Phil Campbell PD getting tasers

By Staff
Melissa Cason, Franklin County Times
PHIL CAMPBELL – The Phil Campbell Town Council voted to purchase tasers for the police department during their regular council meeting held Tuesday night at Town Hall.
"I think it's [purchasing the tasers] something good we can do to help protect our officers," Danny Brown, Councilman, said.
Two tasers with holsters and extra clips will cost the town $1,758.45. The council voted unanimously to purchase them for the officers.
"It [the tasers] gives us a level playing field, and it gives us an option instead of deadly force," Police Chief Merrell Potter told the council.
Phil Campbell's officers will be certified with the tasers. Potter told the council that the training would be at Phil Campbell, and that the District Attorney's office would most likely supply the instructor for the certification.
"Terry Zills with the District Attorney's office can certify us on the tasers," Potter told the council.
In other business, the council voted to match the funds needed on the grant to purchase a community shelter for Phil Campbell. The grant from Alabama Emergency Management Agency will be for $46,350 while the estimated cost of the shelter is $61,813.
"This [the shelter] is something that Phil Campbell has needed for a good number of years," Mayor Jerry Mays said.
The town has to provide the additional $12,953, and pay for the backhoe so that the shelter can be installed, Mays added.
The next step for the shelter is to decide where it should be placed. The shelter will be self-containing with oxygen, and can withstand up to 350 mile per hour winds. The shelter will be large enough to hold 50 to 75 people, and will be wheelchair accessible, Mays said.