Taser motion at City Hall

Police use of tasers has been in the headlines a lot recently, and tonight Hamilton City Council is debating a plan from Hamilton Police. The plan looks to expand the use of the weapons to front line officers.

Councillor Brad Clark is bringing forward a motion to find out how much the Hamilton Police Services Board needs to pay for tasers, and how police officers would be trained to use those tasers, especially when they are dealing with someone with a mental illness.

Hundred of municipalities are facing the same challenges of paying for tasers to equip frontline police offers with the stun device. The Hamilton Police Board is looking for approximately $1 million to pay for tasers.

Councillor Brad Clark says the city is tight on cash and would be looking to the province to pay for at least half of that bill. It was the provincial Liberals that announced tasers would be made available to front line officers back in August. It followed a very controversial shooting of Toronto teen Sammy Yatim, who was shot 9 times and died in a Toronto street car in July.

Councillor Clark says, “Well we’re in a very tight budget here. This is an outside the budget request. We’re currently dealing with the 2014 budget. I don’t believe we have the money right now… We don’t know what the police services have because we have not seen a copy of their actual expenditures for 2013, so I’ve requested that also. All of these things need to be taken into consideration before we say yes or no.”