Canadian #35 Dies

CBC News

Montreal, Quebec

A man has died and several officers were injured after police were called to a rooming house in Montreal where they deployed a Taser.

Quebec provincial police said 41-year-old Donald Ménard died following an altercation with police on Monday evening (November 11, 2013).  Police received a call about 5:30 p.m. ET on Monday night about a woman suffering from a possible drug overdose at a rooming house near the corner of St-André and Ontario streets. Police said that at the scene Ménard appeared to be intoxicated and that he attacked an officer, who ended up losing a tooth. "They tried to find the woman, and there was a lot of people, aggressive people, inside the place and also intoxicated people," said Const. Simon Delorme.  Ménard disappeared from the Pinel Institute, a Montreal psychiatric hospital, on Nov. 10 and provincial police had been searching for him since then.

Several officers were injured while trying to restrain the man. "One man, strongly intoxicated, started to be very aggressive and combative with the police officer. He hit a police officer in the face."  According to Radio-Canada, CBC's French service, the officers resorted to using a Taser after they tried to use batons and pepper spray to subdue the man.

Radio-Canada reported that the man refused to be transported to hospital, but eventually lost consciousness.

Ménard was taken to hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead.

The woman who police were originally called to help was treated in hospital and is expected to recover, and four officers were treated in the hospital for minor injuries.

Quebec provincial police are investigating.

Justice for Victims of Police Killings Coalition

Please see the event being organized for the second year in Montreal with families of people killed by police.

Organized by the Justice for Victims of Police Killings Coalition comprised of the family, friends and allies of Anas Bennis, Claudio Castagnetta, Ben Matson, Quilem Registre, Gladys Tolley & Fredy Villaneuva.

Justice Pour les Victimes de Bavures Policières /// Justice for the Victims of Police Killings

Registre family satisfied with Taser decision

September 28, 2011
CJAD FM, Montreal

The family of a Montreal man who died four days after being repeatedly tasered by a police officer is expressing satisfaction that a police ethics committee has cast blame on the officer for his actions.

Thirty eight year old Quilem Registre died in hospital in October 2007, several days after receiving six discharges from a Taser gun fired by a Montreal police officer who had pulled him over for running a stop sign. The officer had deemed Registre very agitated and aggressive.

Now, a police disciplinary committee has reportedly produced an official blame against the office for excessive use of a Taser.

Quilem Registre's sister, Francine, while expressing satisfaction with the ruling, says she'll wait to see what punishment, if any, the officer gets. But Registre expresses doubt that the officer would learn anything from a simple suspension, and hopes to see him fired.

Montreal police officer blamed for the abuse of the Taser

Google auto-translation
This article has been translated from French to English, with a little help from me.  French version follows at the end.

September 28, 2011
Caroline Touzin, La Presse

The Police Ethics Committee reprimand a Montreal police officer for using a stun gun six times in less than a minute against Quilem Register, who died in hospital four days later.

In a decision that has not yet been made ​​public, but La Presse has obtained, the Committee concludes that the officer Yannick Bordeleau has "abused his authority, using a greater force than necessary to accomplish what he was permitted to do."

His colleague Steve Thibert is also blamed for "not having respected the rule of law by not intervening in the abuse of the DAI (stun gun) by the agent Bordeleau."

October 14, 2007, in the Saint-Michel, the two officers wanted to challenge Mr. Registre because he failed to make a stop at the wheel of his car. The 38-year-old driver refused to stop and collided with three parked cars on 23rd Avenue before stopping.

Police then noticed that the driver, still in his car, was intoxicated and agitated. The agent Thibert shouted "Taser! Taser!" to his colleague, who was holding the man, his hand resting on his chest, while the latter gave him a kick.

According to the two officers, Mr. Registre had symptoms of a person suffering from "excited delirium". The officer Bordeleau said that the suggestion of his colleague to use the stun gun was "ideal circumstances", it said in the 27-page decision of the tribunal.

The agent Bordeleau gave a first discharge. "Would not it have been more appropriate for police to get Mr. Registre out of his car and control him immediately? asks the decision's author, Richard W. Iuticone.

