MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- Military police and civilian law enforcement officers with the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Provost Marshals Office (PMO) conducted annual Taser training aboard MCAS Miramar, California, July 15.
The training helped familiarize the law enforcement officers with standardized procedures for employing nonlethal weapons in escalation of force.
PMO practiced drawing the Taser X26 from the holster, loading and reloading the X26, and aiming and firing it.
“Most of the officers have never used the Taser in the line of duty before, and we don’t want them to be in a situation where they have to use it and not be comfortable with it,” said Damian Hurt, an instructor with PMO. “We do this training so they will be comfortable with their equipment, they know where it is, and they know how to use it properly.”
The X26 produces five-second, 50,000 volt, .0021 amperage pulses capable of incapacitating an individual by causing their muscles to contract, Hurt stated. Police officers, who received the training for the first time, have to experience these pulses to become certified in using the X26.
“I wouldn’t necessarily want to do anything to anybody that I haven’t experienced myself,” Pfc. Anthony Tucker, military police officer with PMO. “I literally thought I would be able to overcome it through just sheer strength, but that’s not what I think anymore. The feeling wasn’t too bad, but it was not being able to move that was worse.”
The X26 gives the police officers another device to use in the escalation of force, should the need arise.
“Not [all situations are] going to be black and white,” said Hurt. “You want to be able to adjust, adapt and effectively overcome any situation that may happen.”