Major Garda Tasers update as date set for 128 officers to patrol with stun guns
Gardai will launch a Taser pilot for frontline uniform officers on Thursday, December 28 - marking the first time ordinary patrol gardai will carry stun guns while on duty.The pilot will see 128 specially trained gardai across four stations authorised to carry Tasers during operational duties. The participating stations are Store Street in Dublin, Pearse Street in Dublin, Kevin Street in Dublin and Waterford Garda Station, which are already set up with body worn cameras.Every officer involved has completed a three day Taser training course, designed around the Irish Constitution and European Convention on Human Rights, to make sure that the deployment of the devices remains fully human rights compliant.Speaking about the rollout, Paul Cleary, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Security, Strategy and Governance, said: "Every day, frontline Gardai respond to fast-moving, unpredictable incidents. Almost all are resolved calmly. But some can turn volatile very quickly. Situations where somebody is armed, distressed, intoxicated, or experiencing a severe mental-health crisis. In some of those scenarios, Gardaí have to make instant decisions to protect the public, protect the person in crisis, and to protect themselves."The Taser pilot is about giving specially trained Gardaí, a controlled, less-lethal option when every other approach has failed or isn’t safe. This isn’t about changing the culture of Irish policing. It isn’t about arming Gardaí. And it isn’t about increasing force. This is about preventing harm."During the pilot, Tasers will only be carried in marked patrol cars, with every deployment recorded on body-worn cameras and stored in the Digital Evidence Management System for review. Any use will also be reported to Fiosrú, the Office of the Police Ombudsman.Gardai have used Tasers since 2007, but until now, they were restricted to specialist units, including the Emergency Response Unit and Regional Armed Support Units. Over the past five years, the force has averaged two Taser deployments per month.The rollout comes amid a backdrop of rising assaults on gardai. Between 2014 and 2024, an average of 299 officers were assaulted each year, with 470 assaults recorded in 2023 following post-pandemic increases.Cleary added: "I want to be very clear: human rights, proportionality, and community safety are at the heart of how we police. Tasers will only be used where there is a clear, immediate threat that cannot be managed in any safer way. And we will record every use for strict oversight."We know trust matters. We know policing only works when the public believe in how we operate and why we do what we do. This pilot is measured, transparent, and grounded in keeping people safe, including the individuals we encounter at their most vulnerable."We’re doing this because the realities of frontline policing are changing. And it’s our responsibility to make sure the tools, training, and safeguards change with them, in a way that protects communities and respects the values that define Irish policing."The pilot will be "rigorously evaluated" before any decision is made to expand Tasers to more officers across Ireland.Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
