Tasers wanted for community peace officers

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

Many police forces are being supplied conducted energy weapons (CEW), also known as tasers, as an alternative weapon to be used in conflict situations.
Wheatland County council ratified its support for a resolution to supply municipal community peace officers with CEWs. The resolution is being introduced to the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) for added support behind arming municipal officers with tasers after the appropriate training and certification, to be used under supervised guidelines. If supported by other rural municipalities, the resolution will be presented to Alberta’s justice minister for approval.
“We have officers that are in remote locations. You can call RCMP … but it does not mean that they are available. Sometimes they can’t respond in a timely fashion,” said Wheatland County Reeve Amber Link. “This is one more tool.”
Calgary Police Inspector Chris Butler supplied background information as to why a CEW is a good addition to enforcement tool kits. His information states the CEW has been deemed the safest and most effective way to subdue violent subjects, providing a less lethal response than manual restraint or using a service revolver.
“With the continued increase and prevalence of highly addictive, mind altering drugs in Alberta, law enforcement officers are being confronted by subjects under their influence on an increasing basis,” said Butler. “The option of CEW deployment to control these subjects is an important consideration for the safety of the law enforcement officers, members of the public and ultimately the violent subject themselves.”
The reduction of injury has been proven in a Calgary study of 271 incidents where a CEW was used. Harm levels were compared with manual measures of subduing violent subjects. Manual tactics caused bodily harm 13 per cent of the time; however, with the use of a CEW, injury only occurred three per cent of the time.
There is a misconception that a CEW delivers a high voltage shock. Butler’s report indicated it delivers between 1,000 and 1,500 volts but only three amps of electricity, which is less than an electrical outlet.
Critics state that the weapons effect cannot always be known. There have been inquiries and deaths that have occurred after the use of a CEW. Some theorize the device increases chemistry in the body that accelerates the substance taken by subjects.
There are also counter studies like the one from January 2019, “Electrical weapons and excited delirium: shocks, stress, and serum serotonin,” which appeared in the journal Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology. The study concluded CEW’s do not have a significant effect altering human chemistry. However, the study group to whom the shocks were applied was a class of cadets that presumably were not under the effect of street drugs.
The issues continue to be investigated by scientists and there are also new improvements in the technology. This year, the company Digital Ally has patented a CEW that is wireless and has modification factors that can be used in different scenarios.
Wheatland County Councillor Ben Armstrong said he is not sure it is an appropriate device for community peace officers. He was concerned with liability and management of unconscious individuals where a CEW was used. He suggested that the peace officers can call the RCMP in violent situations.
“If you give someone the ability to use it, they will use it,” said Armstrong. “If you are getting to the point where you have to use it, you have to get the RCMP involved anyway.”
Link countered his considerations and council approved forwarding the resolution to the RMA for their consideration.