INDIANAPOLIS — 13News is learning new details about plans by the Indianapolis Metro Police Department to invest in new Tasers instead of a gunshot detection system.
IMPD said Thursday they weren't going to move forward with gunshot detection sensors. Investing in the devices had been under consideration for nearly two years. Now, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey says new Taser technology could help save lives.
They're called "smart" Tasers and police tell 13News they're more effective than what officers are carrying now. In fact, the technology in some of the Tasers now in use is outdated and not even supported by the company anymore.
They're also about 50% effective. So Bailey said the million dollars the department had originally allotted for a gunshot detection system will instead go to these new smart Tasers.
They have what are called de-escalation features, including a pulsating light and loud alert to warn someone before the probes are deployed.
They also have a much larger range, so officers can fire them from to nearly 50 feet away. Police say that's critical.
"So if we have someone that's armed with something other than a handgun, that's, you know, whether it's a machete or a knife, this tool can allow us to maybe bring that to an end, a peaceful end, without using deadly force from a further distance," Bailey said.
The goal, IMPD says, is to reduce deadly encounters with police, but not everyone agrees with the decision. In an online message, one community member said, "This is not the way. We have an opportunity to be proactive, not reactive. Let's invest in our community.'"
And the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter is frustrated with the decision to scrap the gunshot detection sensors, calling it "short-sighted" and "flawed." In a statement, the union said that was a key piece to the overall technology package the FOP had been calling for for the last five years."
Bailey said the department may look at gunshot detection systems again sometime in the future, when the price of the technology comes down.