Tasers pulled 41 times in Rotorua

Police have fired Tasers at eight people in Rotorua and surrounding districts, resolving all but one of the callouts.

The Tasers have also been accidentally fired seven times during pre-operational checks inside police stations in Rotorua, Taupo and the Eastern Bay.

In Rotorua, police presented a Taser on 41 occasions between March 22 last year and June 15 this year and fired them at two people - aged 18 and 39 - on two occasions in the city during that time.

The figures were released to The Daily Post after a request made to Police National Headquarters under the Official Information Act regarding the use of Tasers in Rotorua, Taupo and the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Tasers fire barbed darts carrying up to 50,000 volts and have been distributed throughout the Bay of Plenty police district since early last year.

The first time a Taser was presented by police in the Bay of Plenty police district was in Rotorua in April last year.

Rotorua police were called to an incident where a man was threatening to harm himself. The Taser was not fired.

In the Taupo area, police presented a Taser on 21 jobs and discharged them on three occasions on people aged 22, 34 and 37, while in the Eastern Bay of Plenty Tasers were presented on 19 occasions and fired three times at three people aged 28, 35 and 42 in that timeframe.

All five times the Taser was used in Rotorua and the Eastern Bay of Plenty, the situation police were called to was resolved.

However, national manager of operations Superintendent Barry Taylor, who supplied the information, said details could not be revealed because it would require "substantial collation and research".

In Taupo, one of the three cases where a Taser was fired was not enough to resolve a situation "because probes missed a person moving at speed towards the officer".

The figures also revealed how many times Tasers had been used unintentionally in Rotorua and the Eastern Bay between March 22 last year and June 15 this year.

Tasers were accidentally fired once in Rotorua, four times in the Taupo area and twice in the Eastern Bay.

"On all seven occasions, the Taser was unintentionally discharged during pre-operational checks inside police stations," Mr Taylor said.

Bay of Plenty police district operations manager Inspector Scott Fraser said the Taser saved lives.

"In most cases, simply presenting a Taser at an offender has been enough to defuse a situation and achieve a safe resolution without injury to police, the public or the offender," Mr Fraser said.

"Taser provides police with an effective, non-lethal tool that helps police defuse serious situations, while also helping keep staff safe.

"Ultimately [the] Taser helps us save lives, including those of police, offenders and innocent members of the public."

Mr Fraser said the training programme was robust and police needed to attain a high level to qualify to use a Taser.