Nelson: A Shock To The System

A taser is an electroshock weapon-line sold by TASER Inernational. It uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles, causing "neuro-muscular incapacitation." - Wikipedia

Possibly disrupt permanently - as it does with Robert Dziekanski in an RCMP zap-fest, at Vancouver's airport, 14 Oct. 2007. And Quilem Registre - less than one week later - in Montreal. After 15 others in Canada before - within 5 years.

8 April, 2013 - The BC Coroner's Service declares Robert Dziekanski's death a homicide.

That Itch To Tingle!
So the resulting poor PR for tasers has them unholstered up here - while south of the border and internationally they have continued to sell uninterrupted by the good TASER folk - it's their monopoly. A taser for everybody: even the little woman, in her favorite color yet - like pink! Oops, did I kill you? And you can find out via facebook which model in what color your friends like! So it says on the TASER website.
Most little boys' (and girls'?) dream: a zapper!!!

According to www.taser.com: Total number of lives saved: 105406. Next life saved in 12 min 59 sec. A few days ago, and I don't know how this works - only The Big Tase does! Tells right there when - through a digital countdown thingie - and then ups the total of saved to a new number. Anyway, next one clicks on Learn More, and one does on the following page, where it all gets toned down a tad to: Taser products have saved 105406 people from potential death or serious injury. Of course, by the time you read this, many more will have been saved from potential death and serious injury. Thanks to many more people tasered, bless their hearts! For real! Seeing that many may argue: being attacked with this weapon - and a weapon it is! - can cause a serious or fatal injury.

Being wildly successful, today the company - Our Mission: Protect Life. Protect Truth. - is traded on NASDAQ. Its homebase is in Arizona(!), where various TASER Smart Weapons, t-shirts, visor-caps, etc can be bought in outlets like Spy Shop of Scottsdale, Hogleg Armory, Shooters Vault, Discount Gun Store.
Once on the inside and a Certified TASER Instructor, one just may be invited into ... a private community (of instructors only) that enables collaboration between Certified TASER Instructors. Secret handshakes and codes and more neat stuff; zapping the hell out of each other!

Can Nelson Come Out To Play?
Shoot! - for Canada it has to be online-shopping only, and/or calling them at 1-888-TASER-88 to talk to a TASER representative to walk you through the purchase process. 

Like right now! 

"As we speak, we are in line to send our use-of-force instructor to the Justice Institute to be recertified," Nelson Police Chief Wayne Holland told the Nelson Daily. "Every use-of-force instructor in BC will be trained to recertify the people in their own department, and that is happening right now."  
At the Justice Institute.

Because!
The Nelson Police Board - law-enforcement experts all, including the mayor - its head - based on the rapidly escalating to just-about-out-of-control crime-rate in Metropolis Nelson (not to forget the homeless riff-raff!) - has decided to bring back tasers! Not a minute too soon either, if you ask me!

I mean, maybe redoing the Baker amenities - even with their benches gone over a month now! - will not be enough to keep the riff-raff out, come summer. Said riff-raff 100 per cent being the reason for the redo, according to Justin Pelant, incoming president of the Chamber of Commerce, and he would know! So, having tasers at the ready may be just the thing! At the same time, zapping an unruly tourist will put Nelson on the map in a refreshingly original way, to be sure! Out, damn spot!

Although!
In the same Nelson Daily piece, 4 Apr. 2013: Holland says carrying a taser will be voluntary for Nelson's officers. "They are an optional tool," he says. "You do not have to carry them with you, but if you carry them you must be certified annually."
More although: It is commendable that the Nelson Daily runs this item. Main page, too. While it is perplexing-or-not that so far this hasn't elicited a single reader-comment since publication 3 days ago! How Nelson!

Yes or No or What, Chief?
Checking with the Nelson Police by phone - the chief did not respond to an e-mail - I am told: All its officers are now being retrained/certified in using a taser, BUT they make the decision whether or not to actually carry one at the beginning of each shift.
This is not about consistency but mood swings - the policy is that there is no policy. Or what. 
So there have to be enough functioning tasers for all at the beginning of each shift - just in case - and possibly a couple of back-ups, too. Theoretically, if an officer signs-out a taser just once in a year - he/she must be recertified for the next.

1.
What is the board's rationale behind sort-of bringing tasers back to this small town?
2.
Considering the substantial investment in and ongoing expenses of tasers-with-stuff and their maintenance, recertifying the recertifier (out-of-town) and carriers (here): what is the rationale behind they may but don't have to?
3.
I can see it behind an officer not wanting to carry a taser: he/she may not think this necessary in the Nelson environment. A rational, reality-based decision.
But I fail to see the rationale behind an officer wanting to carry a taser in the same environment. A subjective decision, seemingly based on the officer's particular emotional state prior to a shift. There could be 3 reasons for carrying:
3a.
The officer feels/is unprepared for this job in the perceived as too stressful (dangerous?) Nelson environment.
3b.
The officer is angry.
3c.
The officer gets off on packing heat.
4.
Clearly, response > result in similar given situations would vary between those who pack and those who don't. Crisis-intervention vs conflict-resolution. In Nelson!
5.
Officers carrying/not carrying a taser may create an us/them-divide at the cop-shop. Not necessarily conducive to effective co-operation, essential in job-related stress-situations.
6.
Unless this voluntary-thing is just a PR stunt to soft-pedal a possibly contentious issue. And they all (just happen to) carry.
7.
What is the number of incidents here - since 2007 - in which using a taser definitively could have made a positive difference? Keeping in mind that the (usually treated as guilty therefore) tasered person may come to great harm. Which would take the positive out of the difference.
8.
Running with the voluntary-scenario: there obviously is no clear/perceived need, thus the whole thing will mean squandering resources on all levels and cohesion within the police-force.
9.
Conversely - if there were a clearly identified need for this weapon: why not have all officers carry it? And say so!

    
How about first trying the elsewhere proven to be effective crime-deterrent of a visible police-presence in the streets!

 

                Zap!!!!!

                                                                                               Zowie!!!!!

                                                  I wanna go home!!!!!

                                         Zzzzzzt!!!!!

                                

                                                      

                                         

                                                 You can't - You're dead!!!!!