Best Practices

According to Steve Palmer, executive director of the Canadian Police Research Centre, "We don't speak often enough about the number of lives that have been saved, the number of people that are up and walking around today that might not have been had it not been for a Taser," . This goes to say, regardless of the 10 deaths in the UK , the 25 deaths in Canada and the 540 deaths in the US caused by Tasers, the number of lives that have been saved so far outweighs these numbers. Tasers are going to be around for a long time and because they are one of the best inventions ever created for the good of the public and the police force, all that needs to be done is for the law enforcement agencies in Canada and in other countries to initiate some best practices as well as setting some limitations to the use of Tasers.

The following are the Best Practices:-


Officers are only permitted to use the weapons in cases where a person is causing bodily harm or an officer has "reasonable grounds" to believe a person will "imminently" harm someone.


RCMP officers must also give a verbal warning "where tactically feasible" before using their stun guns.


Police forces should have better training on how to manage crises.


Limits on how long a Taser can be applied should seriously be looked into because using multiple or prolonged shocks may increase the risk of adverse effects on the heart or respiratory system.


Mandatory reporting when police use Tasers.


Thorough analysis of patterns of use.


Detailed public reporting on stun gun use.


The use of tasers by law enforcement officers is almost entirely unregulated. Therefore any province that endeavours to implement these best practices and more should be commended.

Drawbacks On The Use of Tasers

The Police say taser is a safe way to apprehend a combative individual, especially those who are under the influence of alcohol and drugs, or are in the midst of a psychotic episode. But in light of several high level profile deaths associated with the Taser, critics have called for a moratorium in the hand-held weapon`s use. The reasons behind this are as follows:-

Tasers are portable and easy to use, they are particularly open to abuse by unscrupulous officers.


Police officers appear to be using tasers as a routine force option, rather than an alternative to    
lethal force (there are numerous incidents in which tasers have been used to subdue people who are not posing serious danger to officers; against unruly schoolchildren; on unarmed mentally ill and intoxicated people; and on suspects fleeing minor crime scenes or failing to comply immediately with commands)

There appears to be a growing number of fatalities associated with police use of tasers.

The Use Of Tasers In Canada and Other Countries

Tasers are used all over the world by police and military. They say Tasers are supposed to allow police officers to subdue violent individuals without killing them and so have been a global adaptation. A police officer can 'take down' a threatening suspect without worrying that a stray bullet might kill or injure an innocent bystander. While many advocate the use of what they believe to be a non-lethal answer to using guns, deaths are reported and have created controversy over the use of this technology. Tasers were first used by law enforcement agents in the United States in 1998. It was adopted in multiple countries such as Canada, Australia, UK, Brazil, France, Greece, Israel, New Zealand and Malaysia for use only by law enforcement agencies. Controversy from the beginning has dogged taser sue. Many countries have banned them, including Kenya and Iceland, over concerns of safety and inconsistent effectiveness. We shall now look at the use of Tasers in Canada.

The Use of Tasers in Canada

In Canada, tasers are classified as hand-held weapons which have been prohibited for civilian use but have been used by the police forces since 1999. In order to further prohibit the use of tasers in Canada, only one company can import them into Canada under a special permit, and they can only sell the devices to law enforcement agencies and each taser sale is registered and tracked, much like a handgun. In spite of this strict regulation, across Canada 25 people have died so far after being zapped, 20 people from 2003 to 2008 with the most tasering incident being the one that happened in 2007 when a Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died of a heart attack after being jolted five times by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers at Vancouver’s airport. Since then Taser use in Canada has come under intense scrutiny.

In May 5, 2008 his death led to a provincial public inquiry into the use of tasers in Vancouver under commissioner Thomas Braidwood, a retired B.C. Appeal Court justice. In a preliminary report made public July 23, 2009, he concluded that stun guns can be deadly and that the B.C. provincial government had abdicated its responsibility to establish province-wide standards for their use. He then went ahead to set clear guidelines (best practices) to prevent Taser misuse and abuse in 2010 which we will be looking at later.

Many Ontario forces, including the Toronto Police Service, have adopted some of the good practices as real restrictions are needed to prevent “usage creep.” Stun guns shouldn’t be hauled out to tame surly teenagers, passive resisters or drunks.

The Use of Tasers in Other Countries

Tasers were first used by law enforcement in the United States in 1998. In the United States, Tasers are not considered firearms and are legal for civilian use in most states. Some cities, counties and states do restrict or ban their use by people who are not police officers. The company will not ship its product outside the United States unless the person placing the order holds a valid import/export permit. Police forces across the United States currently permit a wide use of the weapons, often in situations that do not warrant such a high level of force which explains why since 2001, at least 500 people in the United States have died after being shocked with Tasers either during their arrest or while in jail. Amnesty International recorded the largest number of deaths following the use of Tasers in California (92), followed by Florida (65), and Texas (37).


Out of the hundreds who have died following police use of tasers in the United States, dozens and possibly scores of deaths can be traced to unnecessary force being used," said Susan Lee, Americas program director at Amnesty International. "This is unacceptable, and stricter guidelines for their use are now imperative. And while there are currently efforts at a national level to establish guidelines of Tasers, policies are spotty and created by individual jurisdictions. Each police department revises their policies on a continuing basis.
           
In 2004 Tasers were introduced to England and Wales police forces, giving them an option between firearms and other weapons such as batons. Today, critics say they fear tasers are being misused. The statistics show that there is an ongoing issue with the use of Tasers by police, especially as the statistics suggest that the taser is used as a compliance tool which is in direct contravention of the Taser Policy and Guidance. However, only 7 deaths have been recorded that has been caused by a taser since it`s introduction in 2004.


