Eunice police officers have used TASERs on 18 suspects between January 1 and October 1.

Those 18 suspects were among 112 charged with resisting arrest during the same period.

The department made 996 arrests in the 10 months.

Statistics regarding TASER use were compiled by Sgt. Donnie Thibodeaux in response to a public records request by The Eunice News.

Thibodeaux is the Eunice Police Department’s TASER training officer. As a certified instructor, he is also eligible to assist other departments in officer training in the use of the non-lethal weapon.

Nine officers, all trained by Thibodeaux, used TASERs during the first 10 months of this year.

In addition to the 18 suspects mentioned earlier, officers also used TASERs to subdue a pit bull and a goat.

The department has nine TASER units on the street. Additionally one is assigned to the jail and another to the Narcotics Division.

Thibodeaux said the units are assigned to certified officers on the different shifts on the basis of seniority.

A department goal is to have a TASER assigned to each officer.

“The unit decreases both the officer’s and the suspect’s chances of injury in a confrontation.

“It’s a valued asset every officer should have,” he said.

Four units, the newer model X26, were purchased by the department in July.

Funding for two of them came from the operating budget and funding for the other two came from a grant.

The new units cost about $800 and have a range of about 25 feet.

The newer units have a peak voltage of 1,200. That compares to the earlier unit’s top voltage of about 5,000.

How much “charge” is that? Consider by comparison - peak carpet static is the equivalent of 30,000 volts.

Remember the high school science experiment that demonstrated it’s amperage, not volts, that carries electricity’s force?

Some comparisons: the X26 carries .0021 of an amp; a Christmas tree light socket packs 1 amp; a wall outlet about 16 amps.

The TASER’s appeal for law enforcement is the jolt that incapacitates by jamming the victim’s central nervous system, but doesn’t kill.

Its probes by themselves provide in most cases immediate pain compliance.

The proof is in the pudding, according to Thibodeaux.

“In many cases, once you draw the TASER, the battle’s over. The perp doesn’t want anything to do with it. Those that do regret the choice,” he said.