Police didn't tell parents about using taser on son

July 28, 2004
ROBERT MATAS, Globe & Mail

VANCOUVER -- The family of Robert Bagnell was startled to find out through media reports last weekend that police used a Taser stun gun to subdue him moments before he stopped breathing and died.

"That's no way to hear about it," his mother Riki Bagnell said yesterday in an interview from her home outside Summerside, PEI.

"Why did not someone say, 'This could be controversial, and be prepared to hear more about it.' Needless to say, I was quite shocked," she said. "I cannot imagine a parent wanting to find out something like this like we did."

Vancouver police were quick to apologize yesterday after hearing about the Bagnells' distress.

"It was our mistake, and we apologize to the family," police spokeswoman Constable Sarah Bloor said in an interview.

The police originally spoke to the family before the officers' reports on the incident were compiled.

"We are more than happy to answer any questions they have about the actions that evening," she added.

Mr. Bagnell died June 23. Vancouver police announced his death on Friday, a month after police confronted him and used a stun gun to calm him down.

He was the third person in Canada to die in the past year after being shot by police officers with a Taser, a high-voltage weapon that lets loose 50,000 volts of electricity for five seconds.

The coroner has not yet determined the cause of Mr. Bagnell's death. A toxicology report says a lethal amount of cocaine was found in his body.

Nevertheless, his death reignited the national debate over use of the high-voltage weapon. Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham argued the gun is an effective, non-lethal weapon that saves lives in confrontations with combative individuals.

Some advocates of proper treatment of the mentally ill support that view. But the Canadian Safety Council has called for a comprehensive review of the Taser's use.

Mrs. Bagnell said Vancouver police phoned her two days after her son's death. A police detective said her son had stopped breathing while they were trying to subdue him. They did not mention that a stun gun had been used during the confrontation.

Mrs. Bagnell and her husband Bob had the impression her son, who was a drug addict, had died of a drug overdose. They thought maybe they hadn't heard everything and asked a close friend who was an RCMP constable to phone Vancouver police and ask more questions. Police repeated the same details. Once again, they did not mention the use of a Taser.

A week later, Vancouver's coroner called the Bagnells to inform them about the process leading to a public inquiry into the death. The coroner, Stephen Fonseca, also did not mention the use of a stun gun.

Mr. Fonseca said yesterday in an interview it was not his responsibility to tell the family about the Taser. "Anything relevant to the death will be presented at the inquest," he said.

Mr. Bagnell's sister, Patti Gillman, said in an interview that the family held a quiet memorial in Prince Edward Island on July 18. Her brother's friends in Vancouver celebrated his life on July 14.

The family was told he was happy and doing fairly well in Vancouver at the time of his death, she said. Her parents were pleased to hear that.

"That completed the circle," she said. "When they heard there was a service in Vancouver and 22 or 23 people were at the service . . . it made them feel a little better."

Then a week later, they found out about the Taser. They were upset. "They thought they had closure," Ms. Gillman said.

Mr. Bagnell was 44 when he died. (Police mistakenly announced last week he was 54.) He had been involved with drugs since he was a teenager. His family said he was "a street person" and sold artwork at street corners. He air-brushed artwork on the sides of trucks in exchange for rides.

When police called to inform them of his death, his mother had not seen him for 15 years and had not spoken to him for eight. They had tried unsuccessfully to find him, she said.

"If he had died of an overdose, it would not be a surprise to anyone. We knew his lifestyle," she said.

But they were caught off guard by the reports about the Taser. "The weapon should not be used indiscriminately," Mrs. Bagnell said.