Video: Columbus PD Get Tasered

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) –  Officers in training for the Columbus police department got a shocking start to their day.

Officers at the Columbus Police Department are quickly approaching the end of their training. But before they are allowed out in the field they have to be subject a weapon they may use themselves: a taser. All officers undergo a quick encounter with the taser before they are certified on the weapon.

Within the last decade, tasers have been used as a safer alternative to lethal weapons. But safer doesn’t necessarily mean less painful. Those who have experienced the taser can attest to its strength.

“It felt like my whole entire body was just frozen. I couldn’t do anything. It was literally the worst experience I’ve ever had,” says Officer in training Stazola Anthony.

There are many instances where a taser is a much wiser choice for an officer and the victim. Not only do they prevent the use of deadly weapons, but they allow physical disparities to be immaterial in a high pressure situation.

Elizabeth Patrick is the Training Director for the Columbus Police Department.

“The taser device, for instance if you had a disruptive subject that was huge and you had a petite officer, that was petite in size, using that taser device would keep from having to use lethal force,” says Patrick.

While being tased is an excruciating experience, it has proved effective in quickly weakening a criminal.

Officers who participated in the taser exercise Saturday will be graduating from the training program in early May.