Waldorf Jaycees, Lions, donated $25,000 for Charles County Sheriff’s Office Tasers. Pictured from left to right are Jaycees President Eric Vrem, Lions president and Sheriff’s Capt. Mike McGuigan, Jaycees Past President and Sheriff’s Sgt. Paul Gregory, Lions member John Grimes and Jaycees Foundation President Dick Gregory. (Photo courtesy CCSO)
LA PLATA, Md. (May 08, 2008) -- The Charles County Sheriff’s Office recently received a $25,000 donation from the Greater Waldorf Jaycees, the Waldorf Jaycees Foundation and the Waldorf Lions to purchase Tasers for officers. Jaycees President Eric Vrem, Jaycees Foundation President Dick Gregory, Jaycees Past President and Sheriff’s Sgt. Paul Gregory, Lions president and Sheriff’s Capt. Mike McGuigan and Lions member John Grimes presented the check to Sheriff Rex Coffey at the Waldorf Jaycees Community Center.
The donation was provided through a foundation established as a joint effort between the Jaycees and the Lions. This foundation also donated $25,000 to the Sheriff’s Office last year for Tasers. The latest donation brings to 122 the number of officers equipped with the devices. The Sheriff’s Office began purchasing Tasers in 2002.
“Tasers allow officers to quickly gain control of dangerous situations and to manage dangerous people,” said Sheriff Coffey. “The Jaycees and the Lions are contributing greatly to officer and community safety efforts by equipping our officers with Tasers.”
Amnesty International USA reports, "Since June 2001, more than 290 individuals in the United States have died after being struck by police TASERs."
Amnesty International also says on their webpage dedicated to "TASER Abuse in the United States" that they are concerned that "TASERs are being used as tools of routine force—rather than as weapons of last resort."