Although this control was necessary, the Committee gives the benefit of the doubt to officer Bordeleau as to his decision to deploy the DAI (stun gun) once on Mr Registre. "

The five other discharges were "exaggerated", the Committee concludes, however. From the first shock, Mr. Registre fell to the ground, face down, hands under him. The police did not move. But they knew that the muscle contraction caused by the discharge lasts five seconds. "So, enough time for them, being a few feet from Mr. Registre, to fall on him, grab his arms and handcuff him," says the Committee.

"Officer Bordeleau approached Mr. Registre only after the fifth discharge, simply, during the second, third and fourth shock shouting at Mr. Registre to show him his hands," says the Committee.

The tribunal noted the testimony of a use of force expert from the National Police Academy, Bruno Poulin, who said a person with "excited delirium" cannot understand the orders of a police officer.  The Committee was also "troubled" by the slow reaction of Officer Thibert, who approached Mr. Registre "only during the second shock" and did not physically neutralize him until after the fourth discharge.

At the time of his arrest, Registre was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine. He was taken to hospital. He lost consciousness in the ambulance. His condition rapidly deteriorated to the point where he had to be operated on four times. He died Oct. 18.

At the conclusion of an investigation in August 2008, coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier concluded that stun gun discharges were not sufficient to cause the death of Mr. Registre, but that they were "possibly involved." He received a total of six discharges for a total of 300 000 volts in less than a minute. He had liver, colon and small bowel necrosis.

Last year, the Registre family filed a $500,000 civil suit against the City of Montreal and the two officers involved. The case is still before the courts.

Le Comité de déontologie policière blâme un policier de Montréal pour avoir utilisé un pistolet électrique six fois en moins d'une minute contre Quilem Registre, mort à l'hôpital quatre jours plus tard.


**********French Version*************

Dans une décision qui n'a pas encore été rendue publique, mais que La Presse a obtenue, le Comité conclut que l'agent Yannick Bordeleau a «abusé de son autorité, en utilisant une force plus grande que celle nécessaire pour accomplir ce qui lui était permis de faire».

Son collègue Steve Thibert est aussi blâmé pour ne pas «avoir respecté l'autorité de la loi en n'intervenant pas lors de l'utilisation abusive du DAI (pistolet électrique) par l'agent Bordeleau».

Le 14 octobre 2007, dans le quartier Saint-Michel, les deux agents ont voulu interpeller M. Registre parce qu'il avait omis de faire un arrêt obligatoire au volant de sa voiture. Le conducteur de 38 ans a refusé de s'arrêter et a heurté trois voitures garées sur la 23e Avenue avant de stopper sa course.

Les policiers ont alors remarqué que le conducteur, toujours dans sa voiture, était intoxiqué et agité. L'agent Thibert a crié «Taser! Taser!» à son collègue, qui retenait l'homme, la main appuyée sur sa poitrine, pendant que ce dernier lui donnait des coups de pied.

Selon les deux agents, M. Registre avait les symptômes d'une personne atteinte de «delirium agité». L'agent Bordeleau a estimé que la suggestion de son collègue de se servir du pistolet électrique était «idéale dans les circonstances», peut-on lire dans la décision de 27 pages du tribunal administratif.

L'agent Bordeleau a donné une première décharge. «N'aurait-il pas été plus convenable pour les policiers de sortir M. Registre de sa voiture et de le contrôler immédiatement? se demande l'auteur de la décision, Me Richard W. Iuticone. Bien que ce moyen de contrôle s'imposait, le Comité donne le bénéfice du doute à l'agent Bordeleau quant à la décision qu'il a prise de déployer le DAI (pistolet électrique) une première fois sur M. Registre.»

Les cinq autres décharges étaient «exagérées», conclut toutefois le Comité. Dès la première décharge, M. Registre est tombé au sol, à plat ventre, les mains sous lui. Les policiers n'ont pas bougé. Or, ils savaient que la contraction musculaire provoquée par la décharge dure cinq secondes. «Donc, assez de temps pour eux, étant à quelques pieds de M. Registre, pour se jeter sur lui, lui saisir les bras et lui passer les menottes», conclut le Comité.

«L'agent Bordeleau s'est approché de M. Registre seulement après la cinquième décharge, se contentant, pendant les deuxième, troisième et quatrième décharges, de crier à M. Registre de lui montrer ses mains», relève le Comité.

Le tribunal souligne à grands traits le témoignage d'un expert en utilisation de la force de l'École nationale de police, Bruno Poulin, selon qui une personne en «delirium agité» ne peut pas comprendre les ordres d'un policier.

