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By DAKOTAH M. DAVIS
Winfield Publishing Co.

An Arkansas City man accused of causing fights at two Winfield bars was tased early Sunday while trying to run from police, authorities said today.

"The bad guy broke loose from a deputy who was trying to take him into custody and while they were in pursuit (Patrolman Gary) Bortz deployed the Taser that stopped him," said Winfield Police Chief Jerry Devore.

After incapacitating the man with the jolt of electricity, officers arrested Justin E. Thurber, 22, and charged him with incitement to riot, felony obstruction of official duty and disorderly conduct, according to a police report.

This marks the third time Winfield police have used their Tasers, according to the chief. A Taser is a nonlethal weapon used by the police force since January 2004. Each Taser emits 50,000 volts of electricity and is similar to a stun gun. The voltage incapacitates a person by forcing their muscles to lock up for approximately five seconds.

Bortz has used the Taser twice, the chief said. A year ago he used the weapon on a Rottweiler that was about to attack him. The dog had attacked a smaller dog before being tased, Devore said.

Winfield police used the Taser one other time in the Cowley County Jail when an inmate became combative, the chief said.

Police said before Thurber ran from them, he spent Saturday night insulting customers of O'Kelley's Sports Bar, 1014 Main, and the Jumping Jukebox, 1017 Main.

"He kept going from one group of people to another making comments to people to just try and cause problems," said Devore. "He was calling people names."

By the time both bars closed, around 2 a.m., Thurber's argument had spilled out onto Main. As police tried to calm the situation, about 50 unruly bar goers -- some of them friends of Thurber -- began milling around, the police report said. With the help of O'Kelley's owner Blake Porter and some other patrons, the crowd was dispersed, according to the chief.

"That's normal. That happens more often than not," Devore said of the large crowd. "Everybody wants to see what's going on."

Devore said no one was hurt during the tasing incident. Officers have said they like the Tasers because it helps reduce incidences of physical violence between police and suspects.

"This is one of those deals where rather than having to lay hands on someone to stop them from fighting, we bring them under control using the Taser," the police chief said. "It saves the officers, getting hurt, but also it saves the suspect from getting hurt."

Devore said alcohol was a definite factor in the incident, and the disturbance is still being investigated. At least one other man, Albert D. Lolar, 29, of Winfield, was arrested at the scene for disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana.

The department has just five Tasers that are shared among officers. At shift changes, the Tasers are passed from officer to officer, Devore said. The chief would like to purchase more Tasers to reduce wear and tear on the existing ones.

"We just don't have enough to go around," he said.

Members of the Cowley County Sheriff's Department assisted in the arrests, the report said. Both Thurber and Lolar posted bond and were released from jail Sunday, a sheriff's department spokesperson said.

The sheriff's department has 15 Tasers they added to their arsenal in July. Recently, they used a Taser to subdue a 53-year-old Winfield man when he became combative following a two-vehicle accident near Strother Field in May.