To some, it’s just another line on a budget, but for Barrie police officers it's an upgrade to some much-needed equipment they say could be the difference between life and death.
At a recent Barrie Police Services Board meeting, Chief Rich Johnston brought forward a last-minute budget item totalling more than $780,000 for the purchase of upwards of 200 new conducted energy weapons (CEWs) — otherwise commonly known as Tasers, or stun guns — for the department’s approximately 250 front-line officers.
City police are currently using the X2 version, the technology for which is more than over 10 years old and no longer supported by Axon.
The new devices, known as the Taser 10, are in the process of being approved for use in Ontario by the Ministry of the Solicitor General, Johnston said.
Sgt. Jason Frye, who has worked as a police officer for 27 years, including the last 18 years with Barrie police, and Const. Mark Rybicki, who's in charge of use of force for the local police force, are both well versed in the different types of CEWs and how they say the devices can help officers safely resolve a variety of different high-stress situations.
“Conducted energy weapons have been around for over 20 years. As we evolve, so does the technology,” said Frye, who leads up the department's training unit, which is why the department is seeking to upgrade its current CEW to the Taser 10 model.
The current generation of stun guns, said Rybicki, has a two-cartridge capacity, which at the time it was created was an “excellent piece of technology.”
That said, the technology involved with these devices has improved significantly over the last decade, he added.
“The ability to capture information has changed a lot over the years as well. With our first Taser weapon, there was no ability to track any information, (such as) date, time, duration of deployment. With the next evolution of Tasers … we started having the ability to download the device to capture some of that information,” said Rybicki, who has worked as a master Taser instructor for several years.
The current model, the X2, has two cartridges with four probes, as well as the ability to track data.
“Two probes come out of one cartridge. A single pull of the trigger will deploy cartridge number one, which hopefully we make contact with our subject and can incapacitate them and take them into custody safely," Rybicki said. "If that doesn’t happen, we have the opportunity to follow up with a second set of cartridges.”
While the X2 currently provides some of the most advanced technologies, police say it is unfortunately no longer being supported by the company that makes the Tasers for use by law enforcement and will be obsolete by 2029.
The approval of the Taser 10, the local officers note, will provide police with access to a newer, more reliable and safer technology. It will also support the integration of Barrie police’s new virtual reality (VR) training.
All the previous generations have a 25-foot distance cartridge, Rybicki explained. With the Taser 10, officers will have the ability to de-escalate and deploy a CEW on a person upwards of 40 feet away. It will also include 10 cartridges, which means officers will have up to 10 chances to deploy the probes.
“Taser 10 has an unprecedented 10 probes on board that platform and the ability to fire individually," Frye said. "All of them are laser-sighted, so wherever the laser is, that is where, in theory, the probe is going to strike. We haven’t had those advantages until now."
Laser-sighted aiming
Rybicki said the probes do need to make contact with the skin, which is why the 10 opportunities to make contact with the subject is an upgrade.
“Our members can individually target where they want those probes to go. Should you have an individual wearing a puffy jacket … which given our environment here where you maybe have two months a year where people are walking around in T-shirts …. you can envision somebody walking around with some type of weapon and wearing a big puffy jacket," he said.
"So now our officers can target specific areas in order to have proper shot placement and hopefully achieve neuromuscular incapacitation."
When the device is armed, it emits a high-pitched sound and flashing strobe lights, which, according to reports they have received from south of the border, have resulted in “a lot of compliance," Rybicki said.
The hope, he added, is that the noise alone will be enough for an individual to comply with police and avoid the need to actually fire the Taser.
The use of a CEW, said Frye, is typically reserved for what he called “assaultive subjects,” however every situation is different.
“(Officers) take into totality all of the circumstances (and) the imminent need to control the subject," he said. "It could be a case where the person is not displaying assaultive behaviour, but there is an imminent need to control that person, then we are authorized to use the Taser in that circumstance."
Both officers say they have worked with several different models of Tasers during their careers and believe this new technology will help not only keep police safer, but also the person they are dealing with — especially given how quickly a situation can unfold.
Frye recalled one call during his time with Toronto police where he was dealing with a suicidal person.
“He made a run for the balcony. When that happens, you have a couple of choices: You can tackle him and hope he doesn’t get over the balcony by himself or, God forbid, drag you over the balcony. Or, you can use the justification of the CEW in that circumstance and we did. It ultimately stopped him from getting over that balcony.”
'Completely incapacitating'
Both officers have experienced what it feels like to be “tased,” they told BarrieToday.
"It basically takes the message that your brain is sending your hand saying to wiggle your fingers and shuts it off," said Frye. "You can still hear, you can breathe and some can talk. You will probably make involuntary and inaudible noises you never thought you’d make, but it’s just completely incapacitating."
In his previous role, they’d undergo training exercises where they’d be hooked up to probes and instructed to draw their weapon.
“You couldn’t do it. There’s just no way," Frye said. "It goes through your mind that it’s mind over matter and you can fight through it. I am here to tell you you are not going to fight through it.”
Access to a CEW means officers have the option to utilize a less-lethal use of force than they may otherwise have to consider.
‘I’ve had two operational deployments where I was able to take advantage of a subject with a knife (and) threatening to harm themselves. I was able to have two successful deployments in the back,” recalled Rybicki, who has been a member of Barrie police for 20 years, having started his career with Peel. “This is the most widely used use-of-force option available to law enforcement.”
It's also one of the safest, added Frye.
“There is very little risk to any type of collateral, or any type of injury. You’re going to get a couple of contact marks on your skin and that’s going to be it," he said. "If you look at some of the other use-of-force options we train our police officers on, (such as) pepper spray or baton, if you’re justified in striking someone with your baton, you can bet you could have some type of collateral injury as a result of that.
“With this, it is the safest not only for the officer, but also for the subject you’re dealing with.”
Rybicki said the new technology embedded in the Taser 10 allows information to be tracked, including when it is upholstered and when the device is armed. It can also trigger an officer’s body-worn camera to be turned on.
If a CEW is deployed, the angle can be tracked as well as the distance from where it was deployed to the time it hit its target.
“There can be a lot of hype and misunderstanding about conducted energy weapons, (but) it’s a system that’s been in place for well over 20 years in law enforcement," said Frye. "We are just going to the latest evolution of the CEW and it just so happens to be the safest of them all.
“This is not a platform or intermediate weapon of convenience for us. It is a necessity," he added. "It’s the safest intermediate use-of-force option to bring situations to a successful conclusion, minimizing risk and injury to the public and the officer involved.”
The funding request is expected to be brought before the police services board at its Nov. 21 meeting for consideration. If approved, it would result in an increase of 1.16 per cent in the department’s budget request for 2025.
