RCMP officers from Slave Lake and surrounding communities received training for the X26 Taser weapon at the Slave Lake fire hall over the weekend of January 26-27.
More than a dozen officers took part in the demonstration of new Taser brand technology, a system that has garnered a lot of negative press lately.
According to the manufacturer, the “gun fires two probes up to 21 feet from a replaceable air cartridge. These probes are connected to the weapon by high-voltage insulated wire. The X-26 uses a new ElectroMuscular Disruption (EMD) weapon technology that can completely override the central nervous system and directly control the skeletal muscles. When the probes make contact with the target, the Taser gun transmits a powerful electrical pulse along the wires and into the target's body through up to 2 inches of clothing.”
Indeed! Many officers have volunteered to be hit with the weapon, (about 600,000 officers across North America) but without the usual barbed probes. Instead, the wires were taped to the torso of the trainees, who were then hit with a muscular disrupting 50,000 volts of pulsed electricity. The small, battery operated gun produces enough juice to temporarily paralyze a 400 pound bear. It quickly rendered the officers powerless.
And that, according to police, is the desired response. Taser training issues are centered largely on officer safety. The benefits of the Taser in this regard are obvious.
Able to stand a safe distance away from violent or aggressive “clients”, police have an advantage that they previously did not.
The use of a baton or having to wrestle someone into submission brings officers into dangerously close proximity with offenders. Alternatives such as OC (oleo capsican resin, or pepper spray) are messy products, often likely to end up on the person spraying it as much as the target. And, pepper spray has a lingering chemical burn effect. The old stand-by, the police revolver, is not really an option. Guns just don’t make for good press, and are considered a last resort. So, the benefits to police seem fairly cut and dried. The Taser is a remarkably effective device for disabling foe from a distance.
Officers who tested the weapon were required to fill out a small questionnaire immediately following their experience, as well as reminded about the forms for potential future problems that may arise as a result of them being hit with the weapon.
There are over 100,000 reports of officers with a range of injuries from small burns to spinal compression injuries sustained during demonstrations. In an unofficial taste test, officers at the Slave Lake Fire Hall unanimously voted the Taser as preferable to pepper spray, an oily chemical that can take days to wear off.
So why all the buzz about Tasers, then? Independent studies from Dr. Andrew Dennis, who is also a SWAT team member found that irregular heart beats can be triggered from tasering, even by a short jolt. The effects can be long lasting. If the current crosses the path of the heart (for example, one dart above the heart area, and another anywhere below it) arrhythmia is certain.
The public has different but equally valid concerns regarding the use of Tasers by police. Few people would argue with the idea of police being able to safely subdue a violent aggressor. The sight of a knife wielding, bleeding, sociopath makes a good argument for long-distance control.
The problem with Taser technology, it seems, is the potential for abuse. Without the loud report of a pistol, or the obvious bruises of a baton, the Taser is a little too good at going unnoticed; unless something goes wrong.
Amnesty International reports 290 Taser related deaths North America since 2003.
None have been reported in Slave Lake, however, and there is no suggestion that the local RCMP have used the technology in appropriately.

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