The Manchester Township Police Department is extremely grateful to Township resident, Betty Bulbach, for her generous donation of a Conducted Energy Device (CED) to the agency. The device, more commonly known by its former brand name of Taser, was approved for use by law enforcement in Ocean County earlier this year. However, because the purchase of CEDs is currently restricted to law enforcement agencies, Ms. Bulbach donated the monetary equivalent. The money will be used by the agency to purchase a fully equipped unit and its addition will directly benefit the members of the Patrol Bureau in their daily operations.
After reading an article in the Manchester Patch about a recent CED deployment, Township resident Betty Bulbach, who is 93-years-old and active in the Manchester community, became intrigued. She decided to look into purchasing a CED for the Police Department. Ms. Bulbach eagerly approached her son-in-law, who assisted her in making contact with the police department and arranging to make a donation for the purchase of a device. The donation was presented to the Patrol Bureau Commander, Lt. James Komsa on June 19, 2017, by Ms. Bulbach’s son-in-law, Richard Orne.
Earlier this year, the Township Council approved the purchase of 20 Taser X2 Conducted Energy Devices after police administrators presented a case to the Council that CEDs would prove advantageous to the department. Only days after the CEDs were put into service this past March, a CED was used to subdue a suicidal Manchester woman who was armed with a knife and slashing her arms and neck. The CED allowed responding officers to diffuse the situation immediately.
The generous donation from Betty will allow for the purchase of one additional CED which will put on the road immediately.