Council holds off on Taser purchases

YOUNGSTOWN — City council set the purchase of 50 Tasers to stun.

With some members questioning the use of Tasers by police officers, council declined Wednesday to authorize the purchase of the devices.

Instead, council agreed to have its safety committee discuss the request to buy Tasers before a decision is made.

“It’s fairly controversial,” said Councilman Mark Memmer, D-7th. “It’s a big step for the city of Youngstown and it warrants further discussion.”

Councilwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th, said she was a “little leery” of using Tasers.

That’s because an arrest in Warren, in which an officer used an electronic device several times on a 38-year-old Howland woman, made national news. That incident, caught on a police cruiser tape, is being investigated by Warren police, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and the FBI.

For more, see Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com