Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police conference cancels taser report

August 25, 2008
Jason Magder, The Gazette

MONTREAL - A much-anticipated interim report on the use of Taser stun guns in law enforcement that was to be presented Monday afternoon was cancelled.

Steve Palmer, the Executive Director of the Canadian Police Research Centre, was commissioned by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to conduct a full-scale review of stun gun use. The review was ordered after Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died after being stunned by at Taser gun RCMP officers at the Vancouver International Airport.

Palmer was expected to present an interim briefing to the law enforcement officials at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in Montreal Monday afternoon.

However, over the weekend, officials decided to cancel the briefing. The Canadian Police Research Centre operates under the banner of Defence Research and Development Canada, a special operating agency of the Ministry of National Defence.

Taser International, the company that manufactures stun guns for many law enforcement agencies, is one of the main sponsors of the annual conference.

"It was decided it would be more valuable to have the study stand up to the rigours of peer review before being released," said a spokesperson for Defence Research and Development Canada.

The spokesperson didn't know if the interim report is expected to be made public. The final report has not yet been completed.

The main theme of the conference's theme is "better diversity management through partnership," and workshops will deal with issues of racial profiling, as well as reasonable accommodation.

The conference is being held at both the Palais de Congrés and the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel. It began last night and will run until Wednesday.