Video: Shotguns, Handguns and Tasers...Oh, My!

Note: This is the fourth of 13 weekly stories about your Patch editor's journey though the Menomonee Falls Citizen's Police Academy.

Tuesday was a much-anticipated class with the and the Citizen’s Academy. It was not only my birthday, but also our day for firearms training at the department’s firing range.

Spending the evening unloading rounds from a Glock 21 seemed like a nice way to celebrate my 25th year on this planet.

You get the gist of what we did out at the firing range from the video posted with this article, but that was only half the class. After the sun set on the firing range, the class caravaned back to the classroom to get a primer and demonstration of the Taser.

Before I get too deep into the article, I need to let you know that officers don’t call that yellow device on their belts a Taser. It’s an electronic control device. Detective Christopher Cybell said the state of Wisconsin isn’t in the business of promoting a company, so "electronic control device" is the correct term to use.

During last week’s class we got , which is the sliding scale officers use to control an escalating situation. On the firing range, we got hands-on training with some lethal weapons. However, there are some case when a Taser can be the perfect tool.

When police are called to the scene of a naked man high on narcotics (video does contain brief nudity) banging on the doors of a day care center, a Taser might be the best bet to diffuse the situation. I didn’t make that up, it was a demo video we saw during class. 

And, boy, I would not want to be on the wrong end of a Taser shot. Two metal prongs with half-inch needles are launched into your skin. Any areas of you body between the two prongs will instantly seize as 1,200 volts surge through your body. However, it isn’t the watts that cause the seizure, it’s the amperage. And a typical Taser is 2.1 milliamps.

At the end of the class, Officer Scott Holz donned some armor and took a training Taser shot for the class. Obviously, this was a highly visual class, and I’ve attached a video of that as well.

As always, looking forward to next week’s class.