Redkey Taser use approved (01/18/08)

REDKEY - After a debate dating back several years, town council members voted 3-2 to authorize the use of stun guns for full-time and reserve police officers here.

A similar measure was rejected by the same margin a year ago, but yes votes from new council members Terri Taylor and Phil Philebaum, along with council president Doug Stanley, reversed the outcome Thursday night.

Casting dissenting votes once again were council members Charles Noble and Dottie Quakenbush.

Town Marshal Donnie James and members of his department said they favored the use of Tasers as an auxiliary peace-keeping tool. Following Thursday night's vote, James said he was happy with the council's decision. "It's a safety tool. It's not to hurt people with - it's to keep people alive," James said.

The Taser is designed to temporarily stun a person, allowing police to prevent a potentially dangerous confrontation from escalating, and giving officers time to quietly subdue a previously violent individual.

It can also be used against threatening animals, James said.

A Taser was donated several years ago to the Redkey Police Department by an anonymous benefactor. It has been kept in storage since that time, and Stanley suggested Thursday it be approved for use by police officers who have passed certain training requirements.

Noble said that he considered the weapons dangerous, pointing out that he had heard about several incidents where the weapons were reported to have caused injury or even death.

"Personally, I'm against it," Noble said.

Responding to Noble's allegations, James said that he had information contradicting the councilman's claims.

"It's a life-saving device - not a killing device," James said, noting that both the Dunkirk police and Jay County Sheriff's Department were already equipped with Tasers.

Stanley's motion called for allowing only properly certified and trained Redkey police officers to carry and use Tasers. James said any weapon can be abused, but if used responsibly the Taser could save lives of law enforcement officers as well as members of the public.

In other business at Thursday's meeting, town council members:

•Noted that the town hall furnace had been repaired. Clerk-treasurer Sandy Kirby said city employees are no longer experiencing headaches and other symptoms related to exposure to carbon monoxide. The furnace problems were discovered on Jan. 5, and town hall was closed until repairs were completed on Jan. 14.[[In-content Ad]]REDKEY - Council members learned Thursday they may soon be facing yet another roadblock to their attempts to obtain a $500,000 water system improvement grant from the state.

Redkey resident Joe Anderson announced that he is starting a petition drive against the overall project, saying he favors repairing rather than replacing the approximately 90-year-old water tower and tank.

Anderson said he feels the town cannot afford taking out loans to pay for a project with an estimated price tage of $2.2 million. The town hopes to obtain a $220,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture in addition to the state grant.

The town would have to borrow funds to pay the difference between the grant and project amounts, and would also likely have to borrow money to fund its matching share of the grants.

"I can't see how we can afford it (the water system improvement project)," Anderson told town council members.

Such a petition could be a serious setback to the grant application process, Ami Huffman, Jay County Community Developer, said Thursday.

Huffman is preparing the grant application. She said that state officials told her that when the grant proposal failed to gain approval last year, one of the deciding factors was a need to show more public support from community members for the project. Consequently, Huffman has been encouraging more people to speak out in favor of the project.

A petition drive against the proposal will have a bad effect on the grant application request, Huffman said.

This is a competitive process with many communities applying for grant funds, town council president Doug Stanley said. "Public support from the community is important," he pointed out.

"We need community support and you need your water system fixed," Huffman said. A petition against the project would have a bad impact, she added.

Also Huffman pointed out that Redkey's water system was on an early warning list from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, requiring the town to start working to make improvements. IDEM has the power to issue $25,000-a-day fines to the community, Huffman said. "This will come out of your pocket," she told Anderson and other Redkey residents.

Redkey resident Terri Heston said she would much rather see residents' money being used to match a grant to improve the system than to pay fines from IDEM.

"If we don't get this grant money, it will cost everyone a lot from their own pockets," Heston said.