Guymon Police Capt. Michael Babb took steady aim and fired his taser. Instantly, officer after officer fell flat on their face, many screaming in agony as Det. Jason Bond videotaped each one.

Officers from the GPD, Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Texas County Sheriff's office under went taser training this week. Each patrol officer in the GPD will now be equipped with tasers as part of a new use-of-force option for the department. Each officer had to undergo training, which included a written test and getting the opportunity feel exactly what it was like to be tased.

The tasers were bought with money seized from drug traffickers.

"We make them go through the experience so they will understand," said Guymon Police Chief Eddie Adamson.

The Taser Electronic Control Devices shoot probes into the backs or legs of a suspect who is fleeing officers on foot. It's an alternative to using deadly force. Suspects are instantly incapacitated, allowing officers to handcuff the suspect to bring them under control — but only as long as the device is turned on.

"There is no experience like it," Adamson said. "There's nothing to compare it to."

Each taser is also equipped with a camera that activates when the device is deployed, which can be used as video evidence of not only how the officers behaved, but how the suspect behaved, as well.

Each taser uses compressed nitrogen to project two small probes up to 35 feet at 160 feet per second. Each probe is attached to an insulated wire that sends an electrical signal to whatever the probes attach to. The result is complete loss of neuromuscular control, rendering the suspect incapacitated. It temporarily overrides the nervous system, taking over muscular control. And it is not dangerous for individuals with heart conditions.

Any injuries that occur would be from the suspect falling, "But that would happen if an officer were to tackle the subject," Adamson said.

The devices are used by more than 11,500 agencies, and 3,500 of those — including Guymon — give the devices to every patrol officer. But like every action, it isn't foolproof. If a probe doesn't reach its target, it would not render the subject incapacitated.

"But if it's deployed correctly, it's 100 percent effective," Adamson said.

The Guymon Fire Department will respond each time the device is used, not only to evaluate the subject who was tased, but for statistical purposes.

Capt. Babb asked each officer the same set of questions after the device was used in training Thursday. Every one said it was painful, but once the device was turned off, that pain went away, and that's one thing Adamson said will help officers on the streets. Instead of getting in a physical altercation in which both the suspect and officer can be injured, the device will incapacitate the subject and keep the officer safe, as well.