GRAHAM, N.C. — The Alamance County Sheriff's Office is making changes after a deadly police encounter in Minnesota.
Police said an officer there shot and killed Daunte Wright during an arrest. That officer said she mistakenly grabbed her pistol instead of her stun gun.
"Was that individual wrong in what they did? yes. Do I think it was intentional? No," Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said.
Johnson said his office's policy is to carry tasers on the opposite hip from their gun, to prevent those kinds of mix ups.
Now his deputies' tasers will be wrapped with bright yellow tape to further differentiate them from firearms.
"We are going to try to do anything we can to ensure that our officers do not make mistakes like was made there," Johnson said.
Johnson said mix ups of tasers and firearms are not common. He pointed out that loaded handguns are often noticeably heavier than tasers or stun guns.
"I personally would’ve known the difference, I think, between my weapon and my taser but in the heat of the moment when you’re struggling with someone who knows what that individual would think," Johnson said.
The announcement of the change came a day after former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter for the death of George Floyd.
"That officer has technically tarnished the badge of every sworn law enforcement officer in this nation by his actions and I do not condone his actions and I would have to stand with the jury in this case," Johnson said.
He said deadly police encounters have shaken public confidence in policing.
"We certainly want the public to understand that we’re going to do everything within our possible to treat even those individuals that violate the law, to treat them with respect and certainly not hurt them unless it’s necessary for officer safety," Johnson said.
The Alamance County Sheriff's Office said his officers are regularly trained on proper taser use as well as implicit racial bias and racial equity.
Johnson said his office is requesting new, completely yellow tasers but said there is no timeline for when those could arrive.