By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
news@joplinglobe.com
PITTSBURG, Kan. — The Student Government Association at Pittsburg State University approved a resolution Wednesday supporting the carrying of Tasers by university police, but it’s not a tool the department will be using anytime soon.
“It has been great that the students have taken it upon themselves to bring it up and discuss it; they had a real good discussion on both sides,” Mike McCracken, director of PSU police, said Thursday. “It’s something that is a valuable tool for any police officer to have available to them, but as far as implementing something like that here ... we’d need to look into policy, training. And the way the budget is right now, funding is another issue.”
Nathan Woodward, a cabinet member with the student group, said the matter arose when students accompanied university police officers on the annual “Light Walk” around campus.
“It’s a chance for us to note burned-out light bulbs, areas where we need more light bulbs to increase security, and we got to talking with police officers about means they can use to subdue people,” he said. “That started the discussion, and it was something we discussed for most of last semester: What do our police have available to protect students here on campus and to protect themselves?”
What Woodward and others learned is that campus police have two means of protection or force: batons and 9 mm pistols.
“From that we debated and invited all sorts of people to talk with us,” Woodward said, noting that McCracken presented himself as neutral on the issue.
At Wednesday’s meeting, a larger-than-usual crowd of students debated the issue for two hours. The association approved the resolution on a 12-6 vote.
“The whole thing is more preventative than anything,” Woodward said. “We had several students say, ‘Isn’t PSU one of the safest campuses in Kansas?’ But we likened it back to the Virginia Tech thing. We were wanting our police to be able to have all the latest things at their disposal to safely carry out their job.”
Ken Kennedy, chief of the campus police at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, said he thinks Tasers have a place on a university campus because they allow officers to defuse a violent or threatening situation in a way that is less lethal than a firearm.
“I personally think Tasers are a very good tool. They reduce injuries to suspects as well as officers,” he said, adding that his department has not yet acquired Tasers but may do so in the future.
“We have a really low crime rate and very cooperative students for the most part,” Kennedy said. “We might use them very seldom, but when you do have that one time, if you had that capability — for example, if someone were to have a knife — then instead of taking their life, you can resolve it. We would use it only in situations where we probably would have to use lethal force. It’s way better for everyone.”
Police views
“We brought in police from other departments who do carry them (Tasers) — which around here Fort Scott is the closest — and asked them the benefits, the problems, why they think they help. They brought all sorts of visual aids and talked about the training involved.”
— Nathan Woodward, cabinet member of the PSU Student Government Association
Local News
PSU student government group supports Tasers for campus police
- Local News
-
-
‘A creek runs through it’ concept posed for new JHS
The Joplin Board of Education got its first peek at preliminary architectural renderings for the new Joplin High School at a special meeting Wednesday night. Architects from DLR Group, based in Omaha, Neb., and Corner Greer & Associates, based in Joplin, presented the plans to the board for its blessing to move forward with the design concept.
-
Joplin Globe wins APME Sweepstakes Award
A Joplin Globe project, “22 Miracles in May,” telling stories about 22 victims of the May 22 tornado, has won the APME Sweepstakes Award, it was announced this morning.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Horses getting dumped into Mo.’s wild herd
Owners who can no longer afford to care for their horses are abandoning them in southern Missouri hoping they will join Missouri’s only wild horse herd, which descends from animals set free in the Great Depression also by their impoverished owners.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
-
Kansan describes trips into space during PSU visit
Everyone had a reason Wednesday afternoon for heading to Yates Hall at Pittsburg State University. Kansas native Steven Hawley was there to make a presentation called “The Engineering, Scientific and Cultural Legacy of the Space Shuttle,” which attempted to fit into 30 minutes 30 years of human space flight and what we have learned from it.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Video of Ga. Man Who Killed Girl Released
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
