Kingston Police to start aiming stun guns lower

October 17, 2009
THE WHIG-STANDARD

Kingston Police officers will follow the lead of other large police agencies in Canada and start aiming their Tasers lower.

Taser International, the maker of the electric stun guns, issued a directive recently suggesting that the weapons should not be aimed at the chest.

Tasers deliver a jolt of electricity that momentarily incapacitates a person. The recommendation was designed to lessen any controversy about whether the guns affect the heart.

"We have issued an interim direction," Kingston Police Chief Stephen Tanner told the police services board yesterday (wed).

Only sergeants and specially trained tactical officers in the Kingston department carry Tasers.

"We will err on that side of caution," Tanner said.