Brookfield police now carry Taser stun guns

BROOKFIELD -- The township's full- and part-time police officers will be equipped with Taser stun guns.
Police Chief Dan Faustino said the 11 guns arrived this week and the full-time officers are carrying them.
Part-time officers will be issued them after they receive training, Faustino said Friday.
Tasers use compressed gas to fire two barbs into the skin of a suspect's skin. Electrical pulses cause muscles to contract uncontrollably, disabling the suspect.
Faustino said that three Tasers were purchased by the police department with money from a fund-raiser and through donations from local businesses.
Eight were purchased by Judge Ronald Rice from funds at Trumbull County's Eastern District Court in Brookfield.
The court's bailiff, security officer and probation officer were issued the devices. The other five went to the police department as the police have been designated part-time security by the court.
The nonlethal guns are used in drug- and alcohol-related disturbances and in calls involving the mentally ill or suicide threats.