Does anyone have a recommendation for taser training?
Longwinded backstory...Sorry......
My wife works for the NJDEP in Trenton. It is a great job that she loves, is really good at, has worked hard at and is unwilling to give up. She is an honest public servant who supervises the cleanup of leaking underground petroleum storage tanks. She is about 12-15 years from retirement. The DEP building is across the street from the federal courthouse. It is also just down the street from Trenton's homeless shelter. She has always had to deal with the occasional panhandler, but it has never really been an issue. Security will usually chase off anyone pestering workers. There have been a few assaults over the years, some very serious, so most workers avoid walking in and out of the building alone. NJSP responds heavily after an assault, but fade away after a week or 2.
In my opinion, Trenton is nothing without the government workers (I worked as a photojournalist at the Trenton Times for 9 years, so I know Trenton very well). Trenton PD should patrol State Street more than they currently do. If they cannot protect the only good thing about Trenton (hardworking state workers), then the city deserves the slow and miserable death spiral it has been in since the '60s. Yeah yeah, I have heard it all before...."But Trenton! General Washington!...Chambersburg, tomato pie, Mill Hill, Art All Night"........... blah blah blah. Burn it all down and start over.
For years, I have offered to buy her pepper spray or something more. I even jokingly suggested that using my S&W J frame whilst saving her from rape might be worth the legal consequences. Tell me a jury would convict for that! She agreed on a security plan that consists of running shoes in and out, and a nasty tactical pen that she carries in her hand. She is aware of her surroundings on her way in and out. She has taken self defense classes ala go for the groin/eyes type defense. I was comfortable with that plan until yesterday.
Yesterday, the guy she and her coworkers call "crazy homeless guy" verbally assaulted her as she was walking into work. He singled her out from across the street and called her some nasty names and said that he sees her everyday. He mentioned some of her body parts. It really rattled her. I mean really rattled her. And, of course, it pissed me off. She talked with in-building security about it. They said "We are on station at 7am". She clocks in at 7am on the 5th floor, so she is walking 2 blocks from her assigned parking lot to the DEP at 645am. She is pressing the issue of earlier security with her superiors and will go to HR if needed. I told her that if NJDEP doesn't take care of this, I will. A simple assault conviction on my record would be worth it, IMHO, to teach this dirtbag a lesson. But, let's be honest. I would get away with it. Trenton PD is pretty much useless at pretty much everything. For 9 years, I worked 2 blocks from Trenton PD at the Times building and saw dozens of transactions over the years in front of the Times....Drugs, guns, sex.
Over dinner, I reminded my wife that tasers are now legal in NJ and, for the first time ever, she seemed interested. I put one in the Amazon cart for her to ponder over.
She has never fired a handgun in her life. I have offered to take her shooting with me multiple dozens of times over the past 10 years, but there is always an excuse....laundry, Target run, gardening, headache etc.
If she agrees to get a taser, she will need training. As in......Hand on gun in purse, safely draw gun from purse, flip safety off as you raise gun to target, where to aim etc.
Does anyone have a recommendation for taser training, preferably in state?
