Police chief leads taser research group

So ... let me get this straight. Taser fan Tom Kaye has already concluded that “There is no scientific evidence, no empirical data that would indicate that (Tasers) are posing any kind of a danger, in terms of fatalities, after being used.” What about the so-called "elephant in the room"? You can't ignore 23 dead Canadians and 352 dead Americans.

Wow - so, this is the guy who will lead the "research" that will ultimately produce taser guidelines for police across this country?! Well, it's good to know the outcome of the "research" has already been pre-determined and that we don't have to worry the report will smack of unbiased independence.

I can't wait to see if this "research group" will include the rest of the taser/excited delirium fan club, including but not limited to: Dr. Christine Hall? Ontario Police College Team Leader Chris Lawrence? RCMP Cpl. Greg Gillis? Steve Palmer, Executive Director of the Canadian Police Research Centre? Former Taser shareholder Sgt. Darren Laur of the Victoria Police Department? (He wrote the book on Taser research projects!!) Lt. Michel Masse, who trained Montreal police officers in how to use Tasers and was paid by the manufacturer to promote their use? Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino? Nova Scotia Justice Minister Cecil Clarke? Ontario's former Deputy Chief Coroner Jim Cairns?

While you're at it, why not throw in a couple of Taser International employees? They LOVE to educate dumb Canadians!

Forgive me if I sound jaded.

September 25, 2008
Maria Canton, Owen Sound Sun Times

Owen Sound’s police chief is leading a national research group that has been given the job of producing a paper about Tasers that may include recommendations and guidelines for police across the country.

Tom Kaye was appointed the head of the Taser committee in August while at the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs meeting in Ottawa and he says the paper will hopefully put to rest the angst the public feels about the use of the conductive energy devices.

“The research into the use of these devices and the deployment of them still has yet to show any kind of casual linkage between the use of (Tasers) and any fatalities anywhere in Canada, North America or even around the world,” Kaye said Wednesday.

“There is no scientific evidence, no empirical data that would indicate that (Tasers) are posing any kind of a danger, in terms of fatalities, after being used.”

The Owen Sound police service has four Tasers and officers have used them four times since 2005. In Ontario, only sergeants and acting sergeants are authorized to use Tasers and members of the Owen Sound force have been Tasered as part of their training.

“There are people who have died from the use of these devices, but (their deaths) are not directly linked to the actual use of the (Taser),” said Kaye, who is also the vice-president for the central region of Canada on the executive board of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

Many of the deaths that have occurred after a person has been Tasered have been attributed to “excited delirium,” a heightened state of distress usually brought on by an intense struggle that can lead a person’s heart to stop.

Several high-profile Canadian Taser cases, including several deaths, have prompted calls for Tasers to be banned, but Kaye says what the public really needs is to be better educated on the devices.

“The idea of using a (Taser) is so the person doesn’t die. If I thought for a minute that someone would die, we wouldn’t Taser our own people and we certainly wouldn’t Taser someone if we thought it was going to kill them, there would be no point, if that was the case we would use a sidearm or the baton,” he said.

“The city police have no plans to either start to curtail or withdraw the use of the conductive energy devices here in Owen Sound. There is a risk to every form of force that police officers use, whether it’s a baton, (pepper) spray or a sidearm.”

The research paper is due out in the spring of 2009 and Kay said he hopes it brings about a set of national guidelines for Taser use.

ANOTHER ARTICLE FROM THE BAYSHORE BROADCASTING CORPORATION:

Police Chief leads taser review
Written by Mark Beaton

Owen Sound's Police Chief is looking at tasers on a national scale.

Tom Kaye was appointed to head up a team to bring forward a position paper on the use of conducted energy devices or tasers at the Executive Board of Canadian Association Chiefs of Police Meeting in August.

Kaye says the committee has begun researching the use of tasers by police on a national level but also looking at taser use by police forces in other countries.

Kaye say the idea behind the report is to bring forward the position of the Canadian Association Chiefs of Police on deployment of conducted energy devices in the country.

Kaye says the report will have recommendations on when tasers should be deployed, who should use them and better training information.

Kaye says the report will also clear up the air on taser use being linked to any deaths in the country.

Kaye says the research is on going into the use of tasers but has yet to prove to link the devices to any death in Canada.

Kaye says there has been 25 deaths in Canada where a taser was deployed and in inquests into 16 of the deaths showed the conducted energy device was not the cause of the death.

Since 2005, Owen Sound Police has had 4 tasers and has been used only 4 times.

Kaye adds city police has no plans of eliminating the use of tasers.

The report is expected to be released to the public by the spring of 2009.