ISU students are receiving more opportunities to learn about the proposed use of advanced taser stun devices by the Department of Public Safety.

An open forum for all students will be held at 8 p.m. today in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union and DPS has also given a presentation about the proposed stun guns to members of the Inter-Residence Hall Association.

Gene Deisinger, program manager for DPS, said the department has asked the administration to consider allowing DPS officers to carry taser guns.

Similar proposals are in the works at the Departments of Public Safety at the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa, he said.

DPS officers currently carry pepper spray and an extendable solid steel baton. Deisinger said advanced taser stun devices are being considered because they have instant stopping power, cause no permanent injuries, increase distance between the officer and the subject and are safe to carry.

A taser, which resembles a handgun, shoots out two short, sharp barbs on a thin wire, he said. These barbs override neuromuscular control, and the target person stiffens and falls to the ground.

The taser projects a laser, and the top barb shoots out near where the laser is projected, Deisinger said. The bottom barb hits about three feet below that target area.

Deisinger said officers are trained to hit the middle to upper back and the upper thighs and to try to stay away from the more sensitive areas of the body. The taser is less effective the closer it is to the body, he said.

Each taser is powered by eight AA batteries, which send out around 50,000 volts and shock the individual from around 20 feet away for a maximum charge of five seconds, Deisinger said.

“But the officer can disengage it at any point,” he said.

A cartridge can be reloaded in around two seconds, Deisinger said.

One safeguard is a dataport at the back, which can be detached and hooked to a computer to show the time and date of the last 500 firings. It also has a microdot system, which causes the taser to release several multi-colored microdots which follow the path of the barbs from the officer with every firing.

These dots can then be used to determine if the gun was fired in cases where there are questions.

Student officers and ticket writers would not carry tasers, he said. Officers carrying the tasers would receive a minimum of four hours of training in taser usage. DPS would spend about $15,000 on the devices, which cost around $400 each.

The department also has asked the administration to change the name “Department of Public Safety Law Enforcement Division” to “Department of Public Safety Police Division.”

Changing the name of the department will show the public that DPS has as much authority on campus as the Ames Police Department, Deisinger said.

David Boike, vice president of IRHA, said the association has not yet decided to create legislation about the tasers.

“My perception of the parliament’s reaction was that they thought it was really cool,” he said. “Gene Deisinger showed us how it worked in detail and overall the parliament seems fairly impressed.”

He suggested students attend tonight’s forum to learn more about a subject, because it affects everyone.

“Every student who is interested should go to the forum and see how it works,” he said.