Local cops release use of force stats

Belleville, Ontario - Population 45,986 - has 6 tasers - "used" the taser 18 times, discharged it *only* 9 times last year

Waterloo, Ontario - Population 97,475 - has ?? tasers - discharged 29 times last year

Chatham, Ontario - Population 108,177 - has ?? tasers - used seven times and "only in specific circumstances" last year

Kingston, Ontario - Population 114,195 - has 34 tasers - fired them 4 times last year

April 24, 2009
ERICA BAJER, THE DAILY NEWS (Chatham, Ontario)

Chatham-Kent Police Service officers used force 85 times last year, according to statistics released this week.

Deputy Chief Clare Wiersma told the Chatham-Kent Police Services Board officers discharged their firearms 11 times in 2008. He said in all of those incidents, firearms were used in the humane destruction of injured animals.

Police pointed their guns at people 35 times last year and used pepper spray 20 times.

Wiersma said Tasers were used seven times and only in specific circumstances.

"The officers are using them judiciously," he told the board. "We monitor those very closely.

The Taser has prove itself to be a valuable use of force option."

According to the use of force statistics, police used a baton once and a police dog twice. Physical control was used nine times.

In 2008, Wiersma said officers were involved in 17 pursuits, which was up from 13 in 2007.

He said police chases are strictly monitored and analyzed after the fact. Many of the reported pursuits were terminated shortly after they started, he added.

Wiersma also told the board there were 28 public complaints laid in 2008 and 64 internal affairs investigations.

"For both the public complaints and internal affairs matters, there were relatively few serious misconducts," he said, adding no criminal charges were laid and two misconduct cases were dealt with through Police Service Act hearings.

He said some of the cases were resolved through informal discipline.