Owen Sound’s Top Cop supports a provincial report on the use of tasers and training for the stun guns.
It calls on the government to amend current guidelines to include rules about the deployment of tasers when it comes to children and the mentally ill.
City Police Chief Tom Kaye says there is actually nothing new in the report because many Ontario police forces had already adopted the guidelines.
He says the report just standardizes the guidelines.
The report also changes the training for tasers and Kaye supports the move.
It is recommended the training be done at the Ontario Police College instead of being done by the taser manufacturer.
Kaye notes police are noticing more and more when an officer arms himself with a taser — people are actually surrendering without the stun gun being deployed.
Kaye is the Past President of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and is currently a Vice President with the Canadian Association.
In fact — Kaye chairs a committee that is writing a report for the federal government that will outline when to use tasers and how officers should be trained.
They will also monitor when an officer pulls out their taser even if it’s not used.
Kaye tells Bayshore Broadcasting News a lot of the information in the Ontario report will likely be used in the report done by the Chiefs of Police.
Kaye notes the rules for tasers are different from province to province and he feels there should be more consistency.
Kaye also supports the call by Simcoe North Conservative MPP Garfield Dunlop to arm every Ontario police officer with a taser.
Kaye notes in other provinces — every officer can carry the stun gun.
Kaye says the taser is still “an effective, less lethal weapon” for law enforcement.