Philadelphia Plans to Equip Mores Officers with TASERs

In the wake of the fatal police shooting of a knife-wielding subject and nights of rioting sparked by the incident, Philadelphia plans to issue more TASERs to its officers. The two officers who shot the knife-wielding man, Walter Wallace Jr., did not have TASERs.

The Mayor Jim Kenney administration expects to give City Council a proposal next week for a multi-year contract with a manufacturer to provide all officers with TASERs, Kenney spokesman Mike Dunn told the Penn Capital-Star in an email Thursday.

If legislators approve of the contract and it is in place in December, the city could receive all the TASERs by the end of the year, Dunn said. The department could begin distributing TASERs to officers in early 2021 after they receive training.

Approximately 2,301 officers are trained to carry TASERs in a department with approximately 6,500 sworn.