“I just don’t understand why they had to do this,” neighbour Marguerite Stone said. “Why couldn’t they use a Taser? I think the police reacted very poorly.”
The answer may be simple when learning of the OPP’s policy on Taser use.
Only frontline supervisors and emergency response officers – members of the tactical unit or emergency response team – carry Tasers, according to OPP Insp. Dave Ross.
In this case, because the province’s Special Investigations Unit is examining the events that led to Minty’s death, police cannot comment on whether or not officers were carrying Tasers when they responded to the Minty home.
“They are seen as an intermediary use of force option that’s used in a situation where it’s necessary for police to gain immediate control of an individual, when other options have been ruled out,” Ross explained.
It’s the actions of an individual suspect that dictate the use of force, he said, and the weapons are not intended to be used as a substitute for lethal force.
“A decision’s made by the officer given the totality of the situation.”
A Taser fires barbs attached by wires to batteries, causing temporary paralysis.
– With files from Torstar News Service
