"I support the use of tasers because they are a response that police can make that is in between direct physical confrontation and lethal response that is a gun."

To ensure the safety and standardization of nation-wide taser use, Columbia Police adopted all 52 of the Police Executive Research Forum, or PERF, Taser guidelines in 2009. Each police officer is required to go through training before they use a taser. But now, the coalition doesn't think that that is enough. The Columbia Police Department says tasers are non-lethal weapons. Since June 2008, there have been 86 deaths in the US as a result of being tasered, including one Moberly resident, Stanley Harlan. His mother, Athena Harlan, is a spokesperson for the coalition and shared her story of the loss of her 23-year-old son. Since her son's death she has advocated banning taser use as an alternative weapon in police departments. Coalition member, Catherine Parke, says that the ban of taser use is "absolutely necessary" for the safety of Columbia citizens and police.

"They are dangerous weapons and the public genuinely does not fully understand that. So that is our task, to educate the public. And we believe when the public sees the full information, the Columbia voting public will vote to make Columbia taser-free."

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