NEW ZEALAND: The shocking truth about Tasers

July 17, 2011
Ian Steward, Sunday Star Times

A 14-year-old boy and a 70-year-old man are among the New Zealanders stunned by police Tasers since their introduction last year.

Figures obtained by the Sunday Star-Times show police have "presented" Tasers to offenders 797 times since March 2010 and, of these, they were fired 102 times. However, the police's Tactical Options Research database shows the weapons were ineffective on 36 of those 102 occasions, meaning the weapons worked only two-thirds of the time.

Green MP Keith Locke was concerned police needed to stun a pensioner and a teenager rather than subdue them in other ways. A 70-year-old could easily have a heart condition or circulatory problems – which had been linked to serious injury and death from Tasers overseas – and the boy's development could be harmed by being put in "a state of terror".

Locke said it had been observed in New Zealand's Taser trial and in overseas police forces that it was "just so tempting" for officers to pull out the Taser to induce compliance when other tactics were available.

"Do we want a form of policing that uses the terror of possible use?"

Police national firearm and taser project manager Superintendent John Rivers said Tasers were resulting in far fewer injuries to police.

"Not that many years ago I would have thought hand-to-hand engagement is a benign option – the hell it is. Far more people and police get hurt when it comes to fighting and scragging."

Police Association president Greg O'Connor also defended Tasers over hand-to-hand conflict.

"The worst injuries I got were from trying to subdue somebody who didn't want to be subdued."

Rivers defended the Tasers, saying they were a "less-lethal" option but they could have "unforseen consequences".

"We can't promise that some time in the future [a death or injury won't occur]. That's just the nature of policing."

Police said the 36 failures were due to "operator error" with the two probes either missing the offender or failing to lodge in their skin.

More worryingly, the stun guns have been fired more times by accident than in the line of duty, with concerns over officers' ineptitude with the weapons borne out by the statistic that Tasers have been "unintentionally discharged" 108 times.

All but one of these accidental firings has occurred during "pre-operation sign out checks" at police stations, predominantly where officers failed to notice a loaded Taser cartridge prior to carrying out checks.

The other accidental firing took place inside a police car, but police were unable to provide details.

Rivers said the failure rate was in line with international statistics.

"It's not infallible. There's no surprises in the way things are tracking."

The definition of a Taser being ineffective had recently been widened to include another option having to be used.

Several of those cases occurred because the incapacitation was "short term" and police had not moved in to restrain the person in time and they had "recommenced" their behaviour.

Rivers said the accidental discharges had not resulted in any injuries but he said it was "frustrating".

Ad Feedback Locke, an outspoken critic of Tasers, said the large number of times Tasers were presented showed a "mission creep" towards policing through fear.

"I would question whether the 797 times [would all] fit the guide line of serious danger to the officer."

He would not criticise the amount of training officers got with Tasers but he said: "You can never get enough training."

Feedback from officers on the ground was that "it has made them and the people they police safer".

New Zealand: Tasers fired in mental health cases

December 16, 2010
Victoria Robinson, Stuff

A new study shows that police tasers are more than twice as likely to be used at mental health emergencies than criminal arrests.

The study was conducted by Anthony O'Brien, senior lecturer in nursing at the University of Auckland.

O'Brien said he was shocked to find that tasers had been used by police in laser pointing mode at mental health facilities.

The laser pointing mode is one step away from discharging the taser.

"I was shocked to find that tasers have been used at mental health inpatient units.

"I would be extremely alarmed if we were moving the way of the United States where hospital staff have been given tasers. That is completely contrary to New Zealand policy which is aimed at improving in-patient services," O'Brien says.

The study also found Maori and Pacific people are far more likely to be tasered than Europeans.

The study was published recently in the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry.

A spokesman for the New Zealand police says officers at an incident decide whether or not to use their tasers based on the level of threat to themselves and those around them.

"The officer wouldn't know whether someone is a mental health patient or not unless there is an indication that there are issues," he says.

"As far as mental health goes, we're aware of all the issues and we have been in constant contact and discussions with mental health authorities."

New Zealand: 13% (THIRTEEN PERCENT!!) of tasers prove ineffective

Police trained in what to do when Taser fails

July 20, 2010
By IAN STEWARD - The Dominion Post

Police are trained to manually insert Taser probes if firing them into a target fails, national headquarters says.

Auckland police shot a man after a Taser proved ineffective on Sunday night, but police have not confirmed if a "stun drive", as the manual application is known, was attempted.

