Police Ethical Standards Command to investigate ‘missing’ taser in Cairns

The case of a missing taser will be referred to the Police Ethical Standards Command after it was found in an unexpected location.

Missing taser found

A taser believed to have been lost by an officer while jumping fences in Mooroobool as he tracked a stolen car has been found – at the Cairns Police Station.

Far North Chief Superintendent Kevin Fitzgibbon on Thursday confirmed the taser had been found at the station after a review of CCTV footage showed the officer involved was not wearing the taser when he left the Police Station on New Year’s Eve.

He explained the timeline, saying the tactical crime squad officer was called in to work at short notice on New Year’s Eve to assist with an operation to disrupt stolen cars.

The officer discovered partway through his shift that he was missing a taser, and that his holster clip was broken, which led him to believe it had fallen out, and prompted a search and a public appeal for help.

Far North Chief Superintendent Kevin Fitzgibbon, speaking at Cairns Police station about locating a taser that was mistakenly believed to be missing.

An initial audit of the Tactical Crime Squad tasers showed one weapon was missing, but a follow-up audit of all tasers in the greater Cairns region showed a taser was not missing but was, in fact, at the Cairns Police Station.

Supt Fitzgibbon said it appeared that, in a separate incident, an officer had checked a taser out of one station and returned it at another, which was why police had initially believed one was missing.

The matter has been referred to the Ethical Standards Command for investigation.

“We’ve identified an issue here that a taser has ended up in a location where we didn’t expect it to be – it was still in a safe location in a police station, but there has been a stray from the policy there,” Superintendent Fitzgibbon said.

“Fortunately, the taser was never out in public so the public was never in any danger.

“Our officers have acted in good faith here. Things go wrong and we review the process around that. We’ve had this issue – let’s learn from it.”

A police officer demonstrates a taser.

Police had originally believed the taser was lost during a two-hour period on New Year’s Eve while an officer jumped fences between Irene Street and McGregor Street in Mooroobool as part of an operation to track and stop a stolen car.

On New Year’s Day, Superintendent Fitzgibbon appealed for assistance from the public, saying the officer’s activity had “damaged the holster and resulted in the taser falling out”.

During the appeal for help, he said police carried out extensive searches from first light in Mooroobool on January 1 and reviewed body-worn camera and CCTV footage.

After the weapon had been located on Thursday, Superintendent Fitzgibbon said any lessons from the incident would be shared with the officers involved and the wider police community..

“The Queensland Police Service takes any matter involving the storage, carriage, and use of weapons very seriously,” she said.

“As such, the circumstances surrounding the incident has been referred to the Ethical Standards Command for investigation.”

“The media and the public are thanked for their assistance.”

Originally published as Police Ethical Standards Command to investigate ‘missing’ taser in Cairns