Mexico police get tasers

MEXICO — A $13,428 federal grant has paid for six Tasers and an all-terrain vehicle trailer for the Mexico Police Department.

Sgt. Roy Hodsdon said five of the Tasers will become standard issue for the department's full-time officers and the sixth will be given to an on-duty reserve officer.

“This will be a great tool for our agency,” Hodsdon said. “They are used for more of a defense and will help apprehend someone. They will cut down on officer injuries.”

The five full-time and several reserve officers will receive eight hours of training in the use of the weapon in the next two weeks. The weapon shoots electrically charged barbs.

The Mexico Police Department and neighboring Dixfield Police Department are now equipped with the same Taser weapons as the Rumford Police Department and the Oxford County Sheriff's Office, Hodsdon said.

“They will reduce lethal force,” he said.

The ATV trailer will accommodate the department's two all-terrain vehicles and equipment needed when police patrol wooded or remote areas.

The funds come from the U.S. Department of Justice, Justice Assistance Grant.

eadams@sunjournal.com