The 38-year-old was still in hospital yesterday having undergone surgery for bullet wounds to his arm, hand and abdomen.

Police were still investigating whether the man fired the air rifle he pointed at police, a spokeswoman said.

Forensic specialists, including ballistic experts, searched the scene in Nikau St, New Lynn, yesterday.

Police said they still did not know how many shots they fired or how many hit the man.

Superintendent Bill Searle said police could not be certain of the number until interviews and ballistic examinations were completed.

Superintendent John Rivers said it was "the nature of the business" that Tasers sometimes failed.

Six of 46 Taser firings have failed since their trial and roll-out, including two in the past eight days. Mr Rivers said all six related to a failure of one or both of the electrified probes from the Taser lodging in the target.

"Staff are trained to manage that. If they are in close quarters, they can do a stun drive."

Taser implementation team member Senior Sergeant Paddy Hannon said a "stun drive" or "contact stun" involved an officer taking one of the unconnected probes and pressing it on to the skin of the target.

The probes had to be a certain distance apart to provoke "neuro-muscular incapacitation" – sending the target into spasms – or they could placed close together to induce "pain compliance", he said.

Mr Rivers said the latest medical oversight report covered seven Taser discharges.

Three had resulted in secondary injuries when people suffered "bumps and bruises" from falling down.

Positive outcomes from the Taser, including cases where people had been successfully stunned to prevent them harming themselves, were sometimes ignored, he said.

New Zealand: Police Taser use to escape routine inquiry

March 18, 2010
By Derek Cheng, NZ Herald

Incidents of police firing the Taser device will no longer be routinely reviewed, as officers should not be deterred from using them for fear of being subject to a long investigation, Police Minister Judith Collins says.

Under the Taser trial, it was standard practice to investigate each instance when it was used. But Ms Collins said that would no longer be the case for the national roll-out, despite the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) thinking it should be standard practice.

"After the trial started, nobody actually made any complaints to IPCA about Tasers, so quite clearly there wasn't a problem," Ms Collins said.

"We're not going to have investigations every time a Taser is used. We get police officers shot, beaten up. I don't want these Tasers to be such a problem for police that they don't use them because they're worried they're going to get hauled through a huge IPCA investigation."

The national roll-out of Tasers, which deliver a 50,000-volt shock and are considered as a non-lethal alternative to guns, began this week.

By June, 3500 officers will be trained to use 733 Tasers across the police frontlines. Thirty-two Tasers were in use during the trial.

Ms Collins said every Taser had a video recorder that also recorded audio, which acted as a deterrent for misuse.

"Where there has been concern overseas, they didn't have cameras, and ours is a much more modern instrument."

She added that the IPCA was obliged to investigate any complaints, so people would still be free to lay complaints about Taser use if they wanted.

"The trial is officially over. It [the Taser] has absolute Government sanction and $10 million funding. But police are not going to be providing Tasers to their frontline troops and then having their frontline troops worry about using them."

She said in hindsight that fears of police misusing the Taser as a compliance tool were "a load of rubbish".

"It's already saved lives and police are doing a great job. I don't see the problem. If the alternative is the gunshot, I would say even a 50,000-volt electric shock from a Taser is a better result than a gunshot."

Meanwhile, Ms Collins said she supported Police Association concerns that growing disrespect for police could lead to more serious encounters, such as police assaults. The union says its members are reluctant to charge people for insulting behaviour because judges have not convicted in such cases, saying police should have to cope with insults as part of their job.

Ms Collins said she had to respect the independence of the judiciary, but added that police had the power to take people to police cells for a night for low-level offending.

"I am mostly concerned with the most serious levels of violence, but the lack of respect shown by people who should understand the need to uphold the law and respect for the law can be counterproductive."

United Nations to quiz New Zealand on stun guns

March 12, 2010
ABC Radio Australia

New Zealand's Justice Minister is heading to New York - and the United Nations Human Rights Committee - to defend his country's use of Taser stun-guns by police.

Simon Power will face questioning over two days from the committee of 18 countries on Tasers and other issues relevant to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The minister will be joined by New Zealand's ambassador to the United Nations, Jim McLay, a former National Party leader and Justice Minister.

Mr Power is expected to tell the committee that the electro-shock weapons have only been used on a few occasions by New Zealand police, and that they are an instrument of last resort.

New Zealand Police begin national rollout of Tasers

March 5, 2010
NZ TV

Nearly 700 Taser stun guns will be available to 3500 front line police throughout the country by August.

