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dajonga

Taser training for my wife

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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? 

 

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Don’t do it!

 

 

 

our chief of pd gave my wife a name for a tazer trainer. I’ll ask when I see her. It’s Burlington co , not sure your location. I know TTC sells them, I’d ask if they do an instructional course.

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1 hour ago, Zeke said:

Don’t do it!

 

 

 

our chief of pd gave my wife a name for a tazer trainer. I’ll ask when I see her. It’s Burlington co , not sure your location. I know TTC sells them, I’d ask if they do an instructional course.

For the right training, I am willing to travel. NJ is a pretty small state.

 

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3 hours ago, dajonga said:

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'm concerned for your wife. She should be rattled. Did she also file a police report? Doesn't NJ have a stalking law? If it were me, I would want "real police" to at least know it's going on, not just the building security team. After all, the police might have more insight on his background (possible rap sheet?). Personally?... I like having all the facts at my disposal.

And, I wouldn't wait to pull in HR either.. she should pull them in NOW. Her superiors may only be concerned with their own functional area - and if there's not a lot of females there, she might be the only one complaining. HR will be in a better position to deal with the problem systemically throughout DEP (if they choose to, that is). HR does tend to be more litigation-savvy than other functions - they tend to have a lot of females, too - so they may be helpful. It may also help to talk to other co-workers and get a concerned GROUP together, so she's not the lone voice - and request a meeting with HR, security and a Trenton PD representative. Aside from security being onsite earlier, she should have additional suggestions (or alternatives): Trenton PD security briefing for employees? on-site self-defense classes? a paid van to pick up employees from the designated lots from, say, 5:30 a.m. - 7 a.m.? You always get better results when you walk in with a list of well thought out options.  It sounds like they just need better security in general.

So, YES, get the taser and training, but in the meantime, she's being much too polite about this IMO. A mentally ill street person has possibly fixated on her. That's a very unpredictable, risk-laden situation - she should be opening all channels of communication immediately. And please ignore all those bullshit studies that said mentally ill people are NOT more violent than you and I. Those have been thoroughly debunked in recent years (most of them studied mentally ill people WHILE ON THEIR MEDS... but, when the seriously mentally ill go off their meds like when they're homeless, their disorganized, delusional thinking, and reduced impulse control all lead to a HIGHER rate of crime, not lower).  If she can't get a new formal practice instituted there, she should change her arrival time to 7:15 so she's at least approaching when security is there, or buddy up with a few co-workers to meet at a designated spot in the parking lot and walk those 2 blocks together! GOOD LUCK! Let us know what happens...!

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Are you looking for say like a Taser Pulse for her?  Or are you looking for one of the cheaper, contact-only stun guns?

Tasers do come with multiple cartridges, so you can practice.  They also have Practice Cartridges.  They're not cheap, but cheaper than standard taser cartridges.

http://www.actionstunguns.com/taserc2trainingcartridges.html

I would say practice against a dummy or paper target at home first.  It comes with a conductive paper target for testing/training.

The pulse has a laser built in so aiming should not be hard.  The main things to practice will be proper draw, confirming the distance that the taser can shoot, and making sure she doesn't pull the shot with a bad trigger pull.  The cartridges have a 15 foot range, so it won't be hard to miss at that range but in a panic situation it may cause one...  

The Pulse comes with a "sock" thingy that can make it a bit tough to pull into ready state.  You can get other holsters - but practice drawing and disabling the safety.  If you take the cartridge out, it will still spark, so you can practice trigger pull while the laser is on to ensure it stays on target.  You can engage the safety again to turn off the contact shocking to save battery.  Practice detaching the cartridge so it can be used as a contact taser instead of ranged as well.

I'm sure there are formalized classes for this - I know Gun for Hire has a Civilian Taser course.

https://gunforhire.com/academy/civilian-taser-gun-stun-gun-course/

 

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1 hour ago, Mrs. Peel said:

I'm concerned for your wife. She should be rattled. Did she also file a police report? Doesn't NJ have a stalking law? If it were me, I would want "real police" to at least know it's going on, not just the building security team. After all, the police might have more insight on his background (possible rap sheet?). Personally?... I like having all the facts at my disposal.

