Canadian dies after being hit by taser

Four years to the day after my brother Bob died (on June 23, 2004) - we've lost another Canadian.

June 23, 2008
Tiffany Crawford, Canwest News Service

An Ontario man is dead after Ontario Provincial Police used a Taser after they said the man became combative and disturbed others. The OPP said the incident happened at about 10:30 a.m. Monday after police responded to a call of a disturbance in Norfolk County, about 130 kilometres southwest of Toronto.

The Taser incident reportedly happened at the beach hamlet of Turkey Point, which is a three-kilometre long sandy beach onlake Erie popular for fishing and hiking. The hamlet is home to very few year-round residents.

"During the encounter police deployed a conducted energy weapon," provincial police said in a statement Monday. Officers said ambulance personnel attended the scene and the man was taken into police custody. He was then transported to the Norfolk County OPP detachment, where he collapsed.

Officers said they administered first aid until the ambulance arrived. The male was transported to Norfolk General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

A spokesman for the OPP, Sgt. Pierre Chamberland, refused to divulge the name or age of the dead man. He said the police had no further comment on the matter, adding that because he died while in police custody, Ontario's Special Investigation Unit is investigating.

The SIU is an independent agency that investigates incidents involving police in which people are hurt or killed.

Since 2003, there have been 20 Taser-related deaths in Canada. More than 300 people across North America have died.

The RCMP's watchdog released a report last week saying he wants stricter guidelines on the use of Tasers but did not recommend an outright ban or moratorium on the weapons.

Paul Kennedy, chair of the RCMP's public complaints commission, said he supports the continued use of the stun gun, but only if the RCMP implements all of the recommendations contained in the commission's report.

Kennedy wants Tasers classified as "impact weapons"' and to only be allowed in situations where the person is combative or poses a risk of death or major harm to the officer, themselves and the public.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day asked the commission to look into RCMP use of Tasers after the high-profile death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport last fall.

Dziekanski died following an encounter with RCMP officers, who used a Taser on him.

Video of the incident sparked international outrage, debate over use of the devices and several investigations.

The RCMP has been using the weapon since 2001.