Le Comité se dit aussi «troublé» par la lenteur de réaction de l'agent Thibert, qui s'est approché de Registre «seulement pendant la deuxième décharge» et ne l'a neutralisé physiquement qu'après la quatrième décharge.

Au moment de son arrestation, Registre était sous l'influence de l'alcool et de la cocaïne. Comme c'est l'usage, il a été transporté à l'hôpital. Il a perdu connaissance dans l'ambulance. Son état s'est rapidement détérioré, au point où il a dû être opéré quatre fois. Il est mort le 18 octobre.

Au terme de son enquête, en août 2008, la coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier avait conclu que les décharges de pistolet électrique n'étaient pas suffisantes pour causer la mort de M. Registre, mais qu'elles y avaient «possiblement contribué». Il a reçu en tout six décharges pour un total de 300 000 volts en moins d'une minute. Il avait le foie, le côlon et l'intestin grêle nécrosés.

L'an dernier, la succession de Registre a intenté une poursuite civile contre la Ville de Montréal et les deux policiers en cause. Elle réclame 500 000 $. La cause est toujours devant les tribunaux.

Police get more Tasers and right to wear them

July 8, 2011
KATHERINE LALANCETTE, Montreal Gazette

A month after Mario Hamel and Patrick Limoges were killed by police fire, Montreal cops have received the goahead to acquire more Tasers and carry them on their belts instead of locking them in their cruisers.

In the next few days, four new stun guns will be deployed and 12 will be in circulation by the start of 2012.

More patrollers will now receive the three-day training required to use these weapons.

Officers will be authorized to wear Tasers on their waist or thigh, instead of stashing them in a locked box in their car.

"This recommendation from the commission was made to insure better accessibility and greater availability of the weapon to police," said Claude Trudel, president of the city's permanent commission on public security.

The commission must aprove all of Taser purchases.

Police chief Marc Parent's request for more Tasers got the green light Wednesday.

Réal Ménard, the commission's vice-president, supported the police's request even though his Vision Montreal party called for a moratorium on Tasers a year ago.

"Recent events like what unfortunately happened downtown allow us to think that the Taser, as an intermediary weapon, allows police to quickly control an individual without the use of violence," Ménard said.

Marco Carrier, of Montreal police's executive committee on the use of force, says the request was unrelated to the June 7 deaths of Hamel and Limoges.

The commission has authorized Montreal police to add 15 new stun guns to its arsenal, bringing its total to 57.

Carrier cautions that most of these are used for training and SWAT, and only 12 will be available to patrollers.

Montreal is among the least armed city in North America when it comes to stun guns.

The Montreal Police Brotherhood had mixed feelings about the news, noting that the weapon fell from grace following the 2007 death of Robert Dziekanski, a distressed Polish immigrant jolted by Mounties at Vancouver airport.

EDITORIAL: Trailblazing on tasers

June 15, 2011
The Halifax Chronicle

THREE years ago, a mentally ill man died in custody 30 hours after being Tasered at an HRM police station. Howard Hyde’s heart stopped and he had to be revived. The subsequent inquiry determined that it was a restraint hold — properly applied a day later by correctional officers — which caused his heart to stop forever.

Mr. Hyde’s death could have been avoided if he had been handled differently at every turn. Many Nova Scotians still suspect the Tasering was a contributing factor.

Ironically, they might be surprised to hear that many Quebecers were left wondering last week why Montreal police didn’t Taser a mentally ill man who allegedly charged them with a knife. Tragically, the suspect was shot dead instead, and an innocent bystander was killed in the crossfire.

We do not yet know the answers to these questions. If the officers believed they were in immediate, mortal danger, they would not have reached for a (generally) non-lethal weapon. Most likely, they were not armed with Tasers anyway — the Montreal force only has 42 stun guns on hand, compared to Toronto’s 700.

The use of Tasers, especially on emotionally disturbed people, is an emotional issue. But last week, Nova Scotia contributed something useful to the debate: the voice of reason.

In becoming the first province to clarify the rules of engagement in such circumstances, Justice Minister Ross Landry has found the right balance and created a model for other jurisdictions to follow.

We agree with Nova Scotia’s new guidelines that law enforcement officers should consider whether an agitated person is mentally ill and do everything in their power to de-escalate a confrontation, before deploying a stun gun.

