TASER Money Provided by Church

In the small town of Maryville, Illinois, members of the First Baptist Church have gone well beyond simply praying for its law enforcement officials. The church took up a special collection earmarked for purchasing additional TASERs for the police force.

In an unprecedented move, the Metro East Church donated cash to both the Marine and Maryville police departments in order for them to buy TASERs. When asked about their motivation for such a donation, parishioners stated they were extremely concerned for the safety and well-being of both the officers and those they needed to subdue. The non-lethal TASERs add a measure of safety for police and suspects which is otherwise out of the question given the lethality of conventional firearms.

TASERs fire a pair of barbed probes up to 15 feet which instantly deliver enough voltage to effectively disrupt voluntary muscular control. The result is that officials then have enough time to subdue the suspect and take him or her into custody without the use of lethal force.

Both churches made a point of stating their concern for the officials who protect their communities and that using the non-lethal devices could be significantly lower the levels of danger for all concerned.

A sergeant for the Maryville police department says that they have three stun guns which the officers share, but having an additional TASER is a valuable step up in their arsenal.