El Campo police in no rush for Tasers
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

Although the Wharton County Sheriff's Office has issued Tasers to its deputies, the El Campo Police Department has no plans to do so anytime soon.

Tasers are a high-voltage stun gun meant to provide law enforcement with a non-lethal means to subdue a suspect. However, there have been more than 275 Taser-related deaths in North America since 2000, resulting in controversy and lawsuits.

The sheriff's office trained deputies in the equipment's use earlier this month, but has had Tasers for its jail officers for a year. Tasers were added as "an additional tool in the box a deputy can use before having to resort to deadly force," said WCSO Lt. Danny Marek.

El Campo Police Chief Jim Elliott said he's "waiting to see how the lawsuits progress" before making a decision on Tasers.

"I want an opinion from the courts before I proceed," he said. "If the reviews are favorable, we will proceed. I believe they are a valuable option."

Two of the non-lethal devices used by ECPD officers are pepper spray and rifles that fire bean bags.

The bean bags are fired from a special Remington 870 shotgun which has a bright orange stock to avoid confusion with a real rifle.

"Supervisors have them in their units," Elliott said. However, the department has yet to run across a situation where they needed to use the bean bag rifles, he noted.

Saturday night marked the first time a Wharton County Sheriff's Department deputy used a Taser on the job since the deputies were issued the devices.

Deputy Robin Rodriguez used her Taser during a domestic assault call in Lane City, when the suspect allegedly picked up a log from a fire pit and approached her.

"I would never second-guess a deputy's actions in a situation like this and think Deputy Rodriguez's use of the Taser was appropriate in this case," Lt. Marek said.