most people donate money, food, toys... we got 5 tasers

Hello cruel world.

For my first diary on Kos I'm sharing the story of the donation of five Tasers to Ridgefield, Connecticut's police department.  

Years ago I used to live in a bad neighborhood in Lynn, MA.  How bad, you ask?  They used to film the tv show COPS on my street.  When people asked me where I lived, I'd say Kingsley Terrace.  They'd laugh and say "you don't live in Kingsley Terrace- you live on corner five."

Anyway, now I live in Ridgefield, the # 1 town in Connecticut.  I feel like I'm walking around in a Norman Rockwell painting.

Does the town with the lowest crime rate in the state really need five Tasers for its police department?  And after the Board of Selectmen voted down the request for Tazers, should the police be able to go out and buy them anyway?

There is plenty of money in this town- the town did not refuse to purchase Tasers because of budget concerns.  The town did not purchase Tasers because for four years, each time the request was made the Board of Selectmen voted the request down. Two of the selectmen are worried about the danger of injuries or fatalities.  It was not a unanimous vote against, but there was enough opposition to stop the purchase.

from the Ridgefield Press

"I am deeply disappointed that in our community, which has such a low crime rate, the Police Commission has sought these measures," Selectman Di Masters said. "This is an end run around the conversations at the selectmen’s meeting."

She said she feared that the police would wind up Tasering teenagers, who already feel they are unfairly targeted by town police.

"I would hate to see that the recipients of this experiment would be the 16- to 25-year-olds who have a more frequent encounter with our police department as of now," she said.

from the Danbury News TImes Ridgefield police receive five Tasers

Ridgefield's selectmen have voted against funding for Tasers for the Police Department in the last several budget cycles.

So a private citizen took it upon himself (or perhaps herself) to make a donation earmarked for the purchase of five Tasers.  Is this how things should work?  Can people just go ahead and outfit the police with controverial and unnecessary equipment after the town's leaders say no?

from the Danbury News Times Questions raised over Ridgefield police's new Tasers

"People are concerned about private funds leading public policy," Masters told her fellow selectmen.