A councilman called the
devices 'fairly controversial.'
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN — City council set the purchase of 50 Tasers to stun.
With some members questioning the use of Tasers by police officers, council declined Wednesday to authorize the purchase of the devices.
Instead, council agreed to have its safety committee discuss the request to buy Tasers before a decision is made.
"It's fairly controversial," said Councilman Mark Memmer, D-7th. "It's a big step for the city of Youngstown, and it warrants further discussion."
Councilwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th, said she was a "little leery" of using Tasers.
That's because an arrest in Warren, in which an officer used an electronic device several times on a 38-year-old Howland woman, made national news. That incident, caught on a police car tape, is being investigated by Warren police, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and the FBI.
Mayor Jay Williams had introduced the Taser legislation to allow council to have the city's board of control buy 50 of them from the state's cooperative purchasing contract for an amount not to exceed $50,500.
Officers wouldn't use the Tasers until they were properly trained, Williams said.
The city has discussed and studied Tasers for a long time, the mayor said. But it's "very appropriate" for council's safety committee to talk further about the issue before giving the go-ahead for the purchase, he added.
Discussion
The timing of the request shortly after the Warren incident probably didn't help, Williams said.
He still supports the purchase. It's important for police officers to have as many nonlethal options at their disposal as possible, the mayor said.
Officers currently carry pepper spray, a nightstick and a gun.
"How much more do they need?" asked Councilman Rufus Hudson, D-2nd. "I don't know why we're discussing it. I don't know if we need to do it."
Hudson said he may agree to the purchase if officers stop carrying batons and/or pepper spray.
Hudson also contradicted the mayor's statement that the city has spent a long time talking about the purchase of Tasers.
The Taser legislation on Wednesday's agenda "caught me by surprise," he said. "We haven't discussed it."
Police Chief Jimmy Hughes has said the Tasers are meant to be used on people who are seriously noncompliant and could cause injury to themselves or officers.
Local police agencies that use such devices include Warren, Liberty, Austintown, Boardman and Canfield.
skolnick@vindy.com
Thursday, October 4, 2007
A councilman called the
devices 'fairly controversial.'
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN — City council set the purchase of 50 Tasers to stun.
With some members questioning the use of Tasers by police officers, council declined Wednesday to authorize the purchase of the devices.
Instead, council agreed to have its safety committee discuss the request to buy Tasers before a decision is made.
"It's fairly controversial," said Councilman Mark Memmer, D-7th. "It's a big step for the city of Youngstown, and it warrants further discussion."
Councilwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th, said she was a "little leery" of using Tasers.
That's because an arrest in Warren, in which an officer used an electronic device several times on a 38-year-old Howland woman, made national news. That incident, caught on a police car tape, is being investigated by Warren police, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and the FBI.
Mayor Jay Williams had introduced the Taser legislation to allow council to have the city's board of control buy 50 of them from the state's cooperative purchasing contract for an amount not to exceed $50,500.
Officers wouldn't use the Tasers until they were properly trained, Williams said.
The city has discussed and studied Tasers for a long time, the mayor said. But it's "very appropriate" for council's safety committee to talk further about the issue before giving the go-ahead for the purchase, he added.
Discussion
The timing of the request shortly after the Warren incident probably didn't help, Williams said.
He still supports the purchase. It's important for police officers to have as many nonlethal options at their disposal as possible, the mayor said.
Officers currently carry pepper spray, a nightstick and a gun.
"How much more do they need?" asked Councilman Rufus Hudson, D-2nd. "I don't know why we're discussing it. I don't know if we need to do it."
Hudson said he may agree to the purchase if officers stop carrying batons and/or pepper spray.
Hudson also contradicted the mayor's statement that the city has spent a long time talking about the purchase of Tasers.
The Taser legislation on Wednesday's agenda "caught me by surprise," he said. "We haven't discussed it."
Police Chief Jimmy Hughes has said the Tasers are meant to be used on people who are seriously noncompliant and could cause injury to themselves or officers.
Local police agencies that use such devices include Warren, Liberty, Austintown, Boardman and Canfield.
skolnick@vindy.com
Thursday, October 4, 2007
City council set the purchase of 50 Tasers to stun.
With some members questioning the use of Tasers by police officers,...