We further agree with the precaution — although it’s not always practical — of calling paramedics to the scene before making the call to Taser a medically precarious or disturbed individual.

Most important, police as well as correctional and sheriff’s officers in Nova Scotia will be better trained to recognize signs of a mental illness.

The Hyde inquiry made the salient point that the jail guards didn’t know how to de-escalate confrontations. Better training is certainly the key to enforcing this province’s policy of minimizing harm to the mentally ill.

Montreal's overall crime rate down, homicides up

May 26, 2011
Katherine Wilton, Montreal Gazette

...

Police use of Taser stun guns dropped to seven incidents last year from 11 in 2009.

The public security committee, which held hearings last year into the force’s use of Tasers, has ruled that police should use the stun guns only when they’re the sole alternative to a firearm.

...

MONTREAL Exclusive: Taming police Tasers - Public security panel Cops urged to use stun gun only when a life is at risk

June 11, 2010
JAMES MENNIE, The Montreal Gazette

Montreal police should continue to use Tasers but only when they're the sole alternative to a firearm, Montreal Island's public security committee will recommend next week.

But that recommendation is not the unanimous finding of the nine-member committee, The Gazette has learned. A minority report will recommend that Taser use by Montreal's police force be subject to a moratorium until more is known about just how dangerous the device can be.

During a series of public hearings this year, Montreal police representatives described the Taser -a stun gun that can deliver a 50,000-volt charge -as "an intermediate weapon" that would be used as an alternative to a firearm.

But the police representatives also noted that the device could be used to bring incidents involving heavily disturbed individuals to a quick conclusion -even when police use of a firearm is not necessarily the only alternative.

The committee's recommendation, which is scheduled to be tabled next week during a meeting of Montreal's agglomeration council, will seek to have the protocols for Taser use by police mirror those already in place for firearms -that the officer's life, or the lives of bystanders, be at risk.

The protocol would also allow a Taser to be used if the life of the suspect is at risk -police intervening in a suicide attempt, for example.

The recommendation also calls for a Taser, once drawn, to be used only once on a suspect, and for the public security committee to be notified of any technological or training changes that might affect the Montreal police department's use of the device.

The report will also recommend that rather than using a Taser on mentally disturbed suspects, police call in support from someone trained to deal with individuals who have psychiatric problems.

Taser use by police has been under scrutiny in Montreal since the 2007 death of Quilem Registre, 38, four days after being tasered six times by police after he was stopped for a traffic violation. Coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier concluded that while cocaine and alcohol in Registre's system might have contributed it to his death, it was "difficult to believe (the taserings) played no role."

The hearings heard that about 100 Montreal police officers are trained to use the 17 Tasers in the department. Montreal police discharged Tasers during 11 incidents in 2009, and they drew them from their holsters without using them another seven times.

Police statistics show Tasers were fired 11 times and drawn as a threat three more times in 2008; fired 23 times and used as a threat 10 times in 2007; fired 17 times and used as a threat 11 times in 2006.

During the three years after their introduction in 2001, Montreal police pulled out the stun gun 14 times.

Montreal hears from taser opponents

May 12, 2010
By Dan Delmar, The Suburban

A number of community groups and concerned citizens are showing their displeasure with the taser gun as a part of the Montreal police arsenal.

Hearings were recently held at city hall, in front of the public safety commission, and several Montrealers made their case for an outright ban, including members of the Black Coalition of Quebec (BCQ) and city councillor Marvin Rotrand.

“There have been many cases where there has been a lack of responsibility,” on the part of officers who have been given the taser, said Dan Philip of the BCQ. Something is wrong when “a young man received 300,000 volts of electricity, six times.”

Philip pointed to the case of Quilem Registre, 38, who died on Oct. 18, 2007 — four days after being repeatedly stunned by a Montreal police officer in St. Michel. In her report, coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier noted the officers who made the arrest were poorly trained and broke the department’s rules on Taser use.

“It was a criminal act,” Philip told the public safety commission. “It is the responsibility of the city to protect human life. We have to really look at what is the right of the person and what is justice in our society. Why is it necessary to use tasers?”

Since the Registre death, Montreal police and RCMP officers who are armed with the taser have had to participate in more extensive training.

There are only 17 tasers in use by Montreal police; they were used a total of 11 times in 2009.

