Ocean City Taser Program Enters Second Phase - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

OCEAN CITY, Md. - The Ocean City Police Department is now in the second phase of their taser program.  It has added 30 taser-trained officers and 24 tasers, including 13 trained officers and 10 tasers this past week. 

But until February, Ocean City did not used tasers at all.

"It's been a long time coming for Ocean City," said Public Information Officer Mike Levy.  "We've studied it and we wanted to make sure we had the right equipment."

Officials say they have not needed to use then much since its implementation. But that was not the case this past weekend, when a man put a knife to his throat, allegedly attempting to take his own life.Police saved him, subduing him by taser.

"Its another option for our officers. In a case like last weekend it was an option that was available to us that wasn't prior to last weekend," said Levy.

Since the addition of the taser, people who visit the beach town have had mixed feelings.

"If it's very receptive and they use it 10 times or 400-500 times and if it works and no one gets injured, I'll be in favor of it," said Dr. Irv Donick of Baltimore.

Virginia resident Sarah Jens said that she thinks "you have to get their attention and least invasive does not always work [when trying to deal with someone unruly]."

"It's better than shooting your gun, it's better than shooting someone," said Sherry-Ann Grove of Pennsylvania. "Tasing protects the citizens and it's better than killing somebody."

Ocean City Police says that adding the taser is not the end all, be all. They say they will continue to monitor other options to find the best possible solution for their town.