Montreal asks for public's input on Taser use

April 3, 2010
ALANA COATES, The Gazette

The city of Montreal is to hold a public consultation on the use of Tasers by police officers.

Residents and representatives of organizations are urged to express their opinions on the issue at one of two sessions April 27 at city hall.

Last year, city council mandated the city's public security committee to analyze the pros and cons of Tasers, which use an electrical charge to disable targets. The consultations come as part of this inquiry, headed by Verdun borough mayor Claude Trudel.

The committee is to submit a report and recommendations to city council, which can then decide to pass it to Quebec Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis, city spokesperson Darren Becker said.

Taser use is already highly restricted in Montreal, Becker noted.

"There are only 16 Tasers for police officers in Montreal, and they can be used only in very specific circumstances to apprehend a suspect," he said.

Taser use came under scrutiny in Montreal after the death in 2007 of Quilem Registre, who died two days after being tasered six times by police as they tried to arrest him.

The consultations are set for 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. April 27 at city hall. People who wish sign up in advance to speak can call 514-872-3770.

Commentaries can also be sent to commissions@ville.montreal.qc.ca

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Excited-Delirium blog said...

The problem with seeking input from the general public is that most are apathetic, oblivious, or ignorant. And the law enforcement community are often naive, misled, or even worse... ...fully paid-up members of The Church of Taser.

The problems with tasers are extremely well documented.

1) Tasers are far too often overused, misused and abused.

Solution - gain control of the taser training. The OEM training is defective. It is misleading. It is propaganda. Next add Use of Force training. Highlight that lawful force is a damn noun.

2) Tasers can kill. Directly. Even healthy adults.

Solution - restrict tasers to only those cases where the subject is already, actively, being violent. Not just the old "an aggressive stance" bull sh_t.

3) The manufacturer denies the risk of death and encourages overuse.

Sue them. Sue and sue and sue. Deceptive and misleading advertising that leads to death is pretty serious.

The problems are well documented. The solutions follow logically. It's not something that needs anything more than information and honesty.