The taser comes to the area

[Kat Kanning]

They like it....how long til they start using it on old ladies and children?   


Swanzey police break in Taser

IAN BAGLEY
Sentinel Staff

SWANZEY ? Swanzey police used a Taser for the first time early Saturday morning when a Troy man allegedly struggled to avoid being handcuffed in the parking lot of the Riverside Apartment complex on West Swanzey Road.

Swanzey officers first received the Tasers on March 16. Shaped like handguns, they can deliver 50,000 volts of electricity for second to five seconds.

Keith Parkhurst, 22, was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He was held Saturday at the Cheshire County jail for lack of $2,500 cash bail.

Although the Taser can fire two probes up to 15 feet, in this case the probes weren?t fired; the Taser?s tip was applied to Parkhurst?s shoulder, police said.

?I?m glad to see that it worked,? Police Chief Richard V.C. Busick 4th said.

Early Saturday morning, a resident reported that someone had just stepped out of a red Volkswagon Jetta in the apartment complex?s parking lot and urinated on the lawn outside, Swanzey police said.

When police arrived, there wasn?t anyone there, but minutes later a Jetta similar to the one the caller described showed up at the lot. There were six people inside, police said.

Police arrested the driver, Christopher Pappas, 18, of Keene after noticing a half-full bottle of Budweiser beer on the floor, police said.

Parkhurst could have avoided the Taser and the arrest if he had kept quiet, but instead he interfered with police questioning of Pappas, in part by offering him a cigarette, Busick said.

Then, when police told Parkhurst he was being put in protective custody, Parkhurst allegedly struggled, falling to the ground and burying his arms under his chest.

Using the Taser, police were able to paralyze Parkhurst and put his hands in handcuffs.

If the Taser hadn?t been available, the struggle could have gone on longer, Busick said. ?With the Taser, it?s over immediately,? he said.

When people resist arrest, officers may also use pepper spray or, in more serious cases, a baton, he said.

Proponents of Tasers say they are safer than pepper spray, because they don?t hit unintended targets, and don?t cause the injuries a baton can. Recent concerns about Tasers have centered on their safety, especially for people with heart problems.

Three of the other people in the car were held in protective custody and later released to their parents.

Pappas was charged with transportation of alcohol by a minor and released on $750 personal recognizance. Both he and Parkhurst are scheduled to be arraigned May 9

[Lloyd Danforth]

They like it....how long til they start using it on old ladies and children?? ?



If the Taser hadn?t been available, the struggle could have gone on longer, Busick said. ?With the Taser, it?s over immediately,? he said.

May 9

Read this, "If the Taser wasn't available, we might have had to get our hands dirty"

[tracysaboe]

Charged with Resisting arrest and disorderly conduct?

Don't they need a reason to arrest you before you resist? Or can they just arrest you for no good reason out of the blue, and then charge you with resisting arrest if you resist? If a person doesn't resist arrest, does that mean they won't be arresting cause they won't have anything else to charge them with?

Stupid!

Tracy

[Michael Fisher]

Don't they need a reason to arrest you before you resist?

Shhhhh...

You're not supposed to think about that.

[tracysaboe]

No, I'm serious.

This stuff's scary. This sort of thing shouldn't be going on here. In New Hampshire of all places!

Where did the police station get the money to buy the tasers? They're still quite expensive. Around $10,000 a pop. You guys fund your police stations that much?

Tracy

[Russell Kanning]

This is what constitutes crime in Swanzey.....not answering the cops questions correctly.

[Kat Kanning]

Yesterday afternoon, some guy peed on the back of the Hancock post office while I was sitting there reading.  It never even entered my mind that I should call the police and have the guy tasered for it 

[Russell Kanning]

Hey that is good work there.....all the cops had to do was put down their early morning donuts for a few minutes....pull over a red vw and start searching for evidence....they don't answer your questions right....zap....hey they just brought in another $750......good work men

[Kat Kanning]

I think the Swanzy police need a copy of this book to remind them that everybody pees.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0786818689/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4353987-1119816#reader-link

[mvpel]

The Taser M18 model is $400, and each air unit, which propels the darts, is about $30.  Where'd you get the idea they were $10,000?

The Merrimack PD has had them for a couple of years now.  They're a practical alternative to Monadnock batons and the irritating and time-consuming mess of pepper spray.

[GT]

THe top of the line "civilian" model is the X26c and lists for $999. I believe the preffered law enforcement model is the M26. It's basically an X26 with longer ranger and more juice behind the jolt.

The taser website www.taser.com lists numerous sites for police departments to apply for grants to take someone elses money to pay for thier new stuff.

The danger with tasers is that everyone claims they are "non-lethal" and therefore will get used more. There have been growing statics that they can be very lethal. They also don't leave a welt on the side of your head like a baton does.

[FTL_Ian]

Maybe someone should get in touch with these young people, and see if we can be of assistance to them.. perhaps they could be converts to liberty, if they aren't on our side already...

[tracysaboe]

The Taser M18 model is $400, and each air unit, which propels the darts, is about $30.  Where'd you get the idea they were $10,000?

The Merrimack PD has had them for a couple of years now.  They're a practical alternative to Monadnock batons and the irritating and time-consuming mess of pepper spray.

I thought they were more expensive. My bad.

Tracy

[Pat K]

Yesterday afternoon, some guy peed on the back of the Hancock post office while I was sitting there reading.? It never even entered my mind that I should call the police and have the guy tasered for it?

My god crime is just out of control up there.

All units All units be on the look out for the postal pee-er!!

[Kat Kanning]

I wonder if it was a commentary on his mail delivery or maybe the price of stamps these days.