Operator training began in each police district this week and the Tasers will become available from later this month. By August 681 are expected to be available throughout the country.

The electronic stun guns will "not be carried on the hip as a matter of course, but will be readily available to frontline staff," police say.

The guns use a 50,000 volt electric current to stop people and are used in situations where previously police may have used firearms.

They were introduced in small numbers at the end of 2008 and police reported that targeted people were surrendering when the Taser was pointed at them.

The stun guns have been criticised as being able to cause physical harm and possibly death, but police say there have been no known side effects when used in New Zealand.

Police Commissioner Howard Broad says Tasers have been used in the Auckland, Waitemata, Counties Manukau and Wellington police districts for just over a year and 10 people had been tasered.

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"It's pretty clear that in several instances, the person could have been shot with a firearm if Tasers hadn't been available," Broad says on the police website.

He says Tasers are drawn 132 times and 92% of incidents are successfully resolved without them being discharged.

Police refuse to release NZ Taser footage

Arming New Zealand police with tasers has been hailed as a success, but there is a secret attached to the gun that police aren't happy to share.

Unbeknown to many people, each taser has a camera underneath the handgrip that films the gun being used on offenders.

Steve Tuttle, Vice President of Communications at Taser International, says the footage "helps communities understand what police officers face in the field."

However, New Zealand is unlikely to ever see the footage shot here as police bosses won't release it, suggesting to ONE News that the Taser use should be given positive coverage instead.

The Taser was shown in use in August 2006 when the weapon was unveiled, but that was in strictly controlled conditions and used on police staff with medical staff on stand-by.

In 2008 police installed the Taser-cam saying that it would "assist with accountability" and reassure people the Taser was safe.

When police Tasered a man after a car chase in Auckland in March 2009, ONE News asked police to release the footage under the Official Information Act. Police refused the request, saying that the offender had a right to privacy despite ONE News' assurance that the offender's identity would be concealed.

Tuttle disagrees, saying that "if there's something that controversial, I don't see why law agencies wouldn't want to show that... we did create that Taser-cam to be viewed."

And Green Party MP Keith Locke is questioning what the police have got to hide.

"They've got these cameras on these Tasers, they should let us see the footage," says Locke.

The Taser will be in police hands throughout the country by the end of August.

NZ Complaints Authority To Talk To Police About Taser Data

February 17, 2010
guide2.co.nz

Police Minister Judith Collins is not convinced there is a need for mandatory reporting of all taser use by police to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

Ms Collins said police were trained properly in their use and had to follow guidelines.

Unlike other countries New Zealand police tasers had automatic sound and vision recording every time they were used to monitor behaviour, Ms Collins said.

Authority chairwoman Justice Lowell Goddard today told Parliament's law and order select committee that police did provide data about taser use but there was no requirement for them to do so.

She said a memorandum of agreement could be a way of improving that.

"I think we need to do that by agreement with police because I would not have jurisdiction to demand that they advise me every time they discharge a taser -- it would be done under a memorandum of agreement, but I think it's a matter probably we should discuss with police, so that we are able to say `yes we are monitoring this'."

However she said the authority's focus was on how they were used, rather than the fact they were in use.

Tasers were used in 124 incidents during 2009 and on nine occasions they were discharged.

There had been no complaints since July 2008 but there were three before then. Tasers were introduced in 2008.

Ms Collins said there already was mandatory reporting of all incidents causing death and serious harm, in addition anyone could complain if they felt a taser had been used or presented in an appropriate way.

Green MP Keith Locke said it would be good if every incident involving tasers was reported and not just cases when they were fired.

Mr Locke said the roll-out from 32 tasers in New Zealand to 680 presented a danger of over-use and the way to control that was to have a full reporting system.

He said the Canadian equivalent of the authority found when tasers became embedded in the police system there was inappropriate use of them to try to get compliance in violent situations.

With the increasing presence of tasers in New Zealand there could be a creep towards misuse.

"We don't want the public unnecessarily threatened by over-use of the taser."

Police taser roll-out now a step closer

July 1, 2009
Radio New Zealand

The introduction of the taser for use by New Zealand police has moved a step closer with the completion of a national roadshow on the use of the weapon. Inspector Jason Ross says a focus of the briefings for police and the media was to dispel what he says are myths about the taser.

While people have died after being tased overseas, he says no-one has died as a direct result of the electric shock.**

The issue of 681 tasers will be rolled-out across New Zealand from about March next year.

