Taser keeps crims in check

'SAVING LIVES': Nine people were shot with a Taser in its first year of use and some incidents were so violent, the offender could have been shot with a firearm if the stun gun had not been available.

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The Taser is saving lives, and many criminals are simply surrendering at the sight of it, police say.

Nine people were shot with a Taser in its first year of use and some incidents were so violent, the offender could have been shot with a firearm, if the stun gun had not been available. Police policy is to shoot at the torso.

A tenth person was tasered in Johnsonville on Friday.

Tasers, an alternative to firearms, paralyse a person by delivering electrical pulses through metal barbs.

"It has the potential to save lives, there's no doubt whatsoever in my mind," said Superintendent John Rivers, in charge of the Taser rollout.

The weapon was fired half the number of times last year than during the nine-month trial and police hope its reputation will mean offenders continue to surrender at the sight of the yellow stun gun rather than being shot with 50,000 volts.

Police incident reports issued to The Dominion Post reveal the extreme violence faced by police during the Taser incidents last year.

One man had just allegedly killed a man and was raging at neighbours with an axe. Another had stabbed himself with a samurai sword and was brandishing it at officers, a third attacked officers with a wheel brace and screwdriver, and another had stabbed a taxi driver in the head and fled in his stolen taxi.

In the Johnsonville case, a mentally ill man was tasered as he lunged at police with a hunting knife after a two-hour standoff.

Wellington area commander Inspector Pete Cowan said: "Potentially it was a case where a person could have been shot. It was a very, very good example of where ... the Taser saved the offender's life and potentially other members of the public and police."

The stun gun was officially introduced to police in December 2008. Last year, 32 weapons were available among the four districts that took part in the trial: Auckland, Waitemata, Counties Manukau and Wellington. The other eight districts will receive weapons this year.

Critics say the weapon could cause physical harm and police might misuse and overuse it, but police records show the Taser was presented more in the first year than in the nine-month trial, but was fired 50 per cent less. So far there have been no known medical side-effects.

Operation support manager Jason Ross said the figures showed people were submitting to police when the weapon was presented or laser-painted – where police turn the laser sight on. "Maybe people are becoming aware of the fact of its effectiveness," he said.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said: "Perversely, the misinformation given out by the anti-Taser group has probably worked in the police and the public's favour. People think the consequences of the Taser are worse than in reality they're likely to be."

He said the national rollout "couldn't happen soon enough".

Mr Rivers said once the other eight districts had Tasers, 680 weapons would be in use and 3500 staff would be trained in its use.

The distribution of Tasers is affected by geography more than population. Wellington will have 54 weapons and Auckland will have 44, the Southern district will have 72 and Canterbury 76.

WHO POLICE TASERED

Auckland: An axe-wielding man trying to smash his way into a car. Police later find a dead man at the address.

Auckland: A man apprehended in a high-speed chase after stabbing a taxi driver in the neck with a screwdriver and stealing his taxi.

Waitemata: A man who assaulted police at a roadside stop and threatened them with a wheel brace before fleeing. When stopped, he threatened police with a screwdriver and was pepper-sprayed to no effect.

Auckland: A man who threatened his partner with a knife. When confronted by police, he lifted up his top to show a firearm stuck down his trousers and, despite a warning, reached for the gun.

Waitemata: A man who stabbed himself with a samurai sword in front of his partner. When confronted, he held the sword in a fighting stance and refused to drop it.

Auckland: An aggressive man who broke free of handcuffs after assaulting three people and telling bystanders he would shoot them.

Auckland: A man who dragged people from cars and threatened them, and advanced on police with a large kitchen knife.

Waitemata: A drunk, aggressive man who assaulted a man and woman and threatened police.

Waitemata: A knife-wielding man assaulting a woman.

- © Fairfax NZ News