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15/09/2008
Special Gardai Units Armed With Tasers
New Gardaí units will be armed with the latest Taser electro-shock weapons following new government approval.
The newly deployed Regional Support Units (RSU) will be the first uniformed Garda officers to carry the controversial weapons which use high voltage barbs to non-lethally stun suspects.
The tasers will be kept in marked vehicles locked in a safes, only to be used as a response to serious incidents, and will be made available to the officers immediately.
In the past only plain-clothes gardai in the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), a unit which deals with serious armed crime, have carried the tasers.
Two pilot RSU are currently in place in Cork and Limerick, with a view to extending the scheme nationwide next year.
Apart from Northern Ireland, where the PSNI has recently introduced the controversial devices, other countries presently using tasers in their police force include Canada, Honk Kong, the US and France.
Although Taser International claims tasers are safe, some critics such as Amnesty International disagree, citing the number of deaths occurring after Taser use as high as 245.
(DW)
The newly deployed Regional Support Units (RSU) will be the first uniformed Garda officers to carry the controversial weapons which use high voltage barbs to non-lethally stun suspects.
The tasers will be kept in marked vehicles locked in a safes, only to be used as a response to serious incidents, and will be made available to the officers immediately.
In the past only plain-clothes gardai in the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), a unit which deals with serious armed crime, have carried the tasers.
Two pilot RSU are currently in place in Cork and Limerick, with a view to extending the scheme nationwide next year.
Apart from Northern Ireland, where the PSNI has recently introduced the controversial devices, other countries presently using tasers in their police force include Canada, Honk Kong, the US and France.
Although Taser International claims tasers are safe, some critics such as Amnesty International disagree, citing the number of deaths occurring after Taser use as high as 245.
(DW)
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