Making a mountain out of a Weighill

Saskatoon - The StarPhoenix (20 June 2008)

Saskatoon police Chief Clive Weighill said he disagrees with a recommendation that only police officers with at least five years of experience be allowed to carry tasers. ... Most of the Saskatoon officers on patrol have about four to five years of experience, he told the Saskatoon board of police commissioners Thursday. ... [LINK]

There is almost no problem at all. Simply wait until December 15th (about six months from now) and most of your officers will then have about 4.5 to 5.5 years of experience. And then, over the next six months after that, your so-called problem will have mostly evaporated (+/- staff turnover and new green recruits).

... In Saskatchewan, police forces have suspended the use of tasers pending the commission's probe into the death last fall of Robert Dziekanski. ... [ibid]

You've survived this long without the taser pending the inquiry findings. And the taser (M26, X26) was only introduced into Canada a few years ago. It's not that big a deal for some of your police officers to do without the taser for a few months. This not-quite-five problem is next to no problem at all.

Kennedy has a very good reason for his recommendation (it is based on his examination of documented taser incidents). This recommendation is not worth abandoning because of an impatient chief.

I think that Chief Weighill is complaining about nothing.