The suspect, a 36 year-old half-naked male had previously threatened a jogger and was in the midst of being questioned by a plainclothes detective when he abruptly drove off in his car, dragging the officer questioning him nearly 65 feet. The suspect then abandoned the vehicle as police chased him to the Waikato River’s edge. Three hours into the standoff, the commanding officer decided that a TASER device was the best tool to end the situation safely and effectively. Although Waikato officers do not carry TASER devices, the decision was made to fly in a TASER-trained officer from Auckland.

However, just the mere threat of the TASER induced the man to cooperate. This story illustrates just what a powerful and effective tool the TASER device can be for law enforcement — even when it’s not actually deployed. Had the officers not had a TASER at their disposal (New Zealand has only had TASER devices for the past couple of years), then officers may have had to resort to lethal force. Because the officers had access to the TASER device, the situation was resolved without any weapons being deployed, the suspect was taken into custody without injury, and the officers went home safely.

The following story was sent to us this week by a Sergeant at a California law enforcement agency. The wife of one of his colleagues used her TASER® C2™ to ward off a potential attacker. The woman had obviously thought about her own personal safety beforehand, which is why she was carrying a C2 and was prepared to act in her own defense.  

We often find, as in this case, that just taking out your C2 is enough to scare off an attacker. However, if you do choose to carry some form of weapon to defend yourself, you also need to be prepared to use it. Check out the story after the jump, as it reinforces the fact that we constantly need to maintain an awareness of our surroundings:

The wife of one of our officers was shopping at Wal-Mart in California about a week ago. As she was selecting a bag of dog food she noticed a man looking at dog food. She continued get some material for a sewing project and the same man was showing an interest in fabric. She then went to the ladies section and guess who was there? The same man! You get the picture. As she was checking out, the same guy was behind her buying a single item like gum or something.

As she exited the store, she removed her Pink C2 from her purse and put it in her pocket. She stopped just outside the main doors, off to the side a bit, not wanting to chance an encounter in the middle of the parking lot. Sure enough, the man comes out looking for her. It was clear to her that he was going to address her in some manner. She adamantly stated to him that he was making her uncomfortable and he needed to leave her alone.

The man responded that he does not speak English (“No habla ingles”). The woman then displayed her TASER C2, and said, “I have a Taser and you need to leave me alone!”

The man took off running in the opposite direction, got into a car and fled. 

This story illustrates the importance of being aware of your surroundings and the way in which a TASER C2 can alleviate a situation. No one knows for sure if or how this situation may have ended differently had the woman not been so aware of her surroundings and not been carrying a TASER C2. What we do know is that, because of her actions, the situation had a positive outcome and she is safe.  

Be smart, notice the people around you, and when necessary, be prepared to act decisively to defuse a perceived and potential threat before it becomes dangerous.