are used to prevent bodily harm, not create it.

“We use them to save lives,” the deputy chief said.

This is why TASER International makes less-lethal alternatives.  Had this situation escalated, police could have been forced to use more forceful options.  TASER XREP and X12 allowed them to subdue the agitated woman from a safe distance and take her into protective custody.  We at TASER International applaud the Waukesha Police Department’s successful intervention to protect life with TASER technology.

Here are more details of the situation from Waukesha Police Lt. Dennis J. Angle.

At 3:25 p.m. Waukesha Police Officers responded to a report of a suicidal woman with a knife in the 1900 block of Bonnie Lane.  She was not only threatening her own life, but life of another.  Upon arrival officers received information that the subject of the call was a 47-year-old woman with a history of mental illness.  She had fled just prior to police arrival and it was unknown if she was armed.

Officers searched the area and later located the woman in a highly agitated state.  Her level of agitation increased upon officer contact and she resisted officers’ attempts to take her into protective custody.

In order to safely take her into protective custody officers were forced to deploy an Electronic Control Device known as the X-REP.  The deployment was successful and no higher forms of force were needed.  Neither the woman nor any officers were injured.  She was later transported to a Mental Health Facility.

According to Wikipedia, “suicide by cop is a suicide method in which a suicidal deliberately acts in a threatening way, with the goal of provoking a lethal response from a law enforcement officer, such as being shot to death.” Tragically, those officers that are placed in those situations not only face media and public scrutiny, internal investigations, self-doubt, but they have to live the rest of their lives with the fact that they were involved in an incident where a life was taken to no fault of their own.

The main mission that co-founders Rick and Tom Smith had when starting TASER International in 1993 was to find a safer response to resistance. This mission is accomplished each time we read of similar lives saved by the use of a TASER ECD. To shed a little light on “who” we are, our staff at “Team TASER” is highly motivated and driven by these stories. Although we aren’t walking the beat or putting on a badge to protect and serve, it still makes us feel like we are, albeit a small, but important contributing cog in the law enforcement world. It’s a story like this that helps feel like we’re doing our part to make the world a little bit safer and doing our part to protect life.

We are human at TASER International. We read the controversial stories and sometimes you can feel overwhelmed that so many of the life-saving events are simply not covered or reported in any large extent despite thousands of lives that have been positively affected by the use of a TASER ECD. However, we as a company continue to produce products that help deter incidents that end in any death or serious injury, which allows us to continue to fulfill our number one mission: Protect life.

Although our technology is not a replacement for deadly force, we do know our TASER technology has been invaluable in more than 800,000 field use in situations — including the prevention of suicide by cop. It’s a good reminder today to see the positive impacts this technology makes each day at nearly 14,500 law enforcement agencies  in more than 40 countries.

In Bay County, Michigan, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched in the early morning hours on Friday, August 7, 2009 to a retail fraud complaint. When the deputies arrived they found a Texas man sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle holding his 5-month old niece. According to reports, the man was obviously distraught as he gave a false name, used the baby as a shield and even stated that he would, “…kill this baby, I will break its neck.” The deputies tried several failed attempts to remove the baby safely from the man. Finally, a TASER device was deployed, allowing the police officers to recover the unharmed infant and return her safely to her family.

Deputies later learned that this man was wanted in Texas for several crimes, including parole violation, and he was also wanted for numerous crimes in counties throughout Michigan. Who’s to say what would have happened if the TASER device wasn’t used, but we can at least state that everyone involved wasn’t hurt and the infant is now at home safe with her family and the bad guy is sitting in a jail cell facing felony charges.

Early this morning in Surprise, Arizona, an officer investigating a suspicious vehicle was grabbed by the suspect inside the vehicle and dragged by his arm outside the suspect’s vehicle for 40 yards. The suspect, pretending to be asleep, waited until the officer put his hand on his shoulder to determine if he required medical attention, and then abruptly threw the car in drive and grabbed the officer by the arm, dragging him alongside the car. By using his free hand and thinking quickly, the officer was able to pull out his TASER® X26™ to subdue the suspect and put the vehicle in park.

In many jurisdictions, assaulting an officer with a vehicle would be a justifiable use of deadly force. However, the officer chose to use his X26, quickly and safely ending the confrontation in a safer use-of-force manner.

Read the article here.

One of the most balanced reports I have seen thus far on the incident was on the NBC Today Show yesterday — including the after report discussion between Erin Burnett and Matt Lauer sharing their personal views on the situation. 

While I can understand the sensational draw and the spirited debate over this incident, I am left wondering why only a select few TASER uses are covered this intensely by the media or on the Internet. It seems as if the TASER device only gets this kind of coverage when it is used in what is perceived to be a negative or controversial situation.  

There are thousands of videos where officers used a TASER device according to their agencies’ policies and it directly led to the saving of an individual’s life. But we rarely see these instances covered on a national scale.

Electronic control devices are saving lives, reducing injuries and saving precious taxpayer dollars in workman’s compensation and litigation savings in the communities across the United States that are patrolled by the nearly 14,000 law enforcement agencies that carry TASER devices.

I personally believe a life saved deserves the same, if not more, coverage than a 72-year-old who became belligerent in refusing to sign a ticket or a naked guy at a music festival. This is certainly true with the story today from Amherst, N.Y., about the 6 month-old baby who was saved by an officer using a TASER device.

June 2, 2009

Hello,

My name is Matthew and I purchased your C2 product last year for personal protection. On May 11, 2009 I was attacked at work by a large man (6′0, around 270 lbs). I had previously had this man arrested for swinging at me, and for threatening my life. I have two small children at home, and care deeply for my family. This man returned again to my business on May 11, 2009. I am assuming that he was returning to make good on his threat to end my life, as he had been warned numerous times by the police and myself to stay away. His previous arrest was obviously no deterrent to his return. When this man charged at me from a distance of around 25 feet, I pointed my C2 at him and repeatedly warned him to stop. When it was obvious that he would not, I deployed the TASER. He was struck by one probe in the lower stomach and the other in his right hand. This device immediately dropped this large man like a rock, and the threat was over. He did not get back up until police arrived to handcuff him again and take him back to jail.

I am thankful that I did not have to use lethal force against him, and extremely impressed with the device. I cannot put a price on my safety and that of my family. I know that in years gone by my options for defense were limited to devices that required closer contact without having to utilize deadly force. I am a law-abiding, taxpaying, all American man. Thank you sincerely for the development of this device. My young daughters are thankful that you helped their Dad come home safe.

Thanks again,

Matthew S.

Matthew, we want to thank you for sharing your story with all of us at TASER International. You may have said it best, “I cannot put a price on my safety and that of my family.”

Yesterday, that curiosity was satisfied as the pilot program’s first field use provided an example of how TASER devices can help save lives. A man in the town of Woerden had his life saved when the use of a TASER prevented him from inflicting serious injury upon himself. Officers were able to temporarily incapacitate the man’s muscles using a TASER® X26™ — thereby disarming him and diffusing the dangerous situation. 

We’re pleased that the Dutch National Police have adopted the life-saving technology of TASER and we congratulate them on a job well done in helping advance the mission of TASER International — to protect life.

Check out the full story here: Providence Police use TASER to Save Woman