City police getting 39 used Tasers
Their use here was up 113 per cent last year compared to 2019
Peterborough Police is going to accept a donation of 39 used Tasers from the Ottawa Police Service.
City police already have 35 Tasers, according to a report to the Peterborough Police Services Board. Chief Scott Gilbert said 86 of his 131 officers are trained to use them — and the 35 Tasers available to them are “aging inventory.”
Meanwhile the 39 conducted energy weapons coming for free from Ottawa Police are “in great shape,” Gilbert said — and would cost $136,500 to buy, the report states.
The police board voted to accept the donation at a meeting Tuesday night.
Board member Les Kariunas said Tasers are “widely used and accepted in police forces,” the donor is known and the equipment will increase safety for both police and citizens.
Ottawa Police offered the donation to a Peterborough Police officer who’d previously worked on the Ottawa force, the report states.
Ottawa Police are replacing their Tasers with a newer model and asked that officer whether Peterborough Police wanted their current models.
“These are in excellent condition and are the model that our officers are currently trained with and carry on duty,” states the report.
The report also notes that when Const. Tina Sanders was stabbed on duty in August, she wasn’t equipped with a Taser at the time.
“Our supply did not meet the demand from those trained in its use,” states the report.
Sanders was stabbed in the back while investigating a theft in the George (Red) Sullivan East City Bowl in East City on Aug. 2; she sustained a collapsed lung.
Gilbert said Tuesday she’s recovered and has recently returned to police duty.
“We’re happy to have her back at work,” he said.
A separate report on the use of force from 2020 was also released to the police board on Tuesday and it details how often Tasers were used by city police last year. A Taser was drawn on police calls 64 times in 2020, the report states, and deployed in 15 of those incidents.
It’s a 113 per cent increase from 2019, when Tasers were drawn and pointed in 30 incidents by officers. The increase is partly because more officers are trained to use Tasers now, states the report (Gilbert said more officers got the training after Sanders was attacked).
Also, city police make a report any time a Taser is drawn and turned on, the report states.