Police Crack Down on Illegal Stun Gun Sales

In preparation for the Whaling City Festival, New Bedford Police are working overtime to intercept illegal sales of stun guns. According to authorities, the non-lethal weapons have recently been showing up in street fights. There is additional concern that they may be offered as under-the-table sale items during the Festival.

Undercover police officers will be circulating and looking into each of the vendors in case they are offering weapons for sale in additional to legal products and services.

The event, plagued by brawls in the past, will be patrolled by numbers of undercover police officers in an effort to improve the safety levels. A brawl broke out two years ago resulting in the arrest of over 20 people. This is the second year in a row that additional officers will be patrolling the event.
The City is adding surveillance in the form of cameras mounted on a mast high above the festival.

They hope that getting a bird’s eye view of the crowd and activities will provide law enforcement with an edge. Vendors will also be monitored from a variety of on-ground perspectives to curtail any possible illicit activity.

Uniformed police officers will be patrolling the neighborhood outside the immediate area. Uniformed officers will stand guard outside the entrance to prevent re-entry of unruly patrons who have been ejected from the Festival.