Taser death spurs inquest

July 20, 2004
Philip Mascoll, The Toronto Star

Former boxer on rampage in motel subdued by officers

Coroner will look into use of `less-lethal force' by police

An inquest has been called into the death of a former boxer after Peel Region police reportedly used a Taser gun to subdue him.

Jerry Knight, 29, of Brampton was pronounced dead on arrival at Peel Memorial Hospital at about 2 a.m. Saturday after an altercation at a motel near Pearson airport.

The inquest jury will be looking at all forms of "less-lethal force" used by police, said Ontario deputy chief coroner Jim Cairns.

"Right now, officers are equipped with pepper, a baton (nightstick) and then basically have to use deadly force," Cairns said. "Recently there has been discussion as to whether officers should be equipped with Tasers.

"We are not saying it (the Taser) did or did not play a part in the death," Cairns said.

Knight's death has sparked debate over the use of Tasers, which are electric guns that discharge up to 50,000 volts of electricity. The Tasers are designed to cause pain and temporary paralysis but not death, the makers say.

Witnesses reported that a disturbed Knight had "gone berserk" — hitting and throwing things around the office — and that prompted motel staff to call police. When police arrived, they tried to calm Knight, but he eventually had to be subdued.

Knight is the fourth person killed in a confrontation with police in the GTA this year.

Ironically, inquests planned to look into the other three deaths will be looking at the question of whether equipping more officers with Tasers would have saved lives, Cairns said.

There have been several deadly incidents involving police this year, including:

On Jan. 10, a Toronto police officer fatally shot mentally ill Antonio Bellon, 63, after Bellon shot another officer in the arm. The officer was cleared of wrongdoing, but mental health advocates demanded better training for officers.

On May 21, an undercover officer fatally shot 17-year-old Jeffrey Reodica after a confrontation in a quiet Scarborough neighbourhood around the corner from the bungalow where the teenager lived. Reodica died after being taken off life support at Sunnybrook hospital three days after the shooting.

On June 13, O'Brien Christopher-Reid was shot dead by police in Wilket Creek Park, south of Edwards Gardens after he allegedly lunged at an officer with a knife.

In Knight's case, staff from the Special Investigations Unit, which investigates civilian death and injury in police operations, were trying to determine what happened as police attempted to keep Knight under control.

SIU spokesperson Rose Bliss said yesterday that an autopsy earlier in the day did not reveal a cause of death.

"The coroner will be doing further analysis and testing," Bliss said. She agreed toxicology would be part of those tests.

Cairns said a date for the inquest would be announced after the SIU investigation.

If any officer is found negligent in the death, the inquest would be held after any court proceedings.

"The inquest is going to look at anything that is involved in the death, including Tasers," Cairns said.

"This is the first inquest that we have had (in Ontario), to the best of my knowledge ... involving a person who has died after use of a Taser."

There have been four deaths involving Tasers in Canada but this is the first in Ontario.

In B.C., an inquest is to begin in October looking into the death of Clay Willey who died after police used a Taser to subdue him in 2003. He had suffered from both drug and heart problems.

A coroner's inquest into the cause of Willey's death is scheduled to begin this October in Prince George, B.C. An autopsy last year found that Willey died of a cocaine overdose, but his sister Bryna Willey disputes that claim, saying the Taser had an effect.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that several researchers have questions about the lack of independent research about Taser effects on humans, especially those with heart problems or drug addictions.

Cairns said it was a general policing principle that the least forceful methods to subdue a person are used.

But some of the methods have not been successful. Pepper spray, for example, "has all sorts of conditions in which it does not work," he said.

"All other options are really less lethal, rather than non-lethal. There have been cases where pepper spray has had adverse reaction of asthmatics, for example," Cairns said.

Knight's family refused comment when reached yesterday.