People For A Taser-Free Columbia adds signatures to petition

COLUMBIA — The anti-Taser use group, People For A Taser-Free Columbia, added more than 900 signatures Tuesday to its petition for a city ordinance that would ban Taser use in the city.

Despite turning in more than 4,000 signatures to City Clerk Sheela Amin June 2, the petition ended up 494 signatures short because not everyone who signed was a registered voter in Columbia. 

The clerk's office notified the organization June 30 of the shortage, said Mary Hussmann, who helped lead the petition. The group has until July 14 to turn in the additional signatures but worked over the weekend and was able to present more than 900 additional signatures Tuesday, Hussmann said.

The additional signatures will have to be verified before the process can proceed. If the petition reaches the required 3,667 valid signatures, the proposed ordinance will be presented to the Columbia City Council. If the council passes the ordinance, the ban would go into effect. If the ordinance fails, it would go on the ballot for the Nov. 2 election.