Halifax police believe someone may be in possession of a police-issued Taser after it fell out of an officer’s holster Monday night.
Police said the Taser, a less-lethal made by TASER Self-Defense, was lost during a foot pursuit on Yorkshire Avenue in Dartmouth. The conducted energy weapon somehow became loose and fell from its holster, police said in a news release Tuesday.
Officers searched the area minutes later and were unable to locate the Taser.
“Police believe someone has taken possession of the taser and are asking for the public’s assistance in locating it,” the force said.
“It is prohibited by law for members of the general public to possess police-issued equipment.”
Conducted energy weapons are one of several use-of-force weapons that police may use to subdue or restrain a person. These weapons are hand-held and send a jolt of electricity intended to stun and temporarily incapacitate an individual’s nervous system.
The charge is delivered through a pair of wires, weighted with barbed hooks, that can be fired from up to several metres away and can even penetrate some thick clothing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.