- 30 -

**That is an outright lie. According to Amnesty International, the taser has been directly linked by coroners/medical examiners to at least 50 deaths. That number would be higher; however medical examiners and coroners are often not impartial but are instead biased in favour of the Crown or, as has been shown, they are under tremendous pressure from - among others - Taser International, to make a particular finding. See Judge rules for Taser in cause-of-death decisions.

$10m earmarked for police 'tools of torture'

May 23, 2009
By MARTIN KAY - The Dominion Post

The Maori Party says giving police Tasers will arm them with "tools of torture", even though its MPs must vote for the Budget to fund them.

Police Minister Judith Collins said yesterday that $10 million would be set aside in Thursday's Budget to provide all police districts with the 50,000-volt stun guns in the next three years.

The funding would pay for all aspects of the deployment, including the weapons, audio-video cameras attached to Tasers to film their use and training. It would bring the number of Tasers to 720. About 3500 officers would be trained to use them.

At present, just 44 Tasers are available in the four police districts, including Wellington, where they were trialled before last year's decision to issue them nationally. Increasing the availability of the guns was announced last week, but not the level of funding.

Police say the weapons are necessary to provide a non-lethal response to violent offenders, but critics say they have the potential to be misused, with Maori and the mentally-ill most at risk.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture expressed concern this week about New Zealand police being issued with Tasers, saying they caused severe pain that was a "form of torture".

Maori Party police spokesman Hone Harawira said the party, which is in a confidence and supply agreement with National, supported the UN findings.

"The last time I checked the job description of this country's police force I didn't come across any duty to torture people. We realise there are dangerous people out there, but we also know there are innocent people out there, and therefore we don't want tools of torture in the hands of police or anyone else."

Despite concern about the national rollout of Tasers, the Maori Party will have to vote in favour as its deal with National means it must support Budgets.

It is not the first time the agreement has seen the party vote for measures it does not agree with. Before Christmas, it was forced to back National's first round of tax cuts, despite figures showing they would deliver less to low income workers over time than those planned by Labour.

A disproportionate number of low income workers are Maori.

Ms Collins said "rigorous rules" would be in place to govern the use of Tasers.

Police Association vice-president Stuart Mills said the weapons would "save lives and prevent serious injuries".

"Tasers give officers an effective means to protect themselves, and the public they serve, without being forced to resort to lethal force." [Where have we heard THAT before??]

Tasers pass safety tests, say New Zealand police

New Zealand police are assuring the public that the new tasers being issued to frontline officers are SAFER than those used in North America because their new tasers were manufactured in 2007. Have they actually tested those tasers independently to confirm that they do indeed conform to the manufacturer's specifications? If critical problems exist with tasers manufactured prior to 2006, how can the New Zealand police say with any credibility that those same problems don't exist on the new model unless they DO test them? And how can they know for certain that the guts from tasers manufactured pre-2006 haven't been transplanted into some of the newer tasers?

December 10, 2008
EMILY WATT - The Dominion Post

Armed police in Wellington and Auckland have been equipped with Tasers in the first stage of a national rollout of the 50,000-volt stun guns.

This comes as Canadian police have withdrawn 24 Tasers for testing after research found some guns delivered up to 58 per cent more charge than they should.

Of 44 Tasers tested from United States police agencies, four weapons produced from 47 per cent more to 58 per cent more power than the manufacturer said was possible. All four faulty weapons were sold in 2004.

Testing scientists claimed the higher electrical current was enough to raise the risk of an irregular heartbeat to as much as 50 per cent for those with existing heart troubles.

Taser International has challenged those findings and maintains the stun gun is safe.

A police spokesman said New Zealand Tasers were not affected by the Canadian reports as they were manufactured in 2007. Those used in the trial in 2006 had all been re-tested.

Police Commissioner Howard Broad decided to issue Tasers this year after a trial in 2006 to 2007.

Superintendent John Rivers said selected Auckland and Wellington staff would get Tasers first and other staff would begin their training in February. The weapons would be fitted with video cameras to help accountability.

"We are very conscious of the need to reassure people that this new technology is designed to provide greater safety for police and members of the community when dealing with violent incidents."

Police to get tasers despite overseas concerns

December 10, 2008
The New Zealand Herald

New Zealand police are to receive tasers from today though their Canadian colleagues have just announced they are retesting some of their stun guns after a critical report.

The tasers are set to be distributed to the police's Armed Offenders Squad members in Auckland and Wellington.

