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“When the rules changed I immediately put my name forward. I volunteer in an area which has high crime numbers [Stechford Response],” recalled Ryan, “and then last year, I was approved for the training.

The father-of-one, who dedicates around 50 hours a month to the role - alongside his day job at Jaguar Land Rover - says he now ‘thinks like a Taser officer’ rather than a Special.

Acting Special Sergeant Ryan Courtney completed the training this year, having joined as a volunteer with the police in 2020.

“I had to go through some seriously intense training but I wouldn’t be without a Taser when volunteering now,” said 32-year-old Ryan.

The opportunity for Ryan came after the rules changed in 2022, allowing Specials to join the Federation and train to carry a Taser.

“Carrying a Taser offers officers and Specials another tool to protect themselves. In the absence of routinely armed officers, it is the bare basics.

“If I had been carrying a Taser - I’m not saying I would have used it - but it might have acted as an additional barrier between me and him.

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“For the first time ever, Taser-trained Specials were able to work at the football [12 April]. This freed up time for cops, meaning more police on the streets.”

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“I very much welcome the change of rules which now allow Specials to carry Tasers. I hope that we will see many more follow in Ryan’s footsteps.”

Ryan said that had he been carrying a Taser in the past, he would have felt more protected - especially when put in vulnerable situations.

Melissa Eddy traveled to the German state of Baden-Württemberg to visit companies and speak with their leaders about how bureaucracy is bogging them down.

Since he completed training, more Specials have been trained to carry a Taser, with Ryan saying that the move also frees up time for regular officers.

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“I don’t know why, but being a Special satisfies something within. It’s fulfilling a passion, and I get to build my career at the same time.”

“Fundamentally, not one of our members - whether they are regulars or volunteers – should be sent out on the streets, without the option of carrying a Taser as a minimum protective measure,” he said.

“I feel weird if I don’t have my Taser on me when volunteering,” continued Ryan, who said it is ‘an honour’ to have made history as the first Special in the West Midlands to carry a Taser.

“We hear, we see cops and Specials being put in vulnerable situations on a regular basis, they take the same risks in order to protect the public - the minimum they should have is a Taser at hand, too, if they want it.

He remembered: “I was called to one job that involved a stabbing. When we arrived at the address, the named suspect was present. He was irate and I managed to tackle him to the floor - at which point he pulled out a zombie knife.

A man who made history by becoming the first Special to carry a Taser in the West Midlands says ‘having that added layer of protection’ gives him and his family ‘peace of mind’ when he is volunteering.

“I’ve not had to use it yet but it just gives that added level of protection and acts as a visible deterrent when I’m out. It undoubtedly gives both me and my family that added peace of mind.”

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“I remember there being a car crash outside my home - it was around 2018 or 2019. I supported the officers then, and I said to one of the officers working ‘I’m thinking about becoming a Special’, and she said ‘why wouldn’t you?’,” said Ryan.

Branch chair Rich Cooke has actively campaigned for all frontline Federation members to carry a Taser, if they want it, and says that Specials should be no exception.

District Judge Aileen Cannon has been accused of entertaining Donald Trump’s every legal defense, no matter how absurd, bogging down the classified documents case she’s had for a year with motions and hearings that would never happen in another court.

"As we saw in Australia recently, policing can be so unpredictable, incidents happen dynamically and it is virtually always unarmed officers who are first on the scene and expected to tackle the danger. The fact not all, or even a majority, are offered Taser in the UK is a continuing disgrace in my view.

For much of the last several days, the system has been offline entirely, including most of Wednesday and Thursday, leaving attorneys to hunt for paper documents and bogging down the process of assigning counsel to people in custody.

Ryan, who is also hoping to complete public order and blue light training, says being a Special allows him to ‘get the best of both worlds’.