Tasers have improved the quality of policing services, according to Oak Bay Police Department Const. Tim Henderson.

Conducted energy weapons (of which Tasers are the most well-known brand) offer officers another tool that is effective, under most circumstances, in bringing situations under control with minimal risk or harm, he said.

"There are situations where police officers will use a Taser where they would be equally justified to use a firearm but because they made the decision to use a conducted energy weapon, a life was saved," said Henderson. "People's lives are saved everyday with these things. At the end of the day we have a range of tools to perform our responsibility to protect the community and the choice of tool is going to be very dependent upon the situation, circumstances and training. Anytime we draw a weapon we have to justify and account for why we did that."

Henderson, who is responsible for training officers in weapon use, says he'd like to see every officer in the department carrying a Taser.

"We issue firearms for police officer protection and for the police officer to use as a tool to protect the community. The police officer is accountable for that weapon at all times, so why would we treat a conducted energy weapon in any less of a manner?" he said. "Given all of the political rhetoric, all of the fear, all of the concern, all of the issues about accountability, why would we not treat a conducted energy weapon exactly the same way as we treat a firearm in terms of accountability?"

However, the president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association has concerns with stocking up on stun guns. Since officers aren't always out on the beat, Rob Holmes says it doesn't make sense for every officer to carry a Taser. And then there's the issue of misuse.

"Too many officers get too lax about what should be the appropriate standard and start thinking they can use it for any kind of situation where somebody is just not immediately obeying their command," he said. "Because it is held out as a non-lethal weapon, unfortunately it gets overused as a result of misunderstandings and miscommunications about when it may properly be used. We have to have clear and decisive protocol before we allow the use of this kind of gadget."

The Oak Bay Police Department does have written policy outlining when it's appropriate to use a Taser.

"The most simple use of the Taser is without even drawing it from the holster (by warning) the individual: 'either comply or you will be subject to a conductive energy weapon.' That essentially is the same as our presence showing up in uniform," said Henderson. "The next level would be to draw the weapon and have it in our hand pointed at the ground. After that, the next level would be to activate the safety switch so that the laser comes on and actually point it at the individual. That is probably the second most common deployment of the Taser, the most common being the threat."

Given all of the circumstances, he says a Taser can only be discharged if the officer has reasonable belief there's going to be assaultive resistance or the person poses a threat or serious bodily harm to themselves, the police officer or others. Tasers can be fired in two modes which have different approaches and objectives, he added.

"The push-stun mode is very similar to using a baton or using pepper spray. You are attempting to gain compliance from the individual," said Henderson, adding this only causes a localized effect. "The probe mode is specifically to cause temporary incapacitation. The individual is incapable of moving for five seconds and during that time the police officer supporting the Taser operator takes physical custody of the individual while the weapon is cycling. For every 100 times a conducted energy weapon is deployed, only 10 will result in a discharge."

Since January 2007, police incident reports for Oak Bay show members have deployed a Taser seven times, twice of which resulted in firing the weapon.

kschoenit@oakbaynews.com

Next year the Oak Bay Police Department is hoping to replace a three-year-old broken Taser.

The 2009 budget has allocated $1,500 for a new X26, the same model that's currently not working. Const. Tim Henderson says the safety switch on the weapon is broken and is not serviceable.

"It's like all of our equipment, you make sure it's fully operational before you head out on the road," he said. "So every day it gets taken out to be checked. You turn the safety off so that you can see all of the systems are working. Then, in a safe direction, you pull the trigger and cycle the weapon for a second or two, rather than letting it cycle for a full five seconds. That puts a stress on the hardware of the weapon."

The Taser broke about six months ago but, due to political concerns about the devices, the department didn't authorize a replacement right away, said Henderson.

"Is is common for that particular make/mode? I don't know, but it's like any piece of equipment that's used on a regular basis. Things weaken, things break and it's a question of getting them fixed so the piece of equipment is fully functional and can be relied upon by the members and general public."