CT State police get new high-tech tasers. They could save lives
The new Axon Taser-10 technology could buy troopers more time to de-escalate potentially deadly encounters.
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Connecticut state troopers are getting new technology that could mean fewer deadly encounters.
It includes state-of-the-art tasers with more accuracy and less voltage, as well as body cameras that can translate 50 different languages in real time.
“JUST DROP THE KNIFE!”
At the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden, Trooper First Class Peter Leacu is making a simulated traffic stop with a 3-D virtual reality headset.
It escalates quickly.
“Just drop the knife!” a simulated officer shouts.
The suspect replies, “Leave me alone!”
This is how state police are training on Axon’s new Taser-10 technology. The VR system can simulate dozens of different scenarios. Most of CSP’s nearly 1,000 troopers have been trained on it over the last few months.
“It might be a motor vehicle stop. It could be an individual that might have a knife,” Leacu said. “We don’t know what the individual has in the car and what their intentions are.”
MORE TIME TO DE-ESCALATE
The new tasers are designed to buy time to de-escalate situations.
“We're using tools that give us time and distance, so we can slow things down,” said Trooper First Class Dale DeGaetano.
The Taser-10 can fire twice as far – up to 45 feet away – with more precision accuracy to avoid areas like the face and heart. It includes 10 darts, while older tasers can only fire two rounds at a time.
The new devices also deliver less electric charge – 1,000 volts versus 40,000 volts.
“It is significantly safer,” DeGaetano said. “But what they did with that lower voltage is, they created an undulation or an intensity that allows it to stimulate muscle.”
The Taser-10 immediately triggers the trooper’s body-worn camera and records numerous data points that can be used in an investigation.
“The old one did not register anything except for being turned on and firing,” said DeGaetano. “If you draw from the holster, there’s a little magnetized portion of it that allows it to say, ‘Hey, I drew from the holster.’ When you raise it to level, the little accelerometer inside of it is going to give it, ‘Hey, I raised to level.’”
The data is downloaded to evidence.com cloud servers, but the state of Connecticut still owns it, state police said.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNLyulejACI[youtube]
HABLA ESPAÑOL?
Language barriers can also lead to deadly mistakes.
To avoid miscommunication, Connecticut state police are getting new body cameras that can translate 50 languages in real-time. Right now, troopers must call a language hotline or utilize busy dispatchers.
“I can speak from experience being on calls where we couldn’t get the phone to work,” said Capt. Ryan Maynard. “We couldn’t get into somebody. And unfortunately, that person just couldn't speak English.”
The new tech is part of a 10-year, $120 million upgrade package that state lawmakers approved.
Norwalk police got the new translation body cameras in mid-January and departments across the state are buying the upgraded tasers.
TRY IT FOR YOURSELF
State troopers are taking the Axon simulator on the road to community events across Connecticut. It lets users see both the officer’s – and the suspect’s – point of view.
“Once they actually get in the VR and they can see our perspective as we’re approaching the vehicle, it helps them understand that a little more,” Leacu said.
