HPD gets tasers

Hattiesburg, Miss. - Hattiesburg Police have added something else to their arsenal.

HPD officers received tasers over the last month.

Around 35 Hattiesburg police officers have tasers on them.

Hattiesburg Police Officer, Lt. Jon Traxler said, "We look at the taser as just another tool for our tool belt to be able to take prisoners into custody without any type of physical altercations, because at the end of the day, we don't want to have to be hands on with anybody. Less chance of injuries, less chance of somebody getting hurt really bad or worst killed. So that's what we don't want. That's why we've implemented these. Again, we want to give the officer every opportunity they can to handle a situation the best way possible and not have to be physical with a person."

Traxler said in order for the officers to have tasers, they had to get tased themselves to see how much harm the effect can have on a person.