Watertown to get bean bag shotguns, new police cruisers

Feb. 25—The Watertown City Council approved the purchase of new non-lethal weapons and new police vehicles for the Watertown Police department on Thursday night.

Bean bag shotguns were requested by Watertown Police Department Assistant Chief Mike Henderlight as an additional, non-lethal option for officers in the field.

"To have some less lethal force, we have to have more options and more tools," Henderlight said. "I thought that the bean bag gun would be a good alternative, because we already carry a can of pepper spray."

Henderlight requested four additional bean bag shotguns in addition to the one that the department already has. Each gun costs approximately $800. The bean bag gun's orange hold kit distinguishes it from a traditional shot gun, which is helpful in a situation where force is required.

"A lot of times, you get (tools) that look so similar that when you get your adrenaline up, you just grab whatever (you can)," Henderlight said. "I thought if maybe we had a shotgun with the beanbag rounds, which are less lethal, that would be an alternative to hands-on, pepper spray and lethal force."

Having an alternative to pepper spray is beneficial to officers by having a means of defending themselves without lethal force, which is less likely to end up hurting them in the process.

"Wind doesn't affect it as much," Henderlight said. "It's easy if you're involved in a physical altercation to spray yourself (with pepper spray), and then, its really bad."

Training with the bean bag gun would be required for all of the officers at the department.

"I think you need them," Watertown Mayor Mike Jennings said. "I don't want to get into a position if we can help it where y'all have to kill somebody. There's too many (instances) of that on TV now, and if we can bring somebody down and shoot them with a bean bag, we'll fight the lawsuit on that."

The council voted unanimously to fund the purchase of the four beanbag shotguns, with a cost of $3,200.

With three cars out of service, Henderlight also made the request for new police vehicles. For the last week and a half, the department has had only one running vehicle.

"I think it's time we put this community in better shape than driving a car that they don't know whether it's going to start or not," Jennings said.

The purchase of three new vehicles was unanimously approved, and will be funded through a capital outlay note with Wilson Bank & Trust. The bank has agreed to a five-year capital outlay note at 5.5% interest. Unlike a typical car payment, installments would be made yearly to pay off the vehicles, rather than monthly.

A budget of $130,000 and the capital outlay note were both approved.