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Fort Smith Police Eye Budget For New Tasers

FORT SMITH (KFSM) — The Fort Smith Police Department bought 148 tasers in 2007. Every certified officer, whether on the street or not, was issued one. The...

FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- The Fort Smith Police Department bought 148 tasers in 2007.

Every certified officer, whether on the street or not, was issued one. The tasers were a vital part of the departments operation, said police chief Kevin Lindsey. “We’ve been able to use that to defend officers against citizen complaints that were wrongfully brought. We've used them to discipline officers in disciplinary trials because of recording capabilities.”

Lindsay said the tasers are starting to malfunction because they are so old.

“The life cycle is typically five years. We are going on nine years with these. In fact, some have already started to fail," he said.

The company that issued the tasers no longer makes them and does not offer spare parts.

Lindsey said he has put together a plan to purchase new tasers but the more than $400,000 needed to purchase them will have to be approved by the Fort Smith Board of Directors.

“The budget is tight all over. we recognize that but gain this is something that I think the board would understand. The amount of money spent on these would save many many thousands or even millions of dollars in potential lawsuits if  a use of force lawsuit were brought against the department,” Lindsey said.

The proposed budget for the taser will go before the board of directors in November.

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