VALDOSTA — Local officials say their law-enforcement departments are trained to prevent problems with tasers such as those plaguing police in Minnesota right now.

Sunday, a Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer shot Daunte Wright, 20, after trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant.

Body camera footage released Monday shows Wright struggling with police when officer Kim Potter shouts, “I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” She drew her weapon after the man broke free from police and got back into the car.

Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest; Potter claims she mistook her service pistol for her taser. Potter and the police chief resigned while the city manager was fired. Potter is charged with second-degree manslaughter.

In Lowndes County, deputies are issued tasers and receive “extensive training” on where the taser is located on the belt, Sheriff Ashley Paulk said.

“(The taser) has a very bright color,” he said. “You couldn’t mistake it for a regular weapon.”

The sheriff’s office tasers are used regularly but have never been involved in a deadly incident, Paulk said.

They are generally used against subjects resisting arrest, or who are on drugs giving them strength and causing them to feel no pain, the sheriff said.

Valdosta police are issued tasers and trained annually both on their use and in “response to resistance” situations, said Ashlyn Johnson, public information officer for the city.

“Our officers position the taser away from the firearm, on purpose,” she said. “For example, some wear it on the opposite side of their belt or on their vest.”

The Georgia State Patrol requires all troopers to receive taser training before the electric shock weapons are issued, GSP Lt. Mark Riley said.

“We use cross-draw tasers,” meaning the shock devices are holstered on the opposite side of the belt from a trooper’s service pistol, he said.

Both Paulk and Riley declined comment on the Brooklyn Center case; the sheriff said he didn’t have enough details to make a judgment.

A quick search of news stories turned up several instances in 2020 alone where law enforcement in Lowndes County used tasers on suspects. Among them:

– In July, a man trying to flee from custody was tased by city police; after being taken to South Georgia Medical Center for minor injuries, he tried to escape again and was brought down by a K9 unit, reports show.

– Also in July, police tased a suspect who fought with officers during an investigation into stolen cars.

– In January, a taser was used by deputies during a standoff in Hahira which was eventually broken up with tear gas.

– In May 2020, a man was tased by deputies outside a Waffle House in the Five Points district when he “approached an officer in an aggressive manner,” Sheriff Paulk said at the time. The man was wanted on terroristic threat warrants.

– In July 2020, a Valdosta police officer wound up facing the officer’s own taser. While responding to a 911 call about an argument, an officer tried to arrest a suspect reportedly seen assaulting a woman, past reports show. The suspect grabbed the officer’s taser and “deployed it towards the officer,” a police statement said. The officer was still able to grab the suspect and hold on to him until more police arrived.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.