Tazer Certification

There has been some discussion on other forums about Taser certification. The discussion was on whether there was a required certification for ALL Tasers. Some say that Taser requires ALL users to be certified before they purchase a Taser product. Others have said that it was not required when they purchased their personal product. After some debate, I took it upon myself to call Taser to straighten it out. The Vice President of Training told me that training and certification depended on the product. When using a LE model, the department is required to get that officer certified before allowing them to carry it. I carry an M18L, however. I was told that the closest thing to certification on mine was to watch the video that was included with this model and send in the registration form. There are several different models, when it comes to Tasers, and each is different in many ways. No one certification could cover every model. All information, below, is straight from the Taser International website.

LAW ENFORCEMENT PRODUCTS (require certification)
TASER X26
ADVANCED TASER M26

CONSUMER PRODUCTS (no certification required)
TASER X26C
ADVANCED TASER M18/M18L
TASER C2

And these are the courses and description of those courses:

Instructor Course
This course will certify students to instruct and certify end users on TASER M26 & X26 electronic control devices.

Then, these are the courses available in Georgia (All states have similar course descriptions)

May 2008
M26 & X26 Instructor Course May 05-06, 2008 Lilburn, GA
M26 & X26 Instructor Course May 12-13, 2008 Carrollton, GA
M26 & X26 Instructor Course May 20-21, 2008 Statesboro, GA
July 2008
M26 & X26 Instructor Course July 07-08, 2008 Sandy Springs, GA
M26 & X26 Instructor Course - CLASS CLOSED - FULL! July 23-24, 2008 Columbus, GA

So, for those that may have questions, the answer to the question "Do I have to be certified to use a Taser?", is NO.... I would strongly suggest it, but it is not a requirement (others may attempt to convince you, otherwise). As you can see, the only courses that Taser endorses are the LE courses for instructors.

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Thomas SnoWolf
FRN# 1999
GAPB 20120726
NSIS ST0707
http://www.rocksolidrg.com
"The hero is not the man that acts without fear,
He is the man that acts inspite of fear"

I think it depends on the state you operate in. Most anyone can own and carry a Taser in CO with or without certification. The cert is offered, though for LE and others interested.

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Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

Some people/companies are marketing themselves as Trainer's/Certifier's for Tazer International and claiming that ALL Tazer products require Tazer Only training.

Obviously they are doing this to make money. Snow researched this and posted his findings so that the TRUTH behind this issue could be disseminated for all to read and understand to possibly prevent someone from being scammed out of hard earned money.

Thanks Snow !

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Mom is, most likely, correct. I am sure that different states have different requirments...I was just speaking on the fact that some people have been told that Taser requires the certification for all users. This just isn't true. As I stated, some form of training would be a good idea, (in my opinion) but Taser just does not require it.

_________________
********************
Thomas SnoWolf
FRN# 1999
GAPB 20120726
NSIS ST0707
http://www.rocksolidrg.com
"The hero is not the man that acts without fear,
He is the man that acts inspite of fear"

I was writing while the last was being posted. Thank you, Ruffin. Thats what I was attempting to say.

_________________
********************
Thomas SnoWolf
FRN# 1999
GAPB 20120726
NSIS ST0707
http://www.rocksolidrg.com
"The hero is not the man that acts without fear,
He is the man that acts inspite of fear"

I was told by one of my LEO's that he could certify me. It would be a good thing to have, but is not necessary. I may pursue it someday, but at my convenience. That was my point.

I haven't checked lately, but for awhile, the loads were in short supply. I only have the one load that I got when I bought my Taser, so wasn't willing to waste that. Why use a $40 load on a cert and not be able to have it if I needed it on a SIQ? Just my opinion, but my $$ are valuable and I only use it when necessary.

The flip side (and I have questioned several skips) is that most def's will give up when faced with a Taser, but they will run on a lethal weapon. The reason being that they know we will pull the trigger on a Taser to stop them, versus pulling the trigger on a lethal weapon to potentially injur or kill them. I admit that it is true with me. It is so much easier to justify stopping someone with a Taser than it is to fight the charges of shooting someone in the back with lethal force.

Please don't use my comments or opinions to think that I am not well armed with lethal force if necessary. I prefer non-lethal, but I am well armed and willing to use lethal if I have to, period!!

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Kathy Blackshear
Blackshear Investigations
Blackshear Bail Bonds
Sales Associate, Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.
Walsenburg, CO

Proud Member of the AB Reject Club

Tazer as far as i know tacks on the cost of the training to the sales price of the gun. I took the training myself. Way I look at it if I end up in court I want to have that cert to say Yes I am train in teh use of this tool I think it would go very far in the eyes of the court if any issue arose from using the tazer. Small price in terms of time to learn it.

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Mike
Norcal Bail Enforcement
San Jose Ca.
360 237 1721 efax
408 402 2710 work cell
DOI Bail Agent Lic 1844214
BSIS G1533544

Go hug a Tree

One of my co-workers was just talking about this this morning, as well as OC/pepper sprays. I wasnt really paying attention but I picked up on pieces. He had gone to some training to get certified, and the only thing they did was shoot eachother. Each student was Tazed and sprayed, and then given a certificate. Has anybody else done this, or heard of it? Seems like a waste of money to me, I would have shot him for free.

That is the type of situation that started the discussion, on the other forum. Some people charge an extreme amount to teach a certification class but don't teach anything. Others, teach and train on every aspect of the Taser and charge a minimum. Then some have a very good training schedule, wonderful pricing, and are Taser Instructors but tell everyone that, no matter what model you carry, you must get certified or you are not in conjuction with Tasers guide lines. I just wanted to get to the bottom...of the regulations.

_________________
********************
Thomas SnoWolf
FRN# 1999
GAPB 20120726
NSIS ST0707
http://www.rocksolidrg.com
"The hero is not the man that acts without fear,
He is the man that acts inspite of fear"