Mass. State Police Deploying 895 Tasers To Troopers

BOSTON (CBS) – Hundreds of Massachusetts State Police troopers will soon be carrying Tasers. Until now, only troopers on the tactical operations team carried the electronic control weapons.

"The less-lethal option offered by ECWs increases not only officer safety but also safety of suspects," said State Police Colonel Richard McKeon. "They are a tool that will help resolve hostile confrontations before they escalate into situations requiring lethal force."

State Police say the weapons deliver an electric charge and will be used against violent suspects who are posing an immediate and serious threat of injury to an officer or another person.

The department has purchased 895 Tasers to give to members of the force. Among the troopers receiving the Tasers are the 158 trainees who will graduate from the State Police Academy on Friday.

State Police say troopers are "trained to deploy only the level of force required to end a threat to their own lives and safety or the life and safety of another person."

The troopers getting the Tasers have already been trained on how to use them.