Go slowly on Tasers

Police forces around the province are united in their praise of the Ontario government’s decision to allow front-line officers to carry Tasers, if their bosses so choose. That is to be expected. The police have long lobbied for expanded use of the stun guns, but those of us on the outside looking in should not be as easily persuaded as the police, even if being Tasered is usually better than being shot.

Here in Ottawa, both police Chief Charles Bordeleau and union president Matt Skof have hailed the government’s decision and the chief wants to train 300 officers more to handle the stun guns in addition to the 200 who already carry them.

Bordeleau acknowledged that there hasn’t been a situation in Ottawa where police shot someone, but would have used a Taser instead if one was available. But he said there have been situations where the police wanted to Taser someone but had to wait a few minutes for a sergeant to arrive with one, frustrating officers. So if we’ve never had a situation where a Taser would have prevented someone from being shot, and the only big issue we’ve had is police being frustrated by waiting a few minutes to Taser someone, why do we need more? Why 300?

We should not rush into arming all front-line officers with Tasers. They are not benign weapons. They can kill, as we know all too well in Canada. Skof has acknowledged that with more Tasers in the field, the number of times they are used will increase. Indeed, some studies in the U.S. have shown that police often use Tasers not to protect their lives, but to force suspects to obey their commands. That is precisely our fear. And when he was chief, Vern White didn’t believe all officers should carry Tasers.

Remember too that at about $2,000 apiece, 300 Tasers will come in at $600,000, not counting training and other costs. Can we afford this at a time of significant financial strain?

Our police may want more Tasers, but let’s make haste slowly.