The taser party continues in Ontario

TODAY: Police Taser 22-year-old man
March 8, 2009
Bob Boughnerr, Chatham Daily News

A Taser was used Saturday morning by Chatham-Kent police on a 22-year-old Chatham man who resisted arrest. Police charged the man with resisting arrest and carrying a concealed weapon. The man was located on Thames Street shortly after midnight and there was a warrant for his arrest. Police said the man resisted an officer’s attempt to handcuff him. Police said the man kicked at them and banged his head on the side of the cruiser. During a search of his clothing, police found a folding pocket knife with the blade locked in the open position. Police said neither the accused or the arresting officers sustained any injuries.

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But I thought this was just exactly, precisely, absolutely no doubt about it the type of taser use that is no longer tolerated in Ontario! According to these guys, at least:

Owen Sound Police Chief Tom Kaye, February 20, 2009: "In Ontario, assaultive, combative behaviour has to be present, there has to be a threat in order for you to be Tasered."

Cornwall, Ontario Police Chief Dan Parkinson, February 23, 2009: Most of the RCMP's new guidelines on the use of Tasers have already been implemented by municipal police forces in Ontario, including Cornwall, says the city's chief of police. Chief Dan Parkinson said much of the RCMP policy announced Thursday - which will prohibit the stun guns from being used to simply subdue suspects - is reflected in an October 2008 report filed by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

Niagara Regional Police Deputy Chief Joe Matthews, February 27, 2009: In Ontario, the actions of police officers are determined by a "use of force" model, he said. In that model, someone who is actively resisting is someone who physically tries to prevent an officer from doing his or her job, but does not pose a threat. "The example I like to use is someone who is going to be arrested but says, 'No, you can't make me go,' and hangs onto a lamp post or something," Matthews said. "They are not posing a risk to the officer or to anyone else." After the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police reviewed Taser use in the province last spring, it recommended a change to that policy. The NRP, as with several Ontario police departments, complied. Since July, NRP officers carrying Tasers can use them only when a suspect displays "assaultive behaviour." Matthews said under the use of force model, assaultive behaviour occurs when someone poses a risk to police officers or a citizen.