Sep 24, 2013
By Scott Walker
Members of the public will voice their opinions today about whether front-line police officers should be armed with stun guns.
The Toronto Police Services Board is deciding what action to take after the province gave the go-ahead to make tasers standard equipment in the wake of the Sammy Yatim killing.
Board Chair Alok Mukherjee tells the CBC he has concerns about issuing the weapons. He says he fears some people could use them as a “shortcut to good policing.”
Steve Summerville is a security consultant and a former Toronto police officer. He says stun guns can be helpful, if officers have the proper training. He says officers need to balance the use of tasers with proper verbal skills in defusing a dangerous situation. He says it’s better to be able to “talk you down, rather using force to bring you down.”
The Toronto Police Services Board expects to hear from at least 30 people at its meeting today.
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