Andy McNeil

Courier-Post

Camden County Police Sgt. John Martinez had a choice to make when officers confronted a knife-wielding woman in a dark bathroom in a Camden row home.

The 21-year law enforcement veteran could have gone for his handgun, but instead used a Taser to subdue the woman as she swung a foot-long blade.

"If she was armed with that knife in that same exact situation and we did not have the Taser, she would've been dead," Martinez said.

The incident marked the first time police in Camden have used a Taser to take down a suspect. The bright yellow weapons, intended to stun suspects with a non-lethal electric shock, cost about $2,500 each and were funded with confiscated drug money.

Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson said 20 Taser-trained officers began carrying the devices the first week of May.

New Jersey became the last state to allow police to use Conducted Energy Devices when the state Attorney General's Office authorized two models in 2011.

Thomson said the department's goal is to make sure there is at least one officer equipped with a Taser in each section of the city.

Having the device as an option brings peace of mind to Martinez.

"It makes me feel better knowing that I don't have to go from zero to 60 and take somebody's life if I have an alternative means," he said.

The wild incident Martinez faced began when officers received a call late on the night of June 2 about an emotionally disturbed woman with a knife outside a Jackson Street home, according to a police report.

The woman, reported to be a bipolar 57-year-old with schizophrenia, ran inside her Whitman Park home when police arrived.

Martinez and four other officers entered the house and began clearing each room in a tactical formation, using a bunker shield for protection.

When they entered a dark upstairs bathroom, the officers found the light switch didn't work and saw the shower curtain was drawn. Behind it they found the woman holding a knife with a 12-inch blade.

"She hissed at the officers like an angry alley cat would and she raised (the knife) up and came down on the shield," Martinez recalled.

The sergeant warned her to drop the weapon, but she struck the shield a second time. When she raised the knife again, Martinez fired the Taser's prongs into her stomach and leg.

The woman fell back into the bathtub, still clutching the knife. She was disarmed and taken into custody. Charges against her are pending a mental health evaluation.

Thomson said the use of deadly force would have been justified, but the equipment allowed his officers to avoid that option.

"Just because we can take somebody's life doesn't mean we have to," Martinez said. "We have an alternative means."

"Thankfully in this case none of my officers got hurt, the woman was taken into custody with limited amount of force and maybe she'll get the help she needs."

Other local police departments have reported similar successes.

Cherry Hill Police Lt. Sean Redmond said officers have used Tasers in seven incidents since late 2012. The force currently has 40 officers carrying the devices.

The most recent occurrence happened earlier this month when township police used a Taser to subdue a suicidal man who was armed with a knife and cutting himself.

"It worked perfectly and it ended up saving a life," Redmond said.

Under the state's policy, the use of Tasers is restricted to situations in which an officer seeks to prevent a suspect from causing death or serious bodily injury to the officer, to another person, or to himself or herself. All devices must be outfitted to record audio and video.

Thomson said his officers take precautions to avoid firing the device at a suspect standing on elevated ground, like scaffolding, or near water or flammable materials.

When the device is deployed, it produces a five-second shock, causing the target to seize up and buying precious time for officers to move in.

"After that five seconds of the pain, you're fine, you're back to normal," said Redmond, who serves as a Taser instructor.

Gloucester Township Police Cpl. Joe Andricola, a fellow instructor, has used a Taser on more than 150 officers in training. He said the device's effect has been described as "a hive of wasps stinging you while somebody was hitting you in the back with a baseball bat at the same time."

Andricola and Redmond noted the recovery time from pepper spray is much longer, and a baton's blow or a K-9's bite can cause serious injury.

Gloucester Township Police Chief Harry Earle said a suspect who was Tased after punching an officer June 15 recovered almost instantly and suffered no injury.

Earle's department is equipped with 44 Tasers and has deployed them three times. The force initially purchased 16 of the $1,900 devices with forfeiture funds in late 2012.

At a presentation earlier that year, officials with the manufacturer Taser said deaths occur in about one of every 2,000 arrests involving the device, less than the rate of deaths associated with arrests where police use other means of force, according to a Courier-Post report.

Pine Hill Police Chief Chris Winters said his department has used Tasers in two instances, pointing out the device can be used to subdue more than people.

"Our recent deployment of the Taser CED was during an incident in which an officer was being attacked by a vicious dog," he said.

The chief, whose department shares nine Tasers among 20 officers, said the dog had bitten residents and police in the past and the officer would have been justified to shot the animal as it charged.

Mount Laurel Police Lt. Stephen Riedener noted officers can benefit from the weapon's mere presence

He explained officers have gotten suspects to comply simply by using the device to create a spark display — a technique also called "arcing."

Thomson and other police officials reported similar findings.

"You certainly capture the attention, particularly with someone in an altered state of mind or under the influence, when they hear the crackle of the electricity and they see the arc on the end of the gun," Thomson said.

Reach Andy McNeil at amcneil@courierpostonline.com or (856) 486-2458. Follow him on Twitter @Andy_McNeil.