Panic Over Tasers Unwarranted

New Zealand First law and order spokesperson Ron Mark has today reiterated his support for the New Zealand Police adopting TASERs despite the recent death of a Polish national shortly after being stunned by a TASER gun by police at Vancouver International Airport.

The Canadian incident is currently being investigated by their police, coroner and airport authorities and despite the usual knee-jerk assertions by the Greens, the death has not yet been proven to have been directly caused by the use of a TASER.

“The simple fact is that there is no guarantee that any of the options available to Police to subdue an aggressive assailant will not result in death, but the chances are minimal,” said Mr Mark.

“It has been reported that at least 61 deaths in America have been associated with police use of pepper spray but we haven’t seen any panicked calls for its withdrawal.

“During the recent Police trial, TASERs were drawn 120 times and only needed to be discharged 19 times, which clearly demonstrates their effectiveness as a tool to subdue a violent person without force in the overwhelming majority of cases.

“Of course we would expect that TASERs will be used appropriately by New Zealand Police and would in no way condone any inappropriate or overzealous use.

“Although the Canadian incident was unfortunate, it should not be used out of context to denigrate the TASER as a non-lethal option for Police to subdue an aggressive assailant in this country,” said Mr Mark.

ENDS

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