Police adding more tasers to arsenal; cops to add 150 to the 200

June 8, 2007
Frank Main, Chicago Sun-Times

DOLTON DROPS SUIT AGAINST FIRM, GETS UPGRADED STUN GUN MODELS

"In one of the stranger cases of legal adversaries later hugging it out, Dolton Mayor William Shaw not only settled his village's lawsuit against Taser International, but agreed to a deal in which the company supplies the south suburb with upgraded models of the stun guns. Dolton sued Taser in 2005, saying the police department bought about $8,000 worth of the devices based on bogus claims by the company about their safety. The lawsuit made international news. A Scottish newspaper quoted Shaw saying: "Despite what you have been told, Tasers can kill. Police officers are being told they are safe to use. I don't believe that is true." What a difference a year can make. In 2006, Dolton settled with Taser International when Shaw, an old-school politico known for making the best of a situation, made an unusual turnabout. In exchange for dropping the class-action lawsuit, the village agreed to allow the company to replace Dolton's existing ECD Tasers with newer X26 ECD models. Taser also agreed to provide officers with training on the devices and to cover the village's attorney's fees, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information request."