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.

Local cops release use of force stats

Belleville, Ontario - Population 45,986 - has 6 tasers - "used" the taser 18 times, discharged it *only* 9 times last year

Waterloo, Ontario - Population 97,475 - has ?? tasers - discharged 29 times last year

Chatham, Ontario - Population 108,177 - has ?? tasers - used seven times and "only in specific circumstances" last year

Kingston, Ontario - Population 114,195 - has 34 tasers - fired them 4 times last year

April 24, 2009
ERICA BAJER, THE DAILY NEWS (Chatham, Ontario)

Chatham-Kent Police Service officers used force 85 times last year, according to statistics released this week.

Deputy Chief Clare Wiersma told the Chatham-Kent Police Services Board officers discharged their firearms 11 times in 2008. He said in all of those incidents, firearms were used in the humane destruction of injured animals.

Police pointed their guns at people 35 times last year and used pepper spray 20 times.

Wiersma said Tasers were used seven times and only in specific circumstances.

"The officers are using them judiciously," he told the board. "We monitor those very closely.

The Taser has prove itself to be a valuable use of force option."

According to the use of force statistics, police used a baton once and a police dog twice. Physical control was used nine times.

In 2008, Wiersma said officers were involved in 17 pursuits, which was up from 13 in 2007.

He said police chases are strictly monitored and analyzed after the fact. Many of the reported pursuits were terminated shortly after they started, he added.

Wiersma also told the board there were 28 public complaints laid in 2008 and 64 internal affairs investigations.

"For both the public complaints and internal affairs matters, there were relatively few serious misconducts," he said, adding no criminal charges were laid and two misconduct cases were dealt with through Police Service Act hearings.

He said some of the cases were resolved through informal discipline.

Police use Tasers four times, report reveals

Belleville, Ontario - Population 45,986 - has 6 tasers - "used" the taser 18 times, discharged it *only* 9 times last year

Waterloo, Ontario - Population 97,475 - has ?? tasers - discharged 29 times last year

Chatham, Ontario - Population 108,177 - has ?? tasers - used seven times and "only in specific circumstances" last year

Kingston, Ontario - Population 114,195 - has 34 tasers - fired them 4 times last year

April 23, 2009
ROB TRIPP, Kingston Whig Standard

Kingston Police officers fired electric stun guns four times last year, according to a report presented today at Police Service Board meeting on the use of force by officers in 2008.

The Taser shootings were among 40 uses of force, including seven incidents in which guns were fired to euthanize deer that had been hit by vehicles.

Pepper spray was used seven times. A baton was used once. A Taser was drawn from a holster by an officer five times without being fired.

Police Chief Stephen Tanner also revealed that a second round of laboratory testing has been completed on Tasers used by Kingston Police. A second weapon was found to be operating outside specifications.

The gun was not pulsing properly and will be sent to the American manufacturer, either for repair or replacement.

Last month, Tanner said tests on 19 of the department’s 34 Tasers found that all are discharging the correct amount of electricity, but one was not pulsing properly.

The weapons are designed to deliver 50,000 volts of electricity that briefly incapacitates a person.

Tanner said Kingston Police have one more Taser to be tested.

Taser testing reveals glitch in one Kingston stun gun

March 20, 2009
ROB TRIPP, Kingston Whig-Standard

Kingston Police have sent one of their electric stun guns back to its American manufacturer after tests showed it was not operating according to specifications.

Chief Stephen Tanner said the Taser is one of 19 that was tested at an independent Ottawa laboratory.

The tests showed that all of the weapons are discharging acceptable amounts of electricity. They are designed to deliver 50,000 volts to incapacitate a person.

Kingston's Tasers are supposed to operate with a pulse rate between 16.5 and 20 pulses per second. The faulty gun pulsed at 16.1.

"I'm not sure that's scientifically significant," Tanner said, in an interview.

He's not sure what problem would be caused by the lower pulse rate.

"It was probably delivering less of an impact," Tanner said yesterday, at a meeting of the police services board, the civilian body that oversees the department.

To be certain it doesn't present a problem, Kingston Police are shipping the weapon to Taser International and asking the firm to bring the gun back within specs.

"It probably is not a warranty matter," Tanner said, though he doesn't expect it will be costly fix.

If the gun can't be adjusted, it will be replaced.

Kingston Police have 34 Tasers. All are undergoing independent tests to satisfy public concern about the weapons after an investigative report broadcast last December by CBC television found that some older model Tasers emitted much larger shocks than the American manufacturer said was possible.

The finding fuelled public controversy about the weapons and prompted many police agencies to pull the weapons out of use until they could be tested.

Kingston Police did not stop using their Tasers.

CBC sent 44 Tasers to an independent lab in the U.S. for analysis.

All of Kingston's Tasers are the older model that was part of the CBC testing.

