New Zealand: taser decision unprincipled and dangerous

Friday, 29 August 2008
Press Release: Campaign Against the Taser

Campaign Against the Taser (CATT) has expressed deep concern about the Police Commissioner's decision to introduce Tasers, describing it as unprincipled and dangerous. "Our analysis of the preliminary information about the trial initially released by the police indicated that more than 40% of incidents between just September 2006 and March 2007 were in breach of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) drawn up to regulate Taser use during the trial period", spokesperson Marie Dyhrberg said today.

"The Police Commissioner's decision has been made despite repeated calls for delay until the public had had the opportunity to view and comment on all relevant information about the trial, not just the summaries released by Police, which the Chief Ombudsman called "sanitised". Despite the Chief Ombudsman's recommendation in May that wrongly withheld information be released to CATT, the police have still not provided information covering the full year of the trial."

In CATT's report, Stun guns in Aotearoa New Zealand? The shocking trial, serious concerns were raised about inappropriate and dangerous use of Tasers during the trial, such as use of the weapons in service stations, on individuals in mental health crisis, on people whose behaviour was not assaultive, and the disproportionate number of Maori and Pacific people targeted with Tasers. In addition, it highlighted the increasing controversy over the use of Tasers overseas as the death toll among those struck by police Tasers continues to rise, and the United Nations Committee Against Torture's description of the use of TaserX26 weapons as constituting a form of torture which could in certain cases cause death.

"There has been no public discussion of these concerns, and without the complete set of information about the New Zealand trial, it has not even been possible for the public to properly assess the trial. The trial has been run by Police, assessed by Police, and now the decision has been made by Police, with no transparency or openness in the process", Dyhrberg said. "Transparency is especially important in a trial, which is supposed to provide an opportunity for reflection and considered debate - this trial has had neither."

"The Police Commissioner said that the debate in the House on Wednesday did not raise any new issues. That is no wonder - how can the matter be properly debated when most of the relevant information is kept secret? A decision such as this, which will change the face of policing in New Zealand, should be subject to a rigorous democratic process and public scrutiny. The decision is both unprincipled and dangerous, and the lack of process and transparency around it is unacceptable in a modern democracy."

It is inevitable that at some point there will be serious injuries or deaths related to Taser use, and that the introduction of the Taser will needlessly increase the violence of policing in New Zealand. CATT remains concerned about the lack of thorough and independent investigations into Taser use and its effects. The Campaign is also concerned that Tasers will be used as a tool of routine force, not of last resort, and that vulnerable groups (such as those with mental health issues) will again be inappropriately subjected to electric shocks.

New Zealand: Chief Ombudsman says the police have wrongly withheld information from the public about a trial of taser stun guns

The Chief Ombudsman says the police have wrongly withheld information from the public about a trial of taser stun guns.

A group opposed to the police use of the weapon, Campaign Against the Taser, laid a complaint with the Ombudsman following last year's trial. It says a large amount of factual information was kept from the public by police on the grounds that it personally identified those involved.

However, a spokesperson for the group, Marie Dyhrberg, says the information has been requested to assess the trial, including the extent to which police followed their own guidelines. Ms Dyhrberg says the Chief Ombudsman recognises the information should be made available, because there is a very strong public interest in the transparency of the scheme, and whether or not tasers ought to be introduced.

In a letter to the group, the Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem upheld their complaint, stating the original police summaries of the trial are extremely brief and sanatised.

She is recommending the police release the information.

JUNE 7, 2008 - UPDATE

WHY DOES THIS ALL SOUND SO FAMILIAR?!?! Oh I remember now - the RCMP here in Canada pulled the same crap.

Police to publish more details on Taser use

The Police say they will follow the Chief Ombudsman's recommendation to release information excluded from the year long Taser trial. The Chief Ombudsman has criticised police for "sanitising" incident reports by withholding information.

Taser opponents say the police's climb-down is too little too late.

The 12- month test of the 50,000-volt Taser stun gun ended last August. Police records show during that time, Tasers were drawn on 128 occasions and discharged 20 times.

Summaries of every incident involving a Taser are posted on the Police website, but in her report the Chief Ombudsman Beverley Wakem says: "Many of the summaries are extremely brief, and have the overall effect of sanitising the original reports."

Green Party police spokesman Keith Locke says this amounts to police secrecy. "I think the police started out this trial with the impression that we definitely need the Taser, and we don't really need to justify ourselves too much. "The Ombudsman pulled the Police up and says 'you've got to give a full account to the public'."

Mr Locke points to a number of incidents where people were shot with the Taser because they failed to cooperate with police. "The Taser is only supposed to be used according to police specifications in really dangerous situations, not where someone jiggling around and being a bit slow to allow the hand cuffs on," he says.

"What information has been published by the police is scant, it is misleading and it is very, very brief in terms of the actual incidents themselves and what the public ought to be shown and consider if they're going to be part of a decision whether to arm the police again," says Marie Dyhrberg of the Campaign Against The Taser group.

But Police deny the brevity of the incident reports had anything to do with a lack of transparency, although there was not much transparency today. No one from Police national headquarters was available for comment, but in a statement Police said they believe strongly in free and frank reporting of all incidents. They also said they will now be releasing all Taser-related information to the public.

New Zealand taser trial cops broke rules 40% of time

December 15, 2007
MARTIN KAY - The Dominion Post

Police breached procedures for Tasers on 40 per cent of occasions when they were used in the first six months of their trial, a group opposed to use of the stun-guns claims.

Campaign Against the Taser, headed by prominent Auckland barrister Marie Dyhrberg, said police regularly presented or fired the weapons at people below the authorised threat threshold.

A study of police statistics shows 27 of the 69 people were not assaultive, the lowest category allowed. Eleven were classed as compliant, 11 passive-resistant (not obeying instructions) and five active resistant (pushing officers away or running off). Two were not classified. In three of the 27 cases Tasers were fired.

Police say Tasers, which deliver a 50,000-volt shock that briefly paralyses the target, are a vital alternative to deadly force.

But opponents say they can kill - and could be used when a non-violent method was appropriate. Last month a United Nations committee said they were a form of torture.

Ms Dyhrberg said the fact that only three of the 27 people were shot did not mean the other cases were not misused. "It's an abuse of force even for the police to threaten somebody when they do not have the power to do so. It's a very short step then to an unlawful situation becoming accepted routine."

The Catt study also claims police twice presented Tasers at petrol stations - against procedures because of the potential to spark an explosion. In another case, an officer accidentally fired a Taser into the floor while using its laser sight as a torch during a warehouse search. Another report from the New Zealand College of Mental Health Nurses said Tasers were used disproportionately on the mentally ill. Half those with a mental illness presented with a Taser were shot. The reports are designed to pressure Police Commissioner Howard Broad as he considers a report on the Taser trial, held in Auckland and Wellington for a year from September 2006. He will decide whether to introduce them next month.

A spokeswoman said police did not accept Tasers were misused 40 per cent of the time. Police had consulted the mental health sector, and its views would be considered. The Catt report also highlights publicised cases of accidents, including one in which a 16-year-old boy was hit as his father was fired at. Catt wants the trial independently reviewed and any decision on introduction made by the Government. Police Minister Annette King has said it is an operational decision for police.