Friday, June 13, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.
It looks like a squirt gun, but if it's fired at you, you feel like you've been struck by lightning.
And there are growing numbers of places where it is being used, including some Las Vegas Valley courtrooms.
Sgt. Edna Yvonne Roberts, lead bailiff at the North Las Vegas Municipal Court, said a blast from the stun gun she carries on her belt will get even the most violent person under control.
"It's like your whole body is lit up with an electrical charge," she said. "I've never felt anything like it."
Roberts is one of four bailiffs at the courthouse who last week began carrying the yellow plastic Taser guns alongside her metal baton and pepper spray.
The battery-operated Advanced Tasers use metal prongs and a laser to shock the central nervous system with up to 50,000 volts of electricity.
Roberts said the Taser is a safe and effective way to keep order in the courtroom when trying to subdue an out-of-control suspect.
"Pepper spray can linger and affect a whole courtroom full of people and a metal baton can break the skin or bones," she said. "The Taser is more humane because once the charge stops the pain stops. When it's done it's done."
Roberts said she used the Taser on a defendant during the first week bailiffs had them, when an intoxicated defendant lunged at a judge in a packed courtroom.
Roberts said the man refused to take a court-ordered Breathalyzer test and would not listen to her verbal commands.
"There was a need for it," she said. "The only other alternative was to go hands-on with him."
When Roberts shot the man with the Taser, he fell to the floor and was handcuffed, she said. He was booked into the North Las Vegas Detention Center on resisting arrest charges.
Roberts said the Taser helped prevent a volatile situation in which others could have been injured.
"I didn't want to clear out the courtroom by using the pepper spray," she said. "And it would have shocked people's consciences if I had used the baton. It was the best course of action."
American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada attorney Allen Lichtenstein said the organization is in favor of using Tasers and other non-lethal means to avoid officer-involved shootings, as long as they are used properly.
"There is a concern that in situations in which officers normally would not have used any weapons, there may be a tendency to rely on Tasers, which could increase the level of violence," he said.
Lichtenstein said law enforcement agencies should ensure that the guns are used only after adequate training.
"Clearly there are some situations where the Taser is appropriate," he said. "But it's not a quick fix, where if someone is being unruly or making too much noise you zap them with a Taser."
Bailiffs at the North Las Vegas Justice Court do not carry the Tasers. Administrator Oly Embry said she would consider purchasing them if their use in Municipal Court proves successful.
"We haven't formally addressed it but I'm not ruling it out," she said. "You never know what the ramifications of the use of these things are."
North Las Vegas Municipal Court Administrator Debbie Lamb said she is confident that bailiffs will only use the Tasers when absolutely necessary. She said she doesn't expect allegations of abuse of power.
"We have excellent bailiffs who use good judgement," she said. "We've never had any problems in the past with them doing anything improper."
The North Las Vegas Municipal Courthouse joins the ranks of several other local law enforcement agencies that have already equipped its officers with the guns.
All eight bailiffs Las Vegas Justice Court bailiffs are armed with Tasers, court spokesman Martin Lotz said. The court got its first Taser about two months ago.
Fourteen corrections officers at the North Las Vegas Detention Center have carried Tasers for two years, Assistant Chief Dan Lake said.
Henderson police have also used Tasers for more than a year and the department hopes to eventually equip all its officers with the guns, spokesman Shane Lewis said.
Other officials say funding the cost of the Tasers, which range from $400 to $700 for the gun and additional equipment, is difficult during a time of statewide budget cuts.
Clark County District Court Administrator Chuck Short said arming each of the court's 50 bailiffs with the guns could cost up to $40,000.
"We're looking at it," he said. "But before the court can make an informed decision we have to understand all the costs involved."
Lewis said only supervisors and a few patrol officers at the Henderson Police Department carry the guns because they are so expensive.
"It's a cost issue," he said. "The department didn't see where we could spend the money for all of the officers at one time. But we would like to see a more widespread use."
Metro Police hope to follow Henderson's lead, Lt. Ron Johnson said.
The department has approved funding for a pilot program, which will use about 50 Tasers. The Tasers should be used by patrol officers in the South Central Command Post by the end of August, he said.
"It's comparable to equipping our officer with an additional firearm," he said. "They are pricey, but I think once they start showing their value they will become more prominent."
Local law enforcement officials who use the guns say Tasers are the best way to incapacitate a person and gain control without lasting effects.
More than 2,400 law enforcement agencies nationwide use Tasers, said Capt. Filippo Liani, a North Las Vegas detention officer who teaches a four-hour course that certifies other North Las Vegas officers to use the guns.
The guns, which are created specifically for law enforcement officials, help limit hands-on contact because they can be shot from up to 21 feet away, he said.
Liani requires all officers who take his course at the North Las Vegas Detention Center to be "Tased." But the stun gun zap that officers get in the training lasts for a fraction of a second, while a normal jolt lasts for five seconds, he said.
Roger Jablonski, a North Las Vegas bike patrol officer, was Tased Wednesday as part of training and said the blast of electricity was unlike anything he'd ever felt.
"It's paralyzing," he said. "I saw flashes of light."
Johnson, who trains Metro officers on the guns, said most of his officers have a similar reaction.
"It feels like a full-body charley horse," he said. "It short circuits the body. No matter what you think you want to do, the body shuts down."
Lake said the Tasers have "significantly lowered" the number of physical confrontations between inmates and corrections officers at the North Las Vegas Detention Center.
"It's been a godsend for us," he said. "We haven't had as much hands-on force with the inmates since we started using them."
Because keeping distance is paramount when dealing with a violent inmate, he said, all officers will eventually be equipped with the guns.
Lake said corrections officers only use the Taser when an inmate is out of control and won't follow an officer's verbal commands.
"It's not just a (case of) jump up and blast away," he said. "There are steps that must be taken first. We use them so that no one gets hurt."
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