FT. FAIRFIELD, Maine — Officers in the Fort Fairfield Police Department have received new tasers, a less-than-lethal weapon they rarely use, thanks to a $2,500 donation from the Fort Fairfield Housing Authority.
The four new tasers replace those that were 10 years old and “beyond their life expectancy,” said Fort Fairfield Police Chief Shawn Newell. “They were becoming unreliable and were no longer able to be repaired.”
The funding comes from the FFHA’s local program funds, from money earned by managing and maintaining non-federal Housing and Urban Development properties, said Wayne Troike, executive director of the FFHA. Those funds are only ones the housing authority can spend for donations, Troike said.
The FFHA voted to donate the money as it will benefit public safety.
“The continued availability of a non-lethal option for our police officers when handling confrontations and investigating complaints is something our board felt needed to be supported by our community and by the Housing Authority,” Troike said in a press release. “The Housing Authority and its employees work closely with members of our local law enforcement community to maintain a safe and secure place for our tenants, and this donation is just another example of the cooperative spirit that exists between our organizations.
The use of tasers has been relatively rare in Fort Fairfield, Newell said, noting that the last time an officer deployed the weapon was in August 2012 to subdue a “combative suspect refusing” an arrest.
“While we hope to never have to use these new tasers, having them available will help provide our officers with another tool to help defuse a situation and keep officers and citizens safe,” Newell said.
