DeKalb police under fire for Taser purchase

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

About 10 DeKalb County police officers were shot with a Taser Monday as part of their training as the department prepares to add the 50,000-volt stun guns to its arsenal.

The training comes at the same time a rival stun gun manufacturer announced it would  protest DeKalb's purchase, accusing the police department of not evaluating competitor products.

Bob Gruder, CEO of Stinger Systems stun gun company, accused the police department of overpaying for the weapons and failing to fairly test both products.

Earlier this month, DeKalb police paid more than $1 million for 1,021 Tasers from Taser International in Scottsdale, Ariz. The money comes from seized assets from narcotics and fraud investigations, DeKalb Officer Jason Gagnon said.

Tampa-based Stinger submitted a bid of about $450,000 less than Taser’s price tag, Gruder said.

DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said she could not comment on Gruder's allegations and was “researching the issue.”

In addition to taking the higher bid, DeKalb did not contact Stinger’s references – Fulton and Henry County Police -- nor review the free training offered, Gruder said. In addition, he accused the county of having  the competing guns evaluated by an officer who also works for  Taser as a paid instructor.

“Not surprisingly, he recommended that Taser be purchased," Gruder said.

The Tasers will be distributed to all 1,000 DeKalb officers later this year after each completes a 10-hour training course and is shot by the Taser, Gagnon said. The officers are being shot so they can better understand the impact the gun has on people.

This is the second time the police department is getting stun guns. In 2005, DeKalb police took its 125 Tasers off the street after the company issued a warning that multiple or prolonged blasts could impair breathing and lead to death.

The warning “just nailed the coffin” on the decision to halt Taser use, then-DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones said.

At the time, the department said they were concerned about a death of a Gwinnett County jail inmate after being stunned by a Taser.

Last month, Taser International issued a warning to all officers to no longer shoot in the chest because of possible cardiac problems from the stun guns.