Taser use report out next week

Tom says: "In Ontario, assaultive, combative behaviour has to be present, there has to be a threat in order for you to be Tasered." He is so full of shit. Just last week, a 22 year old man was tasered in the Ontario city where I live for "resisting arrest." There was no mention of "assaultive, combative behaviour." I'm working on getting in touch with the guy to find out what happened and I will keep you posted.

Tom Kaye has a biased and slanted view on tasers - he's just another brainwashed taser fanboy. Be sure to also click on the "Tom Kaye" link at the bottom of this post and you'll see what I mean.

I don't expect to be surprised next week. After all, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (of which Tom is Vice-President) wouldn't want to do or say anything that might jeopardize the big sponsorship money they receive each year from Taser International!!

February 20, 2009
MARIA CANTON, OWEN SOUND SUN TIMES

Owen Sound Police Chief Tom Kaye says a national report on Taser use will be released early next week and will include recommendations and guidelines for police forces across the country to consider.

Kaye, who was appointed head of the conductive energy weapons committee last August, says the report won't be delayed by the fact that RCMP Commissioner William Elliott acknowledged last week before a House of Commons public safety committee that Tasers can kill, especially those who are "acutely agitated" -- a rare admission from the head of a police force.

"We're just finishing off the final wording of it and it should be released publicly next Tuesday," Kaye said Thursday.

"It's a position paper and it has been adopted by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Police Association. The joint release will come out through those two organizations representing some 60,000 police officers in Canada."

Kaye is also the vice-president for central Canada for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

The city's top cop says media reports about the RCMP restricting Taser use to situations where the only other option is lethal force are erroneous.

Instead, he says the RCMP last spring tightened their Taser use policy to be more in line with the provinces, including Ontario, which have more stringent guidelines on when the devices can be used.

"The RCMP's policy on the use of Tasers was considerably different than all of the provinces -- they were using the Taser in cases of non-compliance up until June of last year," he said.

"In Ontario, assaultive, combative behaviour has to be present, there has to be a threat in order for you to be Tasered. The RCMP raised the bar on when they can use conductive energy weapons."

In Ontario, only supervisors and tactical team members carry Tasers, while in the RCMP front-line officers are authorized to carry them.

Last June, the RCMP amended its conductive energy weapon policy to read that Tasers "must only be used where it is necessary to do so in circumstances of threats to officer or public safety.