Gardaí in Waterford to be armed with taser guns to tackle ‘violent confrontations’

Waterford gardaí are to be armed with taser guns under a new trial set to begin this month.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan informed Cabinet on Tuesday morning that Conductive Energy Devices (CEDs) are to be introduced.

These devices, commonly known as tasers, will be given to 128 frontline gardaí across Dublin, Kilkenny and Waterford. The six-month pilot project could start as early as next week.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has agreed to the proposals in a bid to better tackle serious violent confrontations.

Minister O’Callaghan argues that frontline gardaí currently have “limited tactical options” in potentially violent encounters.

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These include verbal de-escalation and requesting assistance from armed colleagues.

The memo before Cabinet said that CEDs are a “less-lethal” way for gardaí to manage “high-risk” situations and that the aim is to reduce the need for more forceful interventions.

The areas involved in trialling the tasers have been chosen for the pilot project because they are also the divisions where body-worn cameras are currently being trialled.

Department of Justice officials believe that the trial can best be done by reviewing the body-worn camera footage of incidents where the tasers are used by gardaí.

Currently, just a small number of gardaí in the Armed Response Unit and Emergency Response Units have access to tasers.

However, Commissioner Kelly has said that gardaí should have everything they need to undertake their duties and enforce the law.