In order to reduce the risk of wrongful use of Tasers by Police officers, the officers are carefully selected for the role and subjected to comprehensive training before being handed a Taser and around 12 per cent carry a Taser. Training covers handling and using the device and circumstances under which it can be lawfully used.


The tables below enunciate the use of tasers in England and Wales:-

Table 1 Definitions and levels of the different types of Taser use

Level of use	Type of use	Definition
Highest use	Fired	The   taser is fired with a live cartridge installed. When the trigger is pulled, the probes are fired towards the subject with the intention of completing an electrical circuit and delivering an incapacitating effect.
	Angle-drive stun	The officer fires the weapon with a live cartridge installed. One or both probes may attach to the subject. The officer then holds the Taser against the subject’s body in a different area to the probe(s), in order to complete the electrical circuit and deliver an incapacitating effect.
	Drive stun	The taser is held against the subject’s body and the trigger is pulled with no probes being fired. Contact with the subject completes the electrical circuit which causes pain but does not deliver an incapacitating effect.
Non-discharges	Red-dot	The weapon is not fired. Instead, the Taser is deliberately aimed and then partially activated so that a laser red dot is placed onto the subject.
	Arcing	Sparking of the Taser without aiming it or firing it.
	Aimed	Deliberate aiming of the taser at a targeted subject.
Lowest use	Drawn	Drawing of the Taser in circumstances where any person could reasonably perceive the action to be a use of force.

 

Table 2 Taser use by type, comparison between January to June 2014 figures published in October 2014 and July 2015

	Previous October 2014 publication	July 2015 publication	Change	% Change	Number of forces that made revisions
Not stated	0	-	0	-	-
Drawn	1,186	1,135	-51	-4	11
Aimed	276	275	-1	-0.4	6
Arced	60	61	1	2	5
Red-Dotted	2,636	2,648	12	0.5	14
Drive Stun	78	84	6	8	7
Angle-Drive Stun	45	56	11	24	5
Fired	826	833	7	1	15
Total	5,107	5,092	-15	-0.3

  
Tasers may seem like a brilliant idea to many law enforcement agencies around the world but a few countries still say `No``. The Netherlands police, and their unions, said “No, we don’t want it”; judges banned it in Buenos Aires since it was a torture weapon, too close to the scars of the despised dictatorship; the San Francisco Public Safety Commission said “No”, following systematic abuse by the BART police; Amnesty International has said “No” since 2001; the South African government canceled an order for 4,000 tasers following the publication of the Braidwood Report. … Many European countries have found the taser an offer they could and did refuse.

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The Taser and how it works

 

When used in firing mode, the X26 fire two probes up to a distance of 21 feet.  They are programmed to deploy five-second bursts of electricity, although the charge can be prolonged indefinitely if the operator’s finger remains on the trigger.  The probes are attached to copper wires, which remain connected to the weapon.  The shock can be repeated countless times, so long as both probes remain attached to the subject.  The X26 contains a cartridge of compressed nitrogen that fire the probes, and which must be reloaded every time the officer wants to fire. It has laser sights for accurate targeting and a built-in memory to record the time and date of each firing.  It operates on 26 watts of electric output and delivers a 50,000-volt shock, which is designed to override the subject’s central nervous system, causing uncontrollable contraction of the muscle tissue and instant collapse. 

 

 

 

 

When used in firing mode, the X26 fire two probes up to a distance of 21 feet.  They are programmed to deploy five-second bursts of electricity, although the charge can be prolonged indefinitely if the operator’s finger remains on the trigger.  The probes are attached to copper wires, which remain connected to the weapon.  The shock can be repeated countless times, so long as both probes remain attached to the subject.  The X26 contains a cartridge of compressed nitrogen that fire the probes, and which must be reloaded every time the officer wants to fire. It has laser sights for accurate targeting and a built-in memory to record the time and date of each firing.  It operates on 26 watts of electric output and delivers a 50,000-volt shock, which is designed to override the subject’s central nervous system, causing uncontrollable contraction of the muscle tissue and instant collapse. 

 

 

 

 



Introduction

The Canadian Police force have reportedly used taser on a senior who tried to dodge a parking ticket, a balky teenage girl in a jail cell, a heart patient in the hospital, and other unarmed people (The star, 2013), to mention but a few. Though better than shooting a gun, Tasers can still be very deadly to people who are highly agitated, or if someone is continuously or repeatedly jolted. Some people have not been able to withstand the incapacitating shock emanating from the taser when fired and die instantly or a few days later, while some others have been fortunate enough to survive it. Incidents like these were what drew my attention to this topic.

 

Although Taser International, the Arizona based company that manufactures these Tasers claim on their website that the use of Tasers have saved close to 125,470 lives till date, at least 500 people in the US alone since 2001 have died after being shocked with Tasers either during their arrest or while in jail (Amnesty International, 2012). While across Canada 25 people have died as of 2013. This goes a long way to show that the use of Tasers by law enforcement agencies in general, and by the police in particular, is and will continue to be the most controversial issue in the area of criminal justice policy. The law enforcement agencies will strongly argue that Tasers are a non-deadly option that allows them to disable suspects without having to be close enough to touch them, as required with a stun gun or baton. It is also a known fact that tasers are an effective means of self-defence, especially when someone threatens them with a knife or other weapon.  Nevertheless, some people still think the idea of using a Taser is just a deliberate act to cause the attacker pain and they are used too quickly and unnecessarily by overeager police officers.

 

 

 

In subsequent posts, we would try to find justifications in the growing reliance on tasers by many law enforcement officers in Canada who assert "Increased violence and lack of respect for the authority" by these victims as the basis. Comparison would be made on the use of Tasers in Canada and the International community and perhaps borrow a leaf from them.  We can do this together, just hang in there and will be back shortly.