Tanner said the department's remaining Tasers should be tested within the next week or two.

Kingston - taser testing not done

January 22, 2009
ROB TRIPP, WHIG-STANDARD POLICE REPORTER

Kingston police have not had any of their 34 Taser tested, seven weeks after an investigative report raised concern that some older models of the weapon could deliver much larger shocks than the manufacturer says is possible.

Last month, Kingston Chief Stephen Tanner said the weapons would be tested.

"It's not stalled, we're just trying to work through the logistics," said Insp. Brian Coachman, of Kingston Police. "There's only one company right now that has been used."

That firm, MPB Electronics in Quanta [Reality Chick here: I think they mean Kanata], has tested Tasers used by Ottawa officers and York Regional Police officers.

"Every unit that we sent successfully completed the testing from the perspective that it was operating within the specifications as established by Taser International," Armanda La Barge, York's police chief, told the Whig-Standard in an interview yesterday.

Last month, Ottawa police said their Tasers that were tested were found to be operating within specifications.

MPB tested 21 York Tasers. The department of more than 1,300 officers has 30 Tasers that are used only by tactical officers.

The remaining units also will be tested, La Barge said. He said he was happy to see that the weapons are operating within specs. "I was relatively confident that would be the case," he said. "I have a responsibility to the citizens and I have a responsibility to the officers that we put these tools in the hands of."

Many police agencies are scrambling to find independent labs to test their Tasers after a CBC television report in early December. It found that some older model Tasers, units manufactured before 2005, delivered far greater electrical shocks than the manufacturer said was possible. In some cases, the current was up to 50% stronger than specifications.

Taser International, the U. S. maker of the guns, disputed the findings. It said the tests didn't follow the right procedure.

Tasers used by Kingston Police are all pre-2005 X26 models that were part of the CBC testing.

All of the York Tasers tested were X26 models, but only two were manufactured before 2005.

Tasers are supposed to deliver a jolt of 50,000 volts of electricity, enough to briefly incapacitate a person, but a growing number of deaths in Canada and the U. S. of people who have been shocked has raised concern about the safety of the weapons.

The CBC report, based on independent scientific testing of 41 Tasers, prompted some police agencies across Canada to pull the stun guns out of use until they could be examined.

"There had been enough doubt raised in my mind that I just felt that I had to do this," La Barge said.

Kingston's chief initially balked at testing but changed his mind, saying that he felt it was important to address a "public perception" issue.

MPB Electronics won't talk about its test results. "We just do measurements for clients, whoever that client may be," said Dan Zanette, the private firm's technical director. "We perform the measurements for them and it's up to them to do what they feel is appropriate." Zanette would not explain, except in general terms, the firm's expertise in testing Tasers.

"All we can say is that the type of testing we perform here is related to lightning- induced transients on various types of equipment that [range] from aircraft to nuclear stations and their instrumentation, commercial equipment that would be susceptible to high voltage, high current transients," he said. Zanette wouldn't say if the firm has experience with Taser testing. "We're sort of uncomfortable with even talking about it,"he said. "Measurements of that kind on those kinds of transients are not new to us, it's just the specific topic of Tasers, which seems to be very sensitive these days."

Kingston Police discovered that the testing may be more costly than expected. MPB isn't licensed to handle Tasers, which are classified as restricted weapons. It could mean an extra expense because a police officer would have to accompany the weapons to the Kanata offices of the lab and then remain with them throughout the testing process. "We have to attach an [officer] to it," Cookman noted.

Two York officers took their Tasers to Kanata and oversaw the tests. "Essentially we do have somebody babysitting any devices or any equipment that's deemed to be like an illegal firearm," Zanette said.

The lab has considered seeking special licensing that would permit staff to handle prohibited weapons without a police officer being present.

Insp. Tony Cooper, deputy chief firearms officer for Ontario, said no private labs in the province have sought a special licence that would allow them to possess Tasers for testing.

Cookman said it's his understanding that discussions about how the tests should be done also is holding up further tests. "They're tweaking their methodologies as they progress through this," he said. "They left me with the impression that they wanted to upgrade or finesse what they have."

Zanette wouldn't say if anything is delaying more testing of police Tasers. "Generally there's a desire for some consensus on what should be measured regarding devices of that kind and so there's a lot of discussions going on now," he said. "It's just being discussed on a ... broad sense as to what are the important things to measure about these types of devices."

Kingston's chief has said that he will release the results of tests once they are completed.

taser audit

When Kingston Police Chief Steve Tanner announced last week that he would NOT be testing Kingston's 34 X26 tasers (in the face of a CBC report that showed the X26 manufactured prior to 2005 had the potential to output considerably higher voltage than the manufacturer claims), an editorial in the Saturday Kingston Whig-Standard said "Tanner's decision is hardly reassuring for Kingstonians. The main issue, after all, is not officer safety but public safety. It's as though someone had discovered that the 9-mm handguns used by Kingston police were leaving wounds indicative of much larger-calibre pistols-yet retesting or reassessment isn't necessary."