“We have to teach them that the taser gun is not a harmless weapon,” Rudel-Tessier wrote in her report. “The controversy that follows its use around the world certainly proves this. It can lead to serious injuries.”

The weapon’s manufacturer, Taser International, has continued to maintain that the stun gun has not directly led to the death of a suspect. 25 Canadians have died after being shot with a taser gun; over 300 in the United States.

“We don’t have any proof that the taser was responsible directly for the death of a person,” said Marc Parent, an assistant director with the Montreal police department, echoing the claims of Taser International. “We still believe it can help us intervene without injuries.”

During the hearing, councillors peppered citizens with questions. Councillor Réal Ménard wondered if the 17 tasers were removed from the arsenal, and what weapon would replace them. Hampstead mayor William Steinberg pressed Patrick Bolland to come up with statistics to prove the tasers were harmful, while ignoring the lack of information available to the city to support its use — apart from data provided by Taser International.

“Everyone thinks that the taser is inoffensive, but from what I see, it kills,” said Bolland, who is part of the Coalition pour le Retrait du Taser.

“The police forces of San Francisco, of Washington D.C., of Detroit and Boston have decided not the use tasers. Why can Montreal not be one of those cities?”

On the role the weapon played in the Registre death, Rudel-Tessier stopped short of saying the taser was the cause, but did say doctors who treated him wondered if the weapon was part of a “bad cocktail,” including drug and alcohol use, which led to his death.

“According to the doctors, if it is impossible to affirm that the electrical discharges were solely responsible for Registre’s condition, it is just as difficult to determine that it played no role in his death.”

Montreal’s public safety commission is expected to produce a report outlining its recommendations in June.

Taser a necessary evil?

April 28, 2010
JAN RAVENSBERGEN, Montreal Gazette

So many issues dog the use of Tasers that "the burden of proof should be put on police" to demonstrate that their stun guns need to be retained for Montreal Island's law-enforcement arsenal, city councillor Marvin Rotrand said yesterday.

Rotrand argued that local police should be ordered to follow in the footsteps of authorities in several major U.S. cities who have banned outright any use of stun guns by their officers.

Boston, Detroit, Washington and San Francisco are among major U.S. cities to have either dropped Tasers as a law-enforcement tool or refused to adopt them when proposed,

Rotrand told the island-wide public security committee.

He and others spoke at a hearing to examine Taser use as part of a coalition - which includes Ligue des droits et libertés - favouring a permanent ban on police taserings.

"The tide is starting to turn," with the stun gun also banned by many European forces, added Patrick Bolland, a member of the coalition.

Montreal police assistant director Marc Parent, the first to appear at the hearings, took the opposite tack.

He offered a defence of Tasers as a necessary police tool. They are needed in some instances as "an intermediate weapon" before officers pull out firearms, he said.

In other cases, they are the best option to bring incidents involving heavily disturbed individuals to a quick conclusion - even when police use of a firearm is not necessarily the sole alternative, Parent told Hampstead Mayor William Steinberg, a committee member.

There are 17 Tasers - all the M-26 model from Taser International - in Montreal police hands, Parent said, with about 100 officers trained in their use.

Montreal police discharged Tasers during a total of 11 incidents in 2009, Parent said, and also pulled them out without using them another seven times.

Police statistics show they were fired 11 times and used as a threat a further three times in 2008; fired 23 times and used as a threat 10 times in 2007; and fired 17 times and used as a threat 11 times in 2006.

During the three years following their introduction in 2001, Montreal police statistics show officers pulled out the stun gun a total of 14 times.

The Taser uses two barbed darts to deliver a jolt of up to 50,000 volts, intended to incapacitate the recipient. Its use jumped to 21 incidents in 2004 and dipped to 17 in 2005. Figures covering the initial five years of deployment don't differentiate between actual discharge and use of a Taser as a threat.

"If a new medicine caused as many deaths as Tasers, it would have been withdrawn very quickly," said Gaetan Laurendeau, another coalition member.

A November 2008 report by Amnesty International concluded that 334 deaths in the United States and 25 deaths in Canada have followed police use of a Taser.

Among the fatalities was Montrealer Quilem Registre. He died in hospital, age 38, four days after he received six Taser hits from local police in October 2007.

"The Taser leaves no biomedical marker that can be identified as mortal," coalition member Bolland said.

While cocaine and alcohol in Registre's system might have contributed, a report by coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier concluded it was "difficult to believe (the taserings) played no role in his death."

