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The controversy of tasers in Alberta

Editorial

The question of whether or not the use of tasers by police has been an ethical method to subdue a violent person has been going on for years.

There have been many incidents of taser use gone wrong throughout the history of using them. Since 2003 there has been at least 26 deaths as a possible result of a tasering in Canada. The most recent case that escalated in the news was that of Trevor Grimolfson. Grimolfson died after he was stunned by police when he ran wildly in an Edmonton pawn shop

The most broadcasted event of tasering involved Polish traveler Robert Dziekanski who became irate in the Vancouver airport after being confused after hours of looking where to go to meet up with his sister. The videos of his tasering hit the news, YouTube and other forms of media, shocking viewers. It showed Dziekanski picking up objects, waving his arms and yelling until he was jumped on, pinned to the ground and tasered.

The image was disturbing and the tactics used debatable. Dziekanski did not speak English, he was not vandalizing, hurting himself or others and was not on drugs. The video did not show anyone approaching him to try and calm him down and show him the way to the arrivals gate. When he was rushed and tackled, he did not try to fight back and did not take a swing at anyone. Tasering, I believe, was not to be used in this situation. There were so many more options available and no reason to resort to pulling out the stun gun.

It is instances like these that have made the use of tasers a controversial subject among Canadians. Alberta recognizes the importance of equipping its officers with these stun guns and is currently testing their tasers for malfunctions and glitches.

A press release sent out Jan. 27 shows that taser testing is underway in Alberta. The province has started an independent testing of 100 X-26 model tasers which are being used by police in the province. If a device is shown to not be operating according to the manufacturer specifications, it will be taken out of service.

There has been much talk about banning the use of tasers but a ban in the Canadian police force would not be a good idea, or the right idea. Tasers are on the belts of police to provide a level of force escalation before shooting. It partially or entirely subdues a person and places officers at less risk of personal injury than going about it without a taser. The risk lies with the person who is posing a major problem to police, not the police themselves. There’s no reason for a police officer to give up their security for the advantage of dangerous or violent people.

I agree that police have acted too quickly or carelessly when using one of these stun guns. There are instances when it seems that police are using them too casually and for their own convenience. This, of course, is not necessary, and there should be strict rules in place to make sure police are only tasering people as one of their last resorts or if they are in great danger of being attacked.

If anyone has attended the drug awareness presentation that is put on by the Ponoka RCMP and by Sgt. Lorne Adamitz from the RCMP ‘K’ Division it is obvious that the use of tasers should be administered in some of those cases.

The presentation shows how people on certain drugs can acquire superhuman strength when coming down from a high, making it impossible for even four or five officers to tackle one person. Sometimes, even the use of the taser barely makes them blink.

Tasers should be used to eliminate the need for a drawn gun when trying to neutralize a person and should not be used to tranquilize or sedate people who are annoying police when there are less risky methods that can be used.