Bloomington police officers have never carried Tasers; that may change soon

Monroe County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Shaffer has twice this year responded to emergency calls from Bloomington Police Department officers who wanted a deputy — and his Taser — on the scene.

Shaffer said the calls for help from city police officers come from the central dispatch center: "Can you have county respond with a Taser?"

Local sheriff’s deputies carry such electroshock weapons. City police officers do not.

A survey by The Herald-Times revealed that among police departments in the state’s 20 largest cities, only officers in Bloomington do not carry Tasers. 

In addition to sheriff's deputies, officers from the two other law enforcement agencies that work in Monroe County, the Indiana State Police and Indiana University Police Department, carry Tasers.