But the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has come under increasing pressure over its taser policy after a report found the weapons could fire excessively strong charges. The 24 weapons to be tested were manufactured before 2006.

An official Canadian report in September found that the Mounties had not done enough research on the dangers of tasers before approving the weapons for use.

Amnesty International has said the weapon is linked to more than 290 deaths in North America since 2001, and not enough is known about potential health risks, such as heart failure.

Police here have said the weapon is needed as a non-lethal option.

New Zealand police project manager Superintendent John Rivers said some general duties police officers will receive training in the use of the taser in February next year.

He said the tasers will be fitted with an audio and video device that will begin recording when the weapon is used.

"Stringent instructions have been developed based on the findings of the trial. These provide very clear operating guidelines and, in the event of any inappropriate use of the taser, set down procedures for action to be taken," Mr Rivers said.

He said the taser will not be routinely carried by police officers. Officers' will need to obtain permission from their supervisor or a communications centre supervisor before taking the weapon to an incident.

"Before the application of a taser the officer involved must
have an honest belief that the subject (offender), by age, size, apparent physical ability, threats made, or a combination of these, is capable of carrying out the threat posed and that the use of the taser is warranted.

"We are very conscious of the need to reassure people that this new less-lethal technology is designed to provide greater safety not only for police staff but also members of the community when dealing with violent incidents," said Mr Rivers.

A year-long trial of tasers in New Zealand ended in August last year.

Police fired the taser 20 times during the trial and also drew the stun gun over 120 times.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that Canadian police have used the taser 4,000 times since its introduction in 2001. More than 20 people have died in Canada after being shot by the taser.

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.

Taser trial a 'total farce'

June 30, 2008
MARISSA CALLIGEROS, Wellington Times

Civil libertarians have condemned a Queensland police trial of taser stun guns as a "total farce", renewing calls for a judicial inquiry ahead of a state-wide rollout of the controversial electric shock weapons. The State Government yesterday concluded a 12 month taser trial by police across the south-east, and is now in the process of analysing the results.

Police Minister Judy Spence, who lauded the success of the weapons long before the trial ended, has they will be handed to all frontline officers by the end of the year.

But Queensland Council of Civil Liberties (QCCL) president Michael Cope today described the move as "premature and dangerous". "Until a proper judicial inquiry is conducted taser guns shouldn't be used...the current inquiry is basically a farce," Mr Cope said. "It is quite clear from overseas experiences and our own that police have over-used tasers. They are using them in whatever circumstances they like. In September last year, Amnesty International linked the use of tasers by police in Canada to 290 deaths...and here we are about to release them across the state. "This is entirely premature and dangerous."

However, the police union has hit back at such claims, saying concerns from civil libertarians were completely unfounded. "Tasers will be used in situations where other uses of force would ordinarily be used," a police union spokesman said. "Tasers do a lot less damage than a baton or pistol. This is a sound, reasonable alternative to lethal weapons."

A taser delivers 50,000-volt electrical pulses in a five-second period when fired into a person from up to 10 metres away. The electrical current emitted from the barbed electrodes causes involuntary muscle contractions and immobilises the victim, leaving them unable to fight or attack.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson today declared tasers more effective than capsicum spray. He said the stun guns, known in police parlance as electro-muscular disruption devices, had been used 106 times during the 12 month trial, while the threat of using one had been enough to diffuse the situation on 71 occasions.

Mr Atkinson told ABC Radio this morning both police and people involved in those 106 incidents would have otherwise been seriously injured.


He said a state wide rollout of the stun guns would be one of the best options ever introduced.


Halfway through the trial Police Minister Judy Spence declared tasers a "success" with no negative impacts.


She is expected to make an announcement about the future use of tasers in the next month.

"There is significant work to be done to prepare for the rollout, including training of officers and the provision of appropriately secure storage facilities for stations," Ms Spence said.

"In the interim, (the use of tasers) will be governed by the same guidelines as during the trial, and their use will continue to be monitored and assessed."

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.

Taser Country

wotzon.com

A Wellington [New Zealand] businessman and leadership consultant has created an exhibition of graphic visual images to generate public discussion about the consequences of introducing the Taser as an everyday policing tool in New Zealand.

Lawrence Green says there hasn’t been enough debate about the issue in this country and he is deeply concerned at the possibility of the Taser being introduced.

“I am not the kind of person who joins protest groups or political parties or stands on a soapbox, but I needed an outlet to express what was stirring me up,” he said. “I have always been drawn to the world of visual advertising and to the poster work of political/satirical artists - the way they use language and imagery to communicate. So creating my own posters seemed like a good idea to capture people’s attention and make them think.”