"We are still waiting for justice," Augustin François Registre, 71, the dead man's father, said in a brief interview after a Black Coalition of Quebec presentation endorsing a full Montreal law-enforcement ban of the weapon.

Hearings examine use of Tasers by Montreal police

April 28, 2010
JAN RAVENSBERGEN, THE MONTREAL GAZETTE

Police across Montreal Island should follow the footsteps of authorities in several major American cities who have banned outright the use of stun guns by their police officers, the island-wide public security committee was told this afternoon by city councillor Marvin Rotrand.

Rotrand, speaking on behalf of a coalition favouring a ban that includes the Ligue des Droits et Libertés, was among the first to appear at committee hearings examining Taser-gun use in local law enforcement.

The hearings, held at the request of Montreal city council, began just after 1 p.m. and ran until 4 p.m. They are scheduled to continue during an evening session at Montreal city hall, to begin at 7 p.m.

Boston, Detroit, Washington and San Francisco are among the U.S. cities that have either withdrawn stun guns as a law-enforcement tool or refused to adopt them when proposed, Rotrand said.

Assistant Director Marc Parent of Montreal police opened the hearings with a defence of Tasers as a police tool, saying they are needed in some instances as a last resort – “an intermediate weapon” – before officers pull out firearms. In other instances, they are used to bring an incident to a conclusion quickly, he added, without police use of a firearm as the sole remaining alternative.

There are 17 Tasers in the arsenal of the Montreal police force, he said, with about 100 officers trained in their use. Montreal police discharged an M-26 stun gun from Taser International against suspects in a total of 11 incidents during 2009, Parent said. The stun guns were pulled out and their use threatened – although they were not discharged – a further seven times last year, he added.

Police statistics show they were used 11 times and threatened a further three times in 2008; used 23 times and threatened 10 times in 2007; and used 17 times and threatened 11 times in 2006.

Police statistics from their 2001 introduction show that in their first three years of availability, Montreal officers pulled out a stun gun a total of 14 times. Those figures also don't differentiate between actual discharge or use as a threat.

Use of Tasers jumped to 21 in 2004 and dipped to 17 in 2005, again without a differentiation provided. Montreal police handle about 1.2 million 911 calls every year, a figure that has remained stable since 2001.

“If a new medicine caused as many deaths as Tasers, it would have been withdrawn very quickly,” Gaetan Laurendeau, another coalition member, told the committee from a public microphone.

A November 2008 report by Amnesty International concluded that 334 deaths in the United States and 25 deaths in Canada have followed police use of a Taser, said Patrick Bolland, another coalition member.

Among them was the death of Montrealer Quilem Registre, who died in hospital after he received six distinct Taser hits from local police in 2007.

"The Taser leaves no biomedical marker that can be identified as mortal," Bolland said.

A coroner's report, by Catherine Rudel-Tessier in October 2007, on Registre's death concluded that Taser use by officers could not be ruled out as a causal factor in his death.

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.

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.

Police use Taser on car theft suspect

May 29, 2009
CBC News

Montreal police used a stun gun to intercept a suspect early this morning in the city's east end. The incident happened around 2:15 a.m. in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district.

The man is alleged to have stolen a vehicle. Police pursued him, and when they caught up with him, he took off on foot.

Officers used a Taser to stop him at the intersection of Adam Street and Sicard Street.

He was then taken to hospital, where he is in good condition, police said.

Police would not reveal what charges the man might face.

Quebec orders police to turn in Tasers - Province recalls 167 weapons after some stun guns malfunctioned in testing

March 27, 2009
CBC News

The Quebec government is pulling all its Taser stun guns off the street for testing after new lab results revealed problems with some of the weapons.

Quebec was the first province to order testing of the stun guns after a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation showed some used by Canadian police did not meet the manufacturer's specifications.

The province sent 52 stun guns made before 2005 to an independent lab for testing. Five of them performed outside normal range.

With the results in hand, on Thursday evening Quebec Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis ordered all of the province's police departments to send their Taser stun guns to the lab immediately.

As a result, 167 of the weapons will remain off the streets until they are checked.

"All of the measures possible will be taken," Dupuis said in his statement. "Quebec is on the leading edge in this work and nothing will be neglected in guaranteeing the responsible use and security of this type of weapon."

The Quebec government has not yet provided details on how the guns malfunctioned or how much current they delivered.

