Arming of police officers in American Samoa to become reality

Transcript

The arming of police officers in American Samoa is set to become a reality with the approval of a training programme and a plan to purchase handguns being considered.

When the Commissioner of Public Safety, William Haleck, started his tenure early this year, one of his aims was to allow police officers to carry guns.

He told Bridget Tunnicliffe while crime involving firearms is not on the increase, it's better the police have access to guns in the event they need to respond to a volatile situation.

WILLIAM HALECK: Right now we are just serving, but we cannot protect anyone because the bad guys have the guns and we don't have any guns, so it's better to be safe than to be sorry. We've already had incidents in the past. All it takes is a training programme, which I've been working on and it's been approved. And that's all that's required. We're going to start off with the less lethal types such as the use of the baton, the use of the pepper spray, the use of the tasers. We're going to start very small, maybe beginning with 20 officers. Officers will also have to be psychologically evaluated before they can even be allowed to get the weapons, and of course there'll be extensive training surrounding the use of the firearms, so we have to be very careful. And we're moving very slowly. Of course, the last resort will be the use of the firearms. Again, since the last incident back a couple of years ago where a police lieutenant was shot point-blank in front of our court, it's high time we take a very serious look at this, because I certainly do not want to have another person die under my watch. And that's my main concern. We are law enforcement officers. We are here to protect. And right now we're able to serve, but we cannot protect anyone during these changing times. Why not have it in case we do have a situation?

BRIDGET TUNNICLIFFE: So you said that there are a lot of firearms in American Samoa, but they are in the wrong hands. How are people getting hold of these firearms in the first place? Is it easy to purchase a firearm in American Samoa?

WH: Well, firearms in American Samoa, handguns per say, it's against the law to have them. The American Samoan citizens are able to register a .22 rifle or a 12-gauge shotgun for the purposes of their plantation. But handguns, there's a law against them, you're not allowed to have them. However, handguns, as you know, are being smuggled into the territory by various means. The bad guys will always find a way to get the weapons in. We know for sure, through intelligence that we've seen, that there are handguns already here on island. A few months ago when we did a police raid in one of the villages on one of the suspects, when we hit the place early in the morning he was asleep with a .357 magnum by his side, in his hand. So there's another instance, that we have to be safe when we're forming these drug raids or whatever kind of raids that we're performing.

BT: Are there stats that actually show that crime involving firearms is on the increase?

WH: It's there. And I'm just taking measures. I'm very aware of gun violence and what have you and I don't want to be in a situation where we are required to have weapons and we do not. It's better to be safe than to be sorry.