Calgary police stand by Tasers

February 13, 2009
CTV Calgary

The Calgary Police Service will continue to use its Tasers.

In a written statement Friday, officials said they won't be making any changes to policies after Thursday's announcement by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The RCMP will no longer being using the devices to subdue suspects that are not posing a threat serious enough to involve the use of an officer's actual firearm.

The CPS says it already abides by a policy for Conducted Energy Devices that reads:

members will only use CEDs where a subject demonstrates assaultive/violent/suicidal behaviour or actively resists lawful arrest/apprehension or attempts to flee lawful arrest/apprehension.

The service says there is no evidence that directly links Taser use to causing the death of a suspect but officials will continue to monitor any new developments in research and abide by the rules set out by the province's Solicitor General.

In January, the Alberta government announced it would be testing hundreds of X-26 model Tasers purchased by police services in the province before January 1, 2006 but did not ban the devices.

The testing was ordered after reports some of the older model Tasers were putting out voltage levels higher than the 50 thousand volt shock they are designed for.