Today, it seems, Kingston police have been ORDERED to surrender their tasers for testing.

Now my question is: The following report says the tasers will be taken "to a lab near Ottawa." Would that be the same lab at the Canadian Police Research Centre (also NEAR OTTAWA), which was UNABLE to properly test the tasers which were used on my brother??

December 18, 2008
CKWS-TV Kingston

Kingston police have been ordered to surrender their tasers for testing. The province has launched a review of stun guns -- following a CBC investigation that revealed some older models give off more voltage than they're supposed to.

Kingston's top cop is confident the testing will confirm what they've been saying for years -- the stun guns are safe.

NEWSWATCH'S CHRIS HARVEY REPORTS.

Police tasers are supposed to fire 50 thousand volts -- producing enough of a shock to disrupt muscle function, leaving a person momentarily paralysed. But controversy continues to short-circuit their use -- after several people have died after being tasered. Kingston Police Chief Stephen Tanner maintains it's a non-lethal substitute for a handgun -- safe enough to subdue an uncooperative or potentially dangerous person.

STEVE TANNER:

"So the taser is definitely a less lethal option from a fire arm. So it's good for the person that's being arrested, it's good for the officer because of all the ramifications, and certainly no officer ever wants to take a life."

CHRIS HARVEY:

Kingston police report using their tasers five times this year, the most recent case involving a man who was carrying a knife. In 2007 tasers were fired 7 times, and in 2006 just twice." But a recent CBC test of New Jersey police tasers found several X-26 models, the same type used by the Kingston force, sent out a higher voltage than specified by the manufacturer.

While Tanner questioned the accuracy of those results, he will comply with a provincial review of the stun guns. Kingston's 34 tasers will be sent to a lab for testing. He says the 17-hundred dollar cost -- or 50 dollars per weapon -- is a good investment.

CHIEF STEVE TANNER:

"For public perception, their view of how safe they are, it's worth having them tested."

The chair of the Police Board is also confident the tasers are safe ... and will pass the test.

CAROL ALLISON BURRA:

"However, I think it's in the public's interest that we not only be saying that that's true but can demonstrate that it's true by having them tested."

Chief Tanner says every arrest is different, and using a taser was justified rather than a gun.... in the five cases it was used this year.

STEVE TANNER

"I would not have expected them to shoot that individual at that time. But certainly the taser was warranted and the person's in custody and not injuured, and the officers aren't injured, which is a big part for us as well."

There are an estimated 2-thousand tasers in use by police departments in Ontario -- not including those used by the RCMP.

CHRIS HARVEY, CKWS NEWSWATCH, KINGSTON.

Kingston police will start sending in their 34 tasers for testing next month ... only half of them will be tested at a time ... so police can keep the other half in use. They'll be taken to a lab near Ottawa.

EDITORIAL: tasers and public safety

December 13, 2008
Kingston Whig-Standard

Police departments across Canada, including the RCMP, are pulling older Tasers from service after concerns were raised about their safety in a CBC investigative report. The study found that four out of 44 of the X26 model stun guns fired charges significantly higher than what the company's specifications indicate. The medical analysis accompanying the findings suggests that these higher charges could increase the chance of inducing cardiac arrest by up to 50%.

Following the CBC report, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services said they had instructed all police services in the province "to test their X26 models to ensure they're functioning correctly."

But here in Kingston, Police Chief Stephen Tanner has decided not to follow the ministry directive, even though all 34 of the force's Tasers are X26s. Tanner said nothing in the ministry instructions specifically calls for the weapons to be "electrically tested." He also told the Whig-Standard that he doesn't want to leave his officers without access to the Tasers.

"The risk would be much greater in not having those weapons on the street, either for the officers not to have them to protect themselves or to have that alternative level of force available to them," Tanner said.

Tasers are highly controversial. Since 2001, more than 400 people in Canada and the U. S. have died after being shocked by the weapons, which are considered a less deadly alternative to handguns. Kingston police used Tasers five times this year, without any reported problems.

Arizona-based Taser International is denying any irregularities with the X26 and disputes the CBC findings. It says the study was flawed because the weapons under scrutiny hadn't been test-fired first, as they recommend.

But National Technical Systems, the Californiabased engineering firm that conducted the tests for the CBC, confirmed that one of the X26 Tasers did emit a higher-than-expected charge on a second firing.

Tanner said his officers always pre-test. But that provides no assurance that a safe level of current is being discharged.

Tanner's decision is hardly reassuring for Kingstonians.

The main issue, after all, is not officer safety but public safety.

