Police in Bergen County cheer the rollout of stun guns
Thursday August 1, 2013, 12:04 AM
BY REBECCA BAKER
STAFF WRITER
The Record
After years of frustration, Tasers are in the hands of the first police officers in Bergen County, a move applauded by both law enforcement and civil rights groups as long overdue and a potential lifesaver.
New Jersey has been behind the rest of the world in adopting stun guns as a law enforcement tool. It was the last state in the country to authorize the devices in 2006, and problems with early restrictions, high costs and unanswered questions about liability and training kept them from being issued to police officers in Bergen and Passaic counties.
The problems were largely resolved when the state Attorney General’s Office clarified some of its stun-gun training requirements this year, Bergen County Police Chief Brian Higgins said at a media event Wednesday announcing the Taser rollout. Two dozen county police officers are authorized to carry Tasers, joining thousands of law enforcement agencies that have used stun guns for decades.
“We were just waiting for all the pieces to fall into place,” Higgins said.
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