During a meeting last month, members of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees approved the purchase of new tasers for the police department, using drug forfeiture funding.
Director of Public Safety/Police Chief Eric Luke presented the proposal to purchase the non-lethal devices at a cost of $8,052 to the trustees. He reminded the board members that he had presented a five-year plan for the police department, including equipment, during the Nov. 16, 2020 meeting and the replacement of the tasers was part of that plan. He told the board members “at that point I gave it a another 1-to-2-year lifespan left for the tasers which have about 7 years on them. So far our plan is to put the six we purchase into service right away and to keep the others for backup.”
Luke said the back up devices could be used if the department added officers or in other situations. “We try to keep them running as long as possible,” he told the board members. He explained that the tasers are tested at the beginning of each shift so officers would know immediately if one of the devices was not working properly.
He explained that the tasers are one of the things officers value as a less lethal way to mediate a volatile situation. “It's one of those options, along with three or four others that we try to use,” Luke said. He assured the board members the purchase would be paid from forfeiture funds the township receives.
Trustee Peggy Morgan asked what would happen to the older devices when the new ones arrive. Luke reiterated that the older units would be kept and used for backup “just in case.”
Luke added that with any electronic device the effective performance is about 7 years and that to date the department has had no issues with the current tasers. He said the new devices would be the same model the department has now and there would not be any retraining costs and no costs for any accessories.
In the absence of Supervisor Tim Bowman and Trustee Don LaPorte, the purchase was approved by unanimous vote.
