Victoria police chief says public should be part of Taser use discussion

The inquest into my brother's death was abruptly adjourned after we tried to introduce a letter from the Victoria chief of police that raised concerns about the use of tasers.

September 15, 2006
Canadian Press

The continued use of Tasers by police in Canada needs to be discussed in a wider forum than just the policing community, Victoria's police chief says. In a 2005 letter to Police Complaints Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld and copied to Vancouver Chief Const. Jamie Graham, Paul Battershill said he had "philosophical concerns about whether police 'by themselves' should be defining where the Taser (Nasdaq:TASR) belongs on the force continuum. "As various studies rapidly evolve, it may be necessary to change placement in the continuum and I am not convinced this can be done by police 'by themselves," he said.

Battershill said he arrived at that view after comments by Los Angeles Deputy Chief Michael Berkow at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police meeting in Ottawa on Aug. 22, 2005. Berkow stated the Taser will ultimately end up as 'only' a specific alternative to lethal force.

"This requires further discussion," Battershill said.

Lawyer Cameron Ward agreed with the Victoria police chief that the issue of Taser use should be discussed in the public arena because the device, which delivers an electric shock, has safety implications.

Questions about the safety of Tasers have come in the wake of several deaths. However, the makers of the weapon say they're safe and the deaths resulted from other factors. The issue has been contentious in court cases across the country.
In Alberta, a police officer is on trial in Edmonton for assault over the use of a Taser. Const. Jeffrey Resler said in a statement to the Edmonton police internal affairs unit that he feared that the men he found in a hotel room on Nov. 27, 2003, had recently smoked methamphetamines or popped prescription pills. He said he believed that firing his Taser at two sleeping men was a safe way to wake them up.

In Ontario, a Chatham-Kent police officer faces assault charges in connection with an alleged incident in the booking room of police headquarters in Chatham. Sgt. Edmund MacLean, 58, is alleged to have assaulted and improperly used a Taser on a 33-year-old Chatham man who was being booked at headquarters on July 6.

Vancouver police say their officers unholstered their Taser weapons about once a week last year - a total of 52 times. The number includes not only when Tasers were used to deliver an electric shock, but also when they were deployed to get a suspect's attention.

Police defend the use of the weapon, saying they're safe and effective - saving lives and preventing injuries. Across Canada, at least six people have died after being shocked by Tasers, which fire two barbs attached to a wire that deliver a 50,000-volt shock on contact for up to five seconds. The weapon is meant to immobilize aggressors by shocking their muscles. Amnesty International has said the weapon should be banned until more tests are done to determine its safety. The human rights group said the guns can be deadly when someone is in a weakened state because of heart problems or drug use. Manufacturers of the Taser guns, now used by more than 50 police and correctional services across Canada, say their weapons have never been held directly responsible for a death. Taser International Inc. also says its weapons have saved more than 6,000 lives and are a safer alternative to police revolvers.