Ontario to tighten taser rules for police - and NO EXPANSION OF THEIR USE

March 30, 2010
Globe and Mail/Canadian Press

Report to recommend continuing use of tasers, but sets specific guidelines when it comes to vulnerable people

Ontario is tightening the rules around the use of stun guns by police, and will provide specific guidelines for the use of force when it comes to vulnerable people such as children and the mentally ill.

A draft report obtained by The Canadian Press recommends the continued use of tasers in Ontario, calling them “an effective, less lethal weapon” for law enforcement.

But it's asking the government to amend current provincial guidelines to include rules about deployment of the guns as well as standardized training for all users and instructors.

Minister of Community Safety Rick Bartolucci says the recommendations will be implemented as quickly as possible to ensure the province continues to have a measured approach to its use of tasers.

The report also suggests the ministry talk with police about who should be authorized to use the weapons, but Mr. Bartolucci says he's not going to expand their use for now.

The review was launched two years ago, after the 2007 death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, which sparked a public inquiry in British Columbia.