By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
INWOOD — Days before the police shot and killed a knife-wielding Inwood man when a Taser failed to subdue him, the NYPD instituted a pilot program to rearm its force with an updated model of the electroshock weapon.
Taser's manufacturer claims its new model, the X-26, supplies more voltage and is more capable of penetrating clothing to engage flesh.
"We're starting to see the next generation of Tasers," said Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, according to the Daily News. "We're testing some of these newer ones that are smaller and lighter and have the laser."
Officers shot and killed 24-year-old Emmanuel Paulino early Sunday morning after responding to a 911 call during which Paulino told a dispatcher, "I want you to call the cops 'cause I'm ready to kill ... I'm ready to kill some cops right now."
Police officers said they shot at Paulino after a Taser did not stop his advances, explaining that only one of the two prongs from the weapon actually engaged with his body before he ripped the prong out while still holding his knife.
The Taser involved was one of the older models.
During a memorial service on Monday, family spokesman Fernando Mateo said police used undue force during the encounter and should have found other ways to take him into custody.
"One shot to the leg could have brought this man down,” he said during a memorial outside Paulino’s home at 122 Vermilyea Avenue on Monday. “One shot. We believe 18 shots were fired.”
