POTSDAM –When Potsdam Police Chief Mark Murray learned that the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department was upgrading their Taser equipment and might be disposing of their surplus units, he wondered if his department might benefit.

At the end of November, Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Chief Matthew Rourke was able to donate their surplus Taser units to local police departments, Chief Murray said, and the Potsdam department was the recipient of 10 units.

“This donation will allow us to equip each Officer with a Taser unit to maintain with their duty gear rather than share three units amongst the entire Department,” Murray said.

“On behalf of the Potsdam Police Department and the Village of Potsdam, I would like to publicly thank Chief Rourke and his Department for the assistance with this program and express our gratitude,” Murray wrote.

“I feel this is a great example of agencies within our region reaching out to assist each other to enhance our operational capabilities and enhance Officer safety,” Murray wrote to Chief Rourke. “We are teammates on our task force initiatives, academy endeavors, trainings, and collaborate on many other levels to combat the threats we all face.”

Murray told Rourke that the Potsdam police “just initiated a Taser program for our department last fall and have already seen the benefits of having this additional less-than-lethal use-of-force option for our Officers.

“The equipment you have offered to donate us would be a welcomed upgrade that we cannot currently afford to purchase outright,” Murray wrote.

For a recent story about the one use by Potsdam police of a Taser since they obtained new units a year ago, click here.