Lawrence Green says while there is no doubt that police face many difficult situations in the course of duty that can be a threat to their own safety as well as the safety of others, and while advocates of the Taser argue that it will actually save lives (because it is 'less-lethal' than a gun), the North American experience shows unnecessary lives lost.

“Between June 2001 and September 2007, Amnesty International recorded 291 deaths of individuals struck by police Tasers in North America. They reported that the vast majority of these deaths were unarmed men who did not pose "a threat of death or serious injury when they were electro-shocked". In only 25 of the 291 deaths was the individual reported to be armed in any way.

“I am not sure that New Zealanders want a country where it is deemed socially acceptable that a certain number of people die as the price for police carrying out their duties. We need to keep what is good about our country and not lose it by becoming more like North

America in this regard. I believe that if we start down this path there is a real risk that we will lose something as a caring and humanitarian nation.”

Lawrence has pulled his ideas together in 12 different posters, which directly address issues raised by the experience of the United States where he says police have begun using the Taser routinely rather than as a weapon of last resort.

“The Taser is described as having a ‘low level electrical discharge’ but it actually hits people with 50,000 volts of electricity. As it has the capacity to inflict multiple and prolonged electric shocks, it is easily abused. Amnesty International also reported that in about a third of the North American cases those who died were subjected to between 3 and 21 shocks. In November 2007 the United Nations Committee Against Torture described the Taser as an instrument of torture because of the extreme pain it provokes.”

NZ government, not police, should make taser decision

December 17, 2007
Press Release: Green Party

Green MP Keith Locke has written to the Prime Minister urging the Government, not the police, to make the decision over whether Tasers should be brought into the police armoury.

Police Minister Annette King has said it is an operational matter, which she need not be involved in. The police are currently reviewing the year-long Taser trial, which finished at the end of August.

"There are two main reasons why the decision should not be left to the police," Mr Locke, Green Party Police Spokesperson says. "Firstly, the Taser is a dangerous weapon, which has been associated with the death of close to 300 people in North America between 2001 and 2007, as Amnesty International reported last week. "Secondly, there are major questions of international law to be resolved. Taser use could breach New Zealand's adherence to the United Nations Convention against Torture. Last month the UN Committee against Torture determined that the Taser 'constituted a form of torture'.

"The weapon certainly inspires fear, but the Government should consider whether this is good for police/community relations. There is a temptation for police to threaten disorderly offenders with a Taser even when they present no physical danger. Last week the Campaign Against the Taser reported many such cases in the year-long Taser trial.

"Taser use remains controversial in countries where it has been introduced. There is currently huge debate in Canada following the death of a man at Vancouver Airport after he was tasered. As a result the Canadian police complaints authority has urged police to sharply curtail the use of Tasers.

"The Government should not be intimidated by the Police Association, which is lambasting all Taser critics and insisting that a decision on its introduction should be made by police alone. This is not an operational matter, akin to what sort of cars they should drive or the look of their uniforms, and the Government cannot stand aside," Mr Locke says.

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.

Taser investment stuns MP

New Zealand stungun foe Keith Locke has found out that the NZ Superannuation Fund has a $780,000 investment in Taser International.

The Green Party MP said yesterday he had been "amazed" by his discovery. "They should quickly disinvest, particularly now that the United Nations Committee on Torture has designated the Taser as a torture weapon," he said. "Such disinvestment would be consistent with the fund's earlier decision to quit its tobacco company shares."

Mr Locke said that legally, the investment was inconsistent with New Zealand's adherence to the UN Convention Against Torture. He acknowledged that Taser International might be a growth stock.

"That's partly because it is promoting a home consumer model, so that ordinary Americans can zap each other."

Video reignites taser debate in New Zealand

November 15, 2007

Video of Canadian police tasering a man to death is bound to re-open debate on the use of the weapon in New Zealand. A decision is expected in a few weeks after a year of trailling the taser across the country.

The trial ended in August and it is expected a report on the pilot will be presented to the police commissioner before Christmas. Statistics reveal there were 120 incidents were tasers were presented during the trial, but they were only discharged 19 times. The trial has stirred up much controversy. Critics argue that they are too dangerous.

But New Zealand First's police spokesman is calling for police to be issued with tasers now. And the Police Association say tasers are essential in the increasingly violent atmosphere police have to deal with.