We started class out today with Sergeant Paul Novotny who taught us about the use of force in law enforcement. He bravely volunteered (read: lost the coin toss) to demonstrate the use of a taser. Now, apparently there is a way to shorten the normal 5-second taser cycle, but unfortunately, Paul was not so lucky! I’ve never seen a taser hit up close, and I hope I never am at the receiving end of one. When the taser if activated, two lines with fishhook-like barbs are shot at the person. The lines carry an electrical current that interferes with the body’s electrical circuit and drops the suspect.

We also learned that while deaths do occur from tasers, generally this happens in cases where there is an underlying medical condition that would have caused the person to die even without the taser shot.  In the case of the Minnesota State Patrolman who tasered a man who died, we never heard any follow up from the media never regarding the autopsy report and laboratory tests that showed the man was whacked out on drugs.

The last speaker of the day was John Olsen, the Sherburne County Emergency Services Director. He has a lot of experience in many diverse areas, including Business Admin and Marketing Degrees, 15 years with the Zimmerman Fire Department, and Sherburne Jail Captain.

We started out with a video of the Hugo tornado. My sister-in-law’s family was affected by that tornado, so the video hit home. Then John Olsen gave us an overview of the Emergency plans and systems of Sherburne County. He actually wasn’t due to speak until May 12. I thought it was ironic that he presented today in light of all of the Swine Flu fears that have arisen over the last couple of days. Sherburne County has many contingency plans in place and that is comforting.

John walked us through an imaginary disaster scenario that might take place in our neighborhoods and we talked about what we would do. All families should have a disaster plan and emergency kit. I am a big believer in this and I will be doing future posts on the topic.

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