Security Forces Airmen Add Tasers to Patrol Units

Security Forces Airmen Add Tasers to Patrol Units
Jan 23, 2013
Air Force News
by TSgt. Dan Heaton
SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich.

Security Forces Airmen at Selfridge Air National Guard Base have begun using a new tool to protect the base.

Security Airmen are now being issued Taser electroshock weapons as part of their gear for use while on patrol around the base. In addition to providing overall base security, Security Forces personnel serve as law enforcement officers on the base and provide additional layers of security to sensitive areas, such as the base flight line.

Security Airmen said the Taser weapon will help them to "bridge the gap" between the use of verbal orders to an individual and the use of deadly force.

To prepare for the use of the weapon, security Airmen have been undergoing a series of classroom sessions, which includes a demonstration of the use of the weapon on several volunteers. During the January drill weekend, eight volunteers were tased as part of a training session, attended by several dozen Security Forces personnel.

"There's no doubt it works," said Senior Airman William Lizenby, shortly after he was on the receiving end of a five-second jolt of electricity from the Taser. "I couldn't move. It felt like it went on for far longer than the five seconds."
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