In the future, Berlin police officers will carry taser guns when patrolling the districts of Mitte and Kreuzberg. After a test phase of three years, these weapons could be introduced across the board.
The Berlin police departments of police stations 32 (Mitte) and 53 (Kreuzberg) are being armed with electroshock weapons. This is part of a test phase that is scheduled to last for three years. Ten police officers at each of the departments received training on the use of taser guns. Costs are said to be in the region of 55,000 euros.
Actually known as electroshock guns, tasers fire projectiles fitted with barbed hooks. Wires connected to these conduct shocks of 50,000 volts, thereby inducing a state of temporary paralysis. While their manufacturers claim that taser guns are a “non-lethal weapon”, critics prefer to use the term “less-lethal weapon”. According to reporting by the Guardian daily newspaper, at least 47 people died in the USA following the use of taser guns as of November 2015. Berlin police introduces electroshock weapons for patrolling officers weiterlesen