For almost seven years now, Franklin County’s Special Response Team from the sheriff’s department has been taking on severe and high-risk cases across the county, and now officers are getting some upgraded equipment to help them continue this task.

Capt. Mark Latham applied for a grant through the Northwest RC&D Council this year for new tasers for the Special Response Team. The department was approved for $3,025 from Community Support Funds, which will cover the cost of three tasers. Two more tasers were purchased with the department’s funds.

“I just want to thank them for their work and helping us keep the community safe,” Sheriff Shannon Oliver said.

The tasers being replaced are the X26 model, which Oliver said the department has had for about 10 years. The new model is the X26 P taser. Latham said the old tasers didn’t function properly and had bad batteries, which could cause a problem for an officer on duty.

“A majority of the Special Response Team’s calls are more serious than what a regular patrol can handle and are issues where a taser can be easily deployed,” Latham said.

SRT was created to handle cases of a more severe nature, like violent offenders, hostage situations, school incidents and high-risk search warrants. The acquisition of these tasers will help the sheriff’s department remain efficient in keeping the community safe.