By Marlana Smith
When Arron Fredrickson was running for Shelby County Sheriff, he said one of the goals was to get some new equipment to help the deputies in their daily operations.
In February the Sheriff’s Department purchased body cameras. Fredrickson said another piece of equipment that will help the department was obtaining new Tasers S7’s.
The tasers the department had before were 20-year hand-me downs which were failing.
“We have yet to have a deployment, which is a good thing, but having another option of less than lethal force allows us to de-escalate situations a lot faster,” Fredrickson said.
Pairing the tasers with the body cameras will help the department evaluate how the officers are dealing with situations and provide evidence for court and other circumstances.
The department has a total of six tasers. Each costs $720 a year for five years, totaling $21,600. The total includes maintenance, cartridges, holsters and warranties.
