6 July 2006
Minister ducks her taser critics
Police Minister Annette King's refusal to meet a delegation from the Campaign Against The Taser is a failure of
government accountability, Green Party Police Spokesperson Keith Locke says.
The delegation was seeking to meet Mrs King to discuss community concerns at plans to introduce the taser stun gun into
New Zealand policing in September
"Ms King's approach stands in stark contrast to the approach taken by the Bush administration, which has just launched a
federal investigation into the 184 deaths that have occurred following police use of stun weapons. Clearly, the White
House is not taking Mrs King's approach. The Bush administration is not treating the taser as simply an internal
operational matter for the police.
"It is disturbing to see the Bush administration being more accountable about these weapons than the New Zealand
Government," Mr Locke says.
"One would have thought Mrs King would have welcomed the chance to enter a dialogue with critics of the taser proposal,
who include several prominent lawyers - and embraced this opportunity to dispel community concerns about the weapon.
"Those concerns are genuine. People feel concerned about the taser because it is a potentially lethal addition to the
armoury of our police. New Zealanders have seen the police difficulty in complying with their own guidelines on the use
of pepper spray.
"Annette King really has to front up to her critics, and engage with the genuine concerns people have about how violence
is increasingly defining their relationship with their own police force. "
ENDS