Montreal: Public consultations on taser use by police

April 28, 2010
CTV

Montreal's Public Safety Commission is holding two sessions Tuesday to hear from the citizens what they think about police and tasers.

The Commission was ordered last year to hold the hearings, and to look into the pros and cons of the supposedly non-lethal weapons, following a number of taser-related deaths across Canada.

In Montreal, 38-year-old Quillem Registrie died in October 2007 after he was tasered six times in less than 57 seconds.

Registre was intoxicated at the time, but the coroner's reported said the stun gun was partially responsible.

Snowdon councillor Marvin Rotrand has many questions about tasers, and whether the 16 tasers owned by Montreal police can actually be used safely.

"It's true the Montreal police don't have a lot of tasers, and because of concerns at city hall the use of tasers has been very constrained," said Rotrand.

"There have been questions raised about basically whether it leads to lazy policing."

The first round of hearings at Montreal city hall begins Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m., with a second session starting at 7 o'clock.

A dozen people have signed up to speak, but there is room for more people to offer their opinion.

Would-be speakers will have to sign up in order to be heard.