Wednesday, September 19, 2001

UISG supports Tasers for Public Safety
By Jennifer Sturm
The Daily Iowan
UI Public Safety officers received a crucial show of
support in their quest to become a more powerful police
force on Tuesday, as members of UI Student
Government backed a proposal to arm them with Tasers.
A majority of the three Senates voted in favor, saying
officers need the arms in order to protect themselves.
UISG represents the largest of three campus
constituencies Public Safety Director Chuck Green was
asked to contact about the proposal before the university
will ask the state of Iowa Board of Regents for the
change.
"The Tasers are an energy weapon that utilizes
compressed nitrogen to shoot two small probes up to 21
feet at a speed of 135 feet per second," Green said of the
weapons, which cost $500 apiece.
Nicholas TremmellThe Daily 10W9f1
Gluck Green, Assist9rJt Vice President and Director of Putlic S9.fety, describes
When the probes make contact with a target, the Taser
situations \>\here his officer V\ere unequipped to handle dangerous situations.
Pu tlic S9.fety is ask ing to be su ppied V\llh Air Tasers in order to better
transmits electrical pulses along the wires and into the
protect lhe community.
body of the target through up to two inches of clothing,
Green said. The result is an instant loss of the person's neuromuscular control and any ability to perform coordinated
action, he said.
The Taser resolution passed despite a litany of concerns voiced by UISG President Nick Klenske, who said the arms
could lead to a more hostile atmosphere. He also wondered if the arms were 100 percent nonlethal.
Currently, Public Safety officers are armed with pepperspray, a bullet-proof vest, and a night stick for their protection.
UI is the only Big Ten school without lethal weapons on campus, Green said.
Because of the potentially dangerous calls the officers answer, some have left the force in the past because they have not
felt safe, Green said during a presentation to the student assembly Tuesday night.
Green cited the case of when his officers found Jonathon Memmer -- who has been charged with two murders in Iowa
City -- in the UI Field House.
"When officers found him, he turned around and said 'I'm the one you're looking for. I'm not armed.' And the officers
thought, 'We aren't armed, either.' I find that chilling."
After examining alternatives to lethal weapons, Tasers seemed to be the best bet, Green said.
"Air Tasers would provide Public Safety officers with another option than those currently available to them," Green
said. "An armed assailant could be stopped from harming others or himself."
The difference between the Iowa City police and Public Safety is the police officers carry lethal weapons. "Our officers
are trained the same as law officers," Green said.
UISG also decided to support Public Safety request to change its name to University Police in an attempt to make
people realize the department also has the authority to stop people and arrest them.
E-mail DI reporter Jennifer Sturm at:
jenifer-sturm@uiowa.edu