Survey: All south Mississippi law enforcement agencies using stun guns

18704058-smallBILOXI, Mississippi (AP) — Stun guns get used on an average of more than four people a week in south Mississippi, The Sun Herald reported.

The newspaper said a survey answered by 14 of the area’s 15 law enforcement agencies found that all have stun guns, and officers used their stun guns at least 253 times over the past 20 months.

The Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics says stun gun use by police nationwide increased from 60 percent of departments in 2007 to 81 percent in 2013.

Some agencies in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties bought stun guns at least 10 years ago, ahead of the curve, and all others soon followed, the newspaper reported.

Biloxi police Major Jim Adamo and other officials have said it shows a progressive approach in law enforcement and public safety throughout Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties.

Police in Gulfport, the state’s second-largest city, reported the region’s greatest use: 108 stun-gun discharges over 20 months.

Local agencies own 636 Taser-brand stun guns, with the largest number, 127, owned by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

A Justice Department study in 2011 showed stun-gun use by police had decreased injuries by 50 percent or more.

Adamo agreed with other officials who maintain Tasers reduce injuries and can help protect bystanders.

Police may draw a gun but are less likely to use it — and people tend to believe that people who pull out a Taser will fire it, Adamo said.

He said Biloxi officers pulled out their Tasers 50 times last year, but discharged them only 25 times. The threat was enough the rest of the time, he said.

“Most people who know about Tasers don’t want anything to do with it,” Adamo said.

Gulfport Police Chief Leonard Papania said his officers pulled out Tasers 135 times in the past year, and discharged them 108 times. Of 6,518 arrests, he said, 1.7 percent involved Taser use.

“Our officers were hit, kicked, shot at and spit on,” he said. “Those 135 were resistive, some being assaultive, and 89 fled.”