The province has announced that new guidelines for Taser use will be implemented for all Alberta police agencies.
The new guidelines will require police to have a Taser co-ordinator, ensure that ongoing testing continues, and establish a reporting system for each time a Taser is deployed, which will be monitored by the Solicitor General.
Under the old rules, police were allowed to fire the weapon "when faced with actual or even threatened resistance to lawful arrest".
But the new guidelines go much further. Police should only fire if there's "a real likelihood of injury to the officer, subject, or bystander."
"If they're not posing a threat to either themselves a member of the public or an officer then we don't believe the machine should be deployed," said Fred Lindsay, Alberta Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security
Police services will be responsible for the ongoing yearly testing of the devices. A Taser instructor claims the regulations are already being followed.
"We've already been in line with that, and our training materials have reflected that so it's a positive change," said Const. Joe Tassone.
Lawyer Tom Engel, who has sued police on behalf of Taser victims, welcomes the change but said actions speaks louder then words.
"I'll be more comfortable when I see the officers have learned that's what they can and cannot do and actually practice what the policy preaches," he said.
The guidelines also state that all new devices must be tested before putting them to use.
Early last month, the RCMP announced that it was removing 600 of its M26 Conducted Energy Weapons from the force until each the units were tested.
And prior to that, Alberta released the results of its tests on Tasers and it found one in 10 of the devices were not operating properly.
With files from CTV's Scott Roberts
