– Drop the knife, otherwise you risk being shot with tasers. There is 50,000 volts in the taser. Drop the knife! Taser, taser, taser! This is the warning from police officer Christian Wierøed-Pedersen in Bergen as he draws his stun gun and takes aim. But this time it’s only a figure he sends the two arrows into. The hope is that the entire district will have received the training before the summer. The decision that the police should receive electric shock weapons was signed by the government in the autumn of 2021. – It is positive that the police can use something instead of firearms, said the then Minister of Justice and Emergency Services Monica Mæland (H) to news. The aim is for all police districts to use the weapon before the end of 2023. – I think it is good that electroshock weapons can in some cases replace the use of firearms. I think it is good for both the police and the public that we get a new means of power, says André Lilletvedt. He is section leader for operational training in the West police district. Electroshock weapon Photo: ERIC GAILLARD / Reuters A hand-held weapon that delivers an electric shock intended to disrupt the central nervous system so that the victim is temporarily paralyzed. The electroshock causes uncontrolled muscle contractions The electroshock weapon is mainly of two types: One that can be used close, manually on the victim, or from a distance by firing two arrows with wires attached to them They are often called tasers after the well-known manufacturer Taser It is forbidden to own , sell or acquire such a weapon in Norway without special permission. Christian Wierøed-Pedersen aims the electroshock weapon at the police. Photo: Sjur Mikal Dolve / news Between pepper spray and gun Lilletvedt sees that the electroshock weapon can be used in situations where someone threatens the police or others with, for example, a knife or axe. The electroshock weapon can be used where means of force such as batons and pepper spray do not have a long enough range, but firearms are not necessary. – Then I can have more distance from the situation and make better assessments, says Lilletvedt. The Taser works by firing two arrows. When they hit the body, it sends up to 50,000 volts through the body of the person hit for five seconds. The aim is to temporarily paralyze the person who is hit. – It is a shock to the body to be hit. In situations where there are openly sick people, pregnant women and the elderly, we have to consider carefully whether to use it, says Lilletvedt. Training has started all over the country The police districts Sør-West, Troms and East, in addition to the emergency squad in the Oslo police district, have had electric shock weapons since 2019 as a trial project. In a report news got access to in autumn 2021, the police wrote that some of the 90 who had been shot had received “lighter injuries”. The electroshock weapon can also send current at a short distance, in addition to firing current-carrying arrows. Photo: Sjur Mikal Dolve / news As far as the Norwegian Police Directorate knows, training in the use of electroshock weapons has started in all police districts, except Agder. – The aim is for absolutely all police districts to adopt this tool before the end of 2023, says Sidsel Linden, press contact at the Directorate of Police. Lilletvedt says it will become common to see police with electroshock weapons. – This is an aid that every police patrol should have. Not all police officers will wear it on their hip, but some will wear it. – Do you think electroshock weapons will be used a lot? – No, I don’t think so, says Lilletvedt.
ttn-69
Now all police patrols will get this weapon – news Vestland
