Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

New, improved stun gun is accepted for police use in B.C., province says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Mar, 2024 11:27 AM
  • New, improved stun gun is accepted for police use in B.C., province says

British Columbia has approved the use of an updated Taser weapon for officers around the province to use as a less-lethal weapon during police confrontations.

A statement from the Ministry of Public Safety says the Taser 7 offers the ability to discharge a second shot without reloading a new cartridge and its short-distance shooting range option, among other "enhancements."

The ministry says the new Taser was approved by the director of police services after getting advice from a panel that includes police, the Independent Investigations Office and the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society.

It says a nine-month field trial last year involved officers from the Vancouver, Victoria and Port Moody police departments and found that the model was "effective, and no serious injuries or deaths among subjects, officers or bystanders were reported."

The statement says the panel has recommended several conditions to ensure all police agencies in B.C. update their training programs and adjust their internal policies and procedures to align with provincial standards on conducted energy weapons like Tasers.

Standards for conducted energy weapons were set out in B.C. in 2012, arising from the Braidwood Commission of inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski, who died in 2007 at Vancouver airport after being jolted several times by a stun gun.

The government says the weapon is already authorized for use in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Passenger levels at YVR to hit pre-pandemic levels in the coming week

Passenger levels at YVR to hit pre-pandemic levels in the coming week
Passenger levels at Vancouver International Airport are expected to be almost completely recovered to pre-pandemic levels over the next week. Y-V-R officials say the airport is expecting an average of 60-thousand-177 passengers per day this week, with a total reaching 421-thousand.

Passenger levels at YVR to hit pre-pandemic levels in the coming week

Man steals over 1M from 9 investors

Man steals over 1M from 9 investors
A North Vancouver man has pleaded guilty to one count of theft after an investigation found he stole more than one-million-dollars from nine investors. A statement from B-C Securities Commission says the 55-year-old man was arrested in October 2022 and remains on bail, entering the guilty plea last week with sentencing scheduled for early May.

Man steals over 1M from 9 investors

108-year-old newspaper buyout in Prince George

108-year-old newspaper buyout in Prince George
Cameron Stolz is the new owner of the 108-year-old Prince George Citizen after buying the paper from Glacier Media. Stolz, a businessman who owns a toy and comics store, said he entered talks to buy the weekly newspaper last November after outlets in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek closed, followed soon after by the newspaper in Kamloops.

108-year-old newspaper buyout in Prince George

B.C. minister Robinson stepping down over remarks that angered pro-Palestinian groups

B.C. minister Robinson stepping down over remarks that angered pro-Palestinian groups
British Columbia's Post-Secondary Education Minister Selina Robinson is stepping down over her remarks that modern Israel was founded on "a crappy piece of land," after her repeated apologies failed to quell the outcry from pro-Palestinian groups and others. Premier David Eby said Robinson's "belittling" remarks were incompatible with her remaining in cabinet, although she will stay in the NDP caucus.

B.C. minister Robinson stepping down over remarks that angered pro-Palestinian groups

Surrey afternoon shooting lands 1 in hospital

Surrey afternoon shooting lands 1 in hospital
On Friday, just after 1:30pm, Surrey RCMP received a report of shots fired in the 8400 block of 120 Street.  Frontline officers attended the scene and located a man who appeared to be suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to hospital with serious injuries.

Surrey afternoon shooting lands 1 in hospital

First cases of fatal chronic wasting disease found in B.C. deer

First cases of fatal chronic wasting disease found in B.C. deer
Researchers say a deadly disease starts out slow but has the potential to devastate British Columbia's deer population over time, after the discovery of the first cases in the province. The concerns come after the B.C. government confirmed two cases of chronic wasting disease found in animals south of Cranbrook in the Kootenay region.

First cases of fatal chronic wasting disease found in B.C. deer