And, I wouldn't wait to pull in HR either.. she should pull them in NOW. Her superiors may only be concerned with their own functional area - and if there's not a lot of females there, she might be the only one complaining. HR will be in a better position to deal with the problem systemically throughout DEP (if they choose to, that is). HR does tend to be more litigation-savvy than other functions - they tend to have a lot of females, too - so they may be helpful. It may also help to talk to other co-workers and get a concerned GROUP together, so she's not the lone voice - and request a meeting with HR, security and a Trenton PD representative. Aside from security being onsite earlier, she should have additional suggestions (or alternatives): Trenton PD security briefing for employees? on-site self-defense classes? a paid van to pick up employees from the designated lots from, say, 5:30 a.m. - 7 a.m.? You always get better results when you walk in with a list of well thought out options.  It sounds like they just need better security in general.

So, YES, get the taser and training, but in the meantime, she's being much too polite about this IMO. A mentally ill street person has possibly fixated on her. That's a very unpredictable, risk-laden situation - she should be opening all channels of communication immediately. And please ignore all those bullshit studies that said mentally ill people are NOT more violent than you and I. Those have been thoroughly debunked in recent years (most of them studied mentally ill people WHILE ON THEIR MEDS... but, when the seriously mentally ill go off their meds like when they're homeless, their disorganized, delusional thinking, and reduced impulse control all lead to a HIGHER rate of crime, not lower).  If she can't get a new formal practice instituted there, she should change her arrival time to 7:15 so she's at least approaching when security is there, or buddy up with a few co-workers to meet at a designated spot in the parking lot and walk those 2 blocks together! GOOD LUCK! Let us know what happens...!

Mrs. Peel. Thank you. I am going to force my wife to read your response.

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22 minutes ago, Krdshrk said:

Are you looking for say like a Taser Pulse for her?  Or are you looking for one of the cheaper, contact-only stun guns?

Tasers do come with multiple cartridges, so you can practice.  They also have Practice Cartridges.  They're not cheap, but cheaper than standard taser cartridges.

http://www.actionstunguns.com/taserc2trainingcartridges.html

I would say practice against a dummy or paper target at home first.  It comes with a conductive paper target for testing/training.

The pulse has a laser built in so aiming should not be hard.  The main things to practice will be proper draw, confirming the distance that the taser can shoot, and making sure she doesn't pull the shot with a bad trigger pull.  The cartridges have a 15 foot range, so it won't be hard to miss at that range but in a panic situation it may cause one...  

The Pulse comes with a "sock" thingy that can make it a bit tough to pull into ready state.  You can get other holsters - but practice drawing and disabling the safety.  If you take the cartridge out, it will still spark, so you can practice trigger pull while the laser is on to ensure it stays on target.  You can engage the safety again to turn off the contact shocking to save battery.  Practice detaching the cartridge so it can be used as a contact taser instead of ranged as well.

I'm sure there are formalized classes for this - I know Gun for Hire has a Civilian Taser course.

https://gunforhire.com/academy/civilian-taser-gun-stun-gun-course/

 

Yes... Pulse is what I am thinking. Contact stun gun is too close for my comfort level

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One (former) Pro Photog to another, PEEL IS RIGHT!  YOUR WIFE IS IN DANGER!

Our CNJFO Communications Director, Theresa Inacker, has a taser & carries it.  She went for training in South Jersey and RAVES about the class she attended!  Are you on Facebook and can you friend her, as THAT would be the easiest way to find out WHERE she took her training class?  Or do you want me to get you her private info & PM you?

Mentally ill can sometimes pull the taser leads OUT as their bodies/brains are "short-circuited" to begin with.  So just having a taser doesn't guarantee results, but at least it's a chance to escape a potentially deadly encounter!

Theresa lives in Tabernacle and is a member of Telco.  Let me know how to best help you!

Rosey

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I didn't see anyone else mention it, but most government buildings bar non law enforcement from bringing any weapons in. Not sure if it (taser) would be permitted in your wife's building or not, or she may be able to lock it up with security at the front door upon entering in the morning and picking it up upon departure. Something to think about.

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@Mrs.Zeke

No worries at all and thank you for the link.

My darling wife has been comforted by the DEP security response and she is not willing to go down the taser path at this time. She told me to back off. I have tried to convince her that it is better to have the training, and the weapon, and not need it........

I really wish I could convince her that her safety is her business, but she is a very stubborn woman.

 

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