The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is the first law enforcement agency in the country to purchase five of the new multi-shot Taser X3.
“Taser International is excited to be able to provide the Lee County Sheriff’s Office with the first sale of our newest Taser X3 multi-shot electronic device,” Tom Smith, chairman and co-founder of Taser International, said during a news conference Thursday. “Not only has the Lee County Sheriff’s Office been an exceptional customer of ours, they are a leader in providing both their officers and community members with advanced technology to protect and serve.”
Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott said the department is very honored to be the first law enforcement agency to receive the product.
“(The device is) again illustrating Taser International’s commitment to providing cutting edge technology designed to protect our deputies and citizens,” he said. “Members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office training section were privileged to test and evaluate the X3 and consider it yet another asset with applications in both our law enforcement and correctional settings.”
Smith said the new Taser X3 was first introduced at the end of July at a cost of $1,600, compared to $800 for the older models.
The new multi-shot Taser has the ability to shoot and engage three targets at one time. The three different bays act independently with a pulse of 19 per second.
The multi-shot option increases the rate of hitting a target to almost 86 percent, which equals about a 99 percent rate when using all three to engage a target.
Smith said it also provides law enforcement officers with a color display on the Taser to show them which of the three cartridges are loaded and in use.
The new Taser X3 has two lasers, showing a red light at the top and bottom, so officers can visualize where a target will be hit.
Smith explained that the new Taser has the ability to record information when a problem arises, so it can be fixed and downloaded into the records.
Scott explained that the new Taser provides the opportunity for officers to bring three individuals into compliance with three shots fired from one tool.
“The Taser has prevented countless injuries and deaths,” he said. “We are in the business of saving lives, not taking lives.”
Since 2000, when the Taser was first used in Lee County, the sheriff’s office has seen a reduction in injury by 80 percent.
Scott added that all officers carry Tasers because he strongly believes in them and how they help to prevent injury to the officer and individual.
He said that before a new Taser is used in public, deputies personally experience the effects of it.
The new Taser X3s will be deployed in areas that need more attention, Scott added.
“We will deploy them where we anticipate the need,” he said.
The sheriff’s office will continue to use the older Taser models due to the amount of success it have experienced with the product.