OCEAN CITY, Md.- Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino has gone before the mayor and town council to request 10 more Taser stun guns for her officers. DiPino said the weapons are a deterrent for criminals.
Ocean City Police Sgt. Dennis Eade said the Tasers have been involved in around 20 incidents and have only had to be deployed successfully six times.
"On a number of occasions our officers just by the display of the device or just by having the device attached to their belt it has served as a deterrent," Eade said.
Currently the police department has 16 Tasers and the request for an additional 10 was granted by town officials. Police hope the weapons are operational and in use by Sept. 11.
DiPino said more Tasers mean safer people, safer officers and safer streets.
"That's the number one priority for us," she said. "To make sure our officers go home safely every single night, besides keeping our citizens safe, which is our other top priority. So, it's really important and it keeps our officers out on the streets patrolling citizens and keeping our community safe."
