VIDEO: Waukesha Patch Editor Gets Tasered

I now have something in common with that guy who gave police the slip because

No, I wasn’t running through the neighborhoods naked...

I was Tasered.

I am the world’s biggest wimp when it comes to pain. Seriously. I stub my big toe, and it’s game over. So why on earth would I want to get Tasered?

I’ve been a full-time reporter for more than three years. During the past three years, I’ve had officer after officer share how safe the Taser is and encourage me to be Tasered. In fact, Capt. Scott Luchterhand of the Manitowoc Police Department where I first covered police department news was disappointed that my boss gave me the thumbs down to experiencing the Taser.

That was then. This is now.

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared an update about Waukesha Citizens Academy, which is being offered through the , because of breaking news and busy days. But it’s time to share about my experience getting Tasered.

I probably would have wimped out, but I didn’t want to hear about it from Deputy Police Chief Dennis Angle, Capt. Ron Oremus and Sgt. Jerry Habanek, who most likely have been waiting to Taser me for about two years now.

Angle had Taser duty while Oremus and Habanek kept me from hitting my head on the floor. With a quick shot, the probes were in my back and I couldn’t do anything. Five seconds felt like five minutes as my entire body locked up and the electrodes pulsed through me. It’s really hard to explain the feeling until you actually do it.

And then it was done. No more pain. Back to normal. Normal, with a huge grin on my face because I ACTUALLY did it!

I was tasered. Guess I will now know what those criminals go through that I read about in the police blotter.

­­­­­­By the way, I didn’t take a lot of notes on the Tasering statistics, but Habanek presented a lot of information about the voltage of a Taser gun and the impacts it has in use of force instances. Tasers are safe, Habanek told the class, and once the five seconds are over, so is the pain.

Shooting a gun

I also shot a handgun for the first time. I had a fantastic, fantastic instructor teach me how to shoot my 9mm handgun – a SIG Sauer P226 if anyone wanted to know. My first shot, well, let’s just say that had someone been shooting back, I’d be the one that was dead. The next five shots were dead on. I want to take a moment to say a special thanks to my instructor who taught me to shoot A LOT better than my first shot!