Although it will be some time before they are actually in operation, police officers in the province have been given permission by the Saskatchewan Police Commission to use conducted energy weapons.
In a press release on the decision, it was noted the devices, which are commonly known as Tasers, are for use in situations where there is an imminent risk of bodily harm to officers or the public and other use of force options would be ineffective or inappropriate. As well, anytime a Taser is used by an officer there must be a review conducted.
Estevan Police Service Chief Del Block said the approval has been a long time coming as officers were expected to get the green light roughly four years ago. However those plans were put on hold when a Polish immigrant to Canada died after he was Tasered at the Vancouver airport by RCMP officers.
Block added the EPS is in favour of the decision and plan to use them when the final approval is given by the commission.
"For us to not introduce them into Estevan would be a liability concern," said Block. "If we choose not to provide them and our officers had to use the higher level of force, which is obviously lethal, we could be challenged from a liability standpoint as well as an ethics standpoint as to why we didn't do it."
Asked if his officers have come across situations where a Taser might have been useful, Block said there have been cases where a Taser likely would have been deployed. He added when weapons such as a knife are involved, a Taser would be particularly useful.
"One that comes to light is if an offender had a knife and was actually threatening to use it on other people as well as himself, and in fact did, that would be a point where a conducted energy device could have been used and fully justified.
"It gives (officers) a use of force option that is just slightly below lethal force."
Although the announcement is being hailed by police agencies in the province, the Tasers will create a dilemma for administrators with already strained budgets. Block estimates that that the Taser X-26, the device that has been approved for use in Saskatchewan, will cost around $2,000 each. On top of that there is also the cost of training officers.
As for when officers will actually begin carrying Tasers, Block said there is much work to be done before that can happen. Each department must create a policy that will be approved by the provincial commission. The parameters for training have yet to be determined as well.
"I'm thinking that we won't see these things in operation until 2014," he said.
