The Wire

The NSW Police Union today leveled criticism at the state’s police minister, over an announcement that senior officers within the Public Order and Riot Squad have now been issued with taser guns. With accidental gun deaths still occurring, tasers, using electric shocks, are supposed to provide be a non-lethal option for police. However, an Amnesty International report has questioned where they are non-lethal. This report found that 103 people have been died in the US and Canada following the use of tasers there. But the police association remains convinced of the safety of tasers – but unconvinced of the need for riot police to be equipped with them.