MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. – Marines and civilian police officers with the Provost Marshal’s Office aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., conducted annual Taser training, July 18.
Police officers learned the basics of the Taser X26, including how to handle, inspect and reload to stay proficient with the weapon.
The training provides a nonlethal alternative for controlling a noncompliant situation, explained Kevin Guffey, a law enforcement instructor with PMO.
Police officers learned target areas and the effects of the Taser firsthand. All the participants must be stunned by the Taser on their back for 3 seconds to complete the training. The Taser causes neuromuscular incapacitation that contracts the muscles, causing an individual to lock up and make them unable to move. For safety, the person being stunned had spotters to keep them from falling to the ground.
“Once you get tased, you can’t really focus on anything but the pain; you’re at the mercy of the Taser,” said Cpl. Vettel Arnold III, military police officer with the MCAS Miramar special reaction team and a Sacramento, Calif., native.
With different echelons of force to use, police officers must know the best way to handle the situation.
“[Oleoresin capsicum spray] is one of the other things you can use, but the issue with that is [that] you can contaminate yourself or others around you,” said Arnold. “So, it’s better to use the Taser.”
Police officers with PMO aboard the air station plan to continue conducting the training and ensuring they are ready to use the weapon if a situation arises.