WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a market leader in advanced electronic control devices, released the following News Alert:
According to news reports from Indiana's The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne police used a TASER(r) device for the first time early Thursday to end a standoff with Lewis D. Reith, 41, at a local residence. The department issued TASER systems to emergency services officers in February as part of a pilot program.
Armed and threatening officers with a knife, Reith met Allen County Sheriff's Department officers at the door of a residence at 2720 Sherborne Boulevard where they were looking for a woman with an active arrest warrant at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday night. When Reith refused to come outside and further armed himself with a rifle, Fort Wayne police were called in for assistance.
Surrounding homes were evacuated and the Fort Wayne Emergency Services Team and Crisis Response Team worked unsuccessfully for more than two hours to negotiate surrender by Reith. Finally, two rounds of tear gas were used to get Reith out of the home, but when he opened the garage door, backed himself against a wall and still refused to surrender, police used a TASER device to incapacitate Reith and take him into custody.
Fort Wayne officer Michael Joyner said that this successful deployment of the less-than-lethal TASER device demonstrates the department's effective guidelines for its use.
This information was compiled through publicly available media reports and distributed by Dittus Communications, Inc. of Washington, D.C.
TASER International, Inc. and Dittus Communications, Inc. disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy of the media reports that are the sole responsibility of the attributed media source.
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