Delta's Tasers ace test

April 14, 2009
Jessica Kerr, Surrey Now

The results of the first round of Tasers to be independently tested have come back and the ones submitted by Delta's police department passed.

In December, municipal police forces from around the province submitted a total of 82 model X-26 conducted energy weapons (CEW) that were manufactured prior to 2006 for testing. The Delta department had five of that model submitted for testing.

Delta's five Tasers were found to be in working order.

"All of the Tasers from our agency were within the compliance with respect to the manufacturer's specifications," said Delta police Const. Sharlene Brooks.

Those weapons have now been returned to service.

The department has 31 Tasers and any of the approximately 160 officers can sign out one of the devices while on duty. At any one time, there are about six Tasers on the street in Delta. Out of the more than 80 Tasers tested, eight failed to meet the manufacturer's specifications. They must either be destroyed or repaired and re-tested before being returned to service, the solicitor general's office said last week. Of the models tested, seven failed to produce a pulse rate high enough to meet the manufacturer's specifications. The other one failed due to a combination of factors.

The New Westminster, Port Moody and Saanich police departments each had one Taser fail, Vancouver had two faulty weapons and B.C. Corrections had three Tasers fail.