It's as though someone had discovered that the 9-mm handguns used by Kingston police were leaving wounds indicative of much larger-calibre pistols -yet retesting or reassessment isn't necessary.

No one wants Kingston police officers to be denied the proper equipment to do their job. However, if they have 34 Tasers that were used only five times all year, wouldn't it be possible to take a certain number out of use to be tested on a rotating basis?

This is an urgent matter of public safety. If Tanner doubts the potential health risks, he should call Pierre Savard, the University of Montreal biomedical engineer who has written an analysis on the health risks posed by Tasers. Savard told the Arizona Republic newspaper this week that the weapons can accelerate some people's heart rates to dangerous levels. "As a scientist," he concluded, "the risk is not zero."

And that, we hasten to add, is his assessment of Tasers that fire at properly calibrated levels.

Chief Tanner must change his position and begin testing of his force's stun guns.

Kingston police refuse to test tasers

December 12, 2008
ROB TRIPP, WHIG-STANDARD POLICE REPORTER

Kingston police won't stop using their tasers and they won't conduct scientific tests on them, despite a directive from the province about the controversial stun guns.

"My position right now, and the information I'm receiving through the [Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police], is there is not a need to do that," Kingston Police Chief Stephen Tanner said yesterday.

A growing number of police departments across the country are taking all of their older model Tasers out of service for testing after an investigative report by CBC television raised questions about the reliability of the devices.

The RCMP, all police in British Columbia, forces in Winnipeg, Newfoundland, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Fredericton and York Region, near Toronto, are removing pre-2006 Tasers for tests.

The testing affects only the X26 model made by the U.S.-based company. Kingston Police use only X26s. They have 34, although only 30 are in use at a time. Four are kept in storage as backups.

The CBC investigation found that four out of 41 Tasers that were tested delivered more electricity than the manufacturer says is possible. The devices are designed to fire 50,000 volts to incapacitate a person.

Taser International says the CBC's testing procedure was flawed.

After the CBC report was broadcast, Ontario's Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services issued a directive to all police departments. "The ministry has instructed all police services in Ontario to test their X26 models to ensure they're functioning correctly," ministry spokesman Tony Brown told the Whig-Standard.

Tanner said it's his understanding that police were asked only to "examine" their X26s to ensure that they are "functioning correctly, according to standard training and practices."

"It doesn't say send them out, call a separate company [or] call the manufacturer and have them ... electrically tested," Tanner said. As a result, Kingston Police won't order any scientific testing to determine what voltage is being discharged by their Tasers.

"I do not believe that any will be taken out of service at this point in time," Tanner said. "They will be examined [and] we will make sure that everyone is complying with our procedures."

Kingston procedures require an officer who has been issued a Taser to test fire it, or spark test it, after it has not been used for any length of time. Taser International says this explains the CBC's faulty findings, since the weapons were not spark tested before they were examined. In a spark test, the gun is fired in drive-stun mode. An electrical current flashes between two contacts at the tip of the weapon. Tasers also can fire two metal darts that attach to a suspect to deliver the electrical charge.

Tanner does not want to deny his officers the use of Tasers. "The risk would be much greater in not having those weapons on the street, either for the officers not to have them to protect themselves or to have that alternative level of force available to them," he said.

Under Ontario regulations, only supervisors and tactical officers can carry and use Tasers.

Kingston Police have used Tasers five times this year, most recently in an incident about two weeks ago when a 23-year-old man was shot by Tasers twice during a confrontation at a home in the west end.

Drugs, not Taser, caused Kingston man's death: coroner

August 10, 2004
CBC News

Ontario's chief coroner has ruled the death of a 43-year-old Kingston man was not caused by a Taser gun. Dr. Jim Cairns said the death of the man, who died hours after being shot with a Taser Sunday morning, was caused by a drug overdose.

"I can state categorically that the Taser did not play any role whatsoever in his death," Cairns said.

Police were called Sunday to a home in Kingston where a man had apparently overdosed on drugs and was threatening to harm himself.

He'd barricaded himself in a bedroom and was armed with a knife and a bat. Police first tried using pepper spray to subdue him without success. They then used a Taser gun.

The man was taken to Kingston General Hospital where he suffered a seizure and died several hours later.

Tasers emit a jolt of 50,000 volts that interrupt the body's electrical impulses, causing involuntary muscle seizures. Last year, Tasers were blamed in about 50 deaths in the United States. In Canada, five people have died from Taser shots.

Last week, B.C.'s Police Complaints Commissioner ordered an investigation into the use of Taser guns a month after a man died when he was shot with one in a hotel room in Vancouver.

In Ontario in July, a third man died when police used a stun gun to immobilize him at a hotel in Mississauga. The hotel receptionist had called police to report a man breaking things in his room.

Amnesty International has called for a ban on Tasers until further safety tests are done. The Arizona-based manufacturer of the weapons, Taser International, says the weapons are safe.