The province says it will be testing some police Tasers to make sure they are working properly.
Testing of all X-26 models, that were purchased before January 1, 2006, will begin in the New Year.
The move comes after manufacturing problems were detected across North America. Some of the Tasers may be discharging too much electricity.
"The plan is to test all of the approximately 400 Tasers in question. We'll await the results of those tests before deciding on next steps. In the meantime, we will continue to work with the Canadian Police Research Centre on a standard testing protocol for police services across the country," ," said Fred Lindsay, Alberta's solicitor general.
In British Columbia, the Tasers are being taken off the street while the testing of old Tasers is done.
That's not the case in Alberta. The province will take nearly two months to complete its testing and in the meantime officers will still use the older models.
"I would feel very uncomfortable removing Tasers as a tool for our officers on the street," says Chief Rick Hanson. "I can tell you that our officers are faced with situations where the opinion is either Taser or deadly force and I can tell you I'd rather have our officers default to a Taser."
Tasers have been a controversial tool for police since their introduction. Amnesty International says all Tasers should be shelved until they are proven to meet safety standards. "It would be getter if they stopped using it altogether and had a proper study, independent scientific study, on the effects of this weapon," says Erica Bullwinkley.
Alberta will begin testing their pre-2006 Taser models in January.
