Victoria, B.C.- Solicitor General Rich Coleman has directed the RCMP in B.C. to immediately pull all 578 of their older-model M-26 Tasers from service after independent testing showed the same models used by municipal police forces, sheriffs and corrections did not meet manufacturer's specifications 80 per cent of the time.

 

By order of the Province, no M-26 CEW, used by either a provincial agency or the RCMP, may be put back into service until independently tested, repaired and re-tested in cases where there was a failure to comply with manufacturer standards, or replaced by newer models.

Testing completed in May on M-26 models used by provincial organizations revealed:

* Of 128 units used by municipal police, sheriffs and provincial corrections, 102 did not meet the manufacturer's specifications.

* 101 units had output below the manufacturer's specifications. 

* One CEW failed due to a combination of factors. 

* Of the 102 units that were not up to specifications, 25 came from municipal police detachments, 75 from sheriffs, and two from corrections.

Last December, the solicitor general directed B.C.'s municipal chiefs of police to pull from service tasers that were acquired before Jan. 1, 2006, for testing. The first round of testing on X26 models was completed and made public in April. Testing on 280 CEWs purchased by provincial agencies after 2006 is also being done and the RCMP has been directed to
do the same.

Testing is being done by MPB Laboratories in Ontario, which performs aeronautical, military and compliance testing.