February 2, 2010
The Dominion-Post
New Zealand

Dramatically speaking, the police account of a lunchtime confrontation with a violent, P-addled motorist in Waitemata last year leaves something to be desired: "I presented the Taser at the offender and laser-painted him, explaining that he would have 50,000 volts passed through him if he did not comply," the report on the incident reads.

Either the unidentified author speaks to violent suspects in the manner of a science teacher explaining the theory of relativity, or he has chosen to spare his audience the actual language used. With his matter-of-fact delivery, the author also fails to convey the drama of the situation. Trouble began when a man threatened officers with a wheel brace, continued with a chase in which one police car was side-swiped, another was rammed from behind and a third was reversed into, and concluded only when the offender was shot with a 50,000-volt stun gun.

But as an illustration of the benefits of equipping police with stun guns, there could be no better example. Not only has the risk to police and public been minimised, so has risk to the offender - he has been subdued without lasting harm.

The reputation of police has copped a beating in recent years - deservedly so in the case of the covering up of police sexual misconduct - but police handling of the introduction of electronic stun guns has been exemplary.

Incident reports issued to The Dominion Post show that in each of the nine instances in which police fired Tasers last year, officers acted with commendable restraint. In several instances, the offenders may owe their lives to the Tasers.

After one incident in which a person wielding a sword was subdued, an officer observed: "I was present throughout the incident, I believe that had the Taser not being [sic] available then there is the real possibility that [name blanked out] would have been shot by the police."

Civil libertarians such as Marie Dyhrberg and Michael Bott, who protested long and loud against the introduction of Tasers, should reconsider their positions. Use of stun guns is not risk-free: they have been misused overseas and linked to several deaths. But the risks associated with being shot with a stun gun are infinitesimally less than the risks associated with being shot with a firearm.

Last year just 32 Tasers were available to police in four districts - Auckland, Waitemata, Counties-Manukau and Wellington. This year the total number on issue will expand to 681 and they will be available throughout the country. If the present use rate continues, police calculate there will be 213 Taserings a year. The challenge for police is to maintain the same high standard of accountability.

The public wants police to be able to defend themselves against increasingly violent and desperate criminals, but trust will evaporate if Tasers are used in New Zealand as they have been overseas to deal with people making nuisances of themselves or for the purposes of unlawful punishment or retribution.

Police have a valuable new tool. They must continue to use it responsibly.

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