The problem weapons came from Longueuil, Eastmain and Akwesasne. Police say none of the weapons had been used against a person. The five stun guns will be destroyed.

Quebec tests echo CBC/Radio-Canada findings

Quebec first became concerned about stun guns after a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation last fall. CBC tested 41 Taser stun guns and found that 10 per cent delivered higher jolts of electric current than specified by the manufacturer, Taser International. All the Tasers that malfunctioned were older models.

Pierre Savard, the biomedical engineer who conducted the CBC/Radio-Canada analysis, also worked with the province on developing the protocol for its study.

"It is difficult for me to say something definite about those results but it clearly shows that all Tasers are not perfect," said Pierre Savard.

There are thousands of Tasers in use by police across the country and most major police forces are in the process of having their the stun guns tested.

Critics, supporters applaud recall decision

Critics of stun gun use in Quebec were pleased by the minister's decision.

Marvin Rotrand, a Montreal city councillor, hopes the recall will lead to a full ban in Quebec. "Is this a valid part of the police arsenal? The proof has not been made conclusively," said Rotrand.

"The minister now has an opportunity not only to test whether Tasers in the police arsenal across Quebec actually are safe, but whether we might be better off if Tasers were retired from the arsenal altogether."

Claude Dauphin, the executive committee member responsible for public security, said the Montreal police department will send its 17 Taser stun guns to the lab as requested.

He supports the government's decision to test the stun guns, and hopes the findings will reassure the public that they are important tools for police.

"When we use the Taser gun it is the last resort before the real gun," said Dauphin. "That is why on the island … we made sure with our police authorities that [the stun gun] has to be used in a very restricted operation."

Dupuis is expected to hold a news conference Friday to give more details.

Taser International has not responded to the Quebec action. However, the company has criticized CBC/Radio-Canada's investigation, saying the testing methods were flawed.

Vancouver cops tied for second in Canada in Taser usage

March 16, 2009
Mike Howell, Vancouver Courier

The Vancouver Police Department tied for second with Niagara Regional Police Service for the number of times a Taser was fired in 2007.

Out of eight departments in Canada, including Montreal, officers from Vancouver and Niagara fired the Taser 74 times each. Edmonton topped all departments with 89. Victoria officers fired the Taser 71 times, with Greater Sudbury (55), Halifax (38), Waterloo Regional (33) and Montreal (32) rounding out the eight departments. The report did not include statistics from Toronto, which has one of the largest police departments in Canada.

The statistics are contained in a brief report that goes before the Vancouver Police Board March 18. The report also included statistics for 2008, but only four departments are listed.

The VPD's use of the Taser in 2008 dropped to 27 times from 74 in 2007. Greater Sudbury's force also saw a decrease in 2008, with 23 firings from 55 in 2007. The report lists statistics for two other departments but didn't name them. The report's author, Drazen Manojlovic, said the two unnamed departments haven't publicly released the statistics.

But Manojlovic, who is the VPD's director of planning and research, said the departments-which fired their stun guns 91 and 73 times respectively in 2008-are of comparable size to the VPD.

Manojlovic said it was "unlikely" that the other departments represented in the report had similar decreases to the VPD. He didn't explain the reason for the decrease.

In February, the Courier attempted to determine why the VPD saw such a dramatic decrease in use of the stun gun since 2005. In 2006, the VPD fired the Taser 93 times and 66 in 2005.

Const. Jana McGuinness, a media liaison officer with the department, said the VPD couldn't point to a definitive reason for the decrease. McGuinness also told the Courier in February that there was no directive from Police Chief Jim Chu to curtail the use of the controversial weapon.

Manojlovic noted in his report that his analysis of the statistics "to be blunt, only scratches the surface." Other factors, including how many officers are authorized to use a Taser and departments' policies around Taser use were not included in the report.

"If more comprehensive analysis is required, then the VPD would need to formally canvass comparable police departments later in 2009 to obtain more data, enquire about the factors listed above, and obtain approval to publicly release such information," Manojlovic wrote.

The Canadian Association of Police Boards released a report Feb. 24 on stun guns, or conducted energy weapons. The association agrees in theory that a Taser can be a valuable force option for police.

"However, [the association] would like to see more evidence and discussion to clarify the conditions under which use of [Tasers] does not pose risk of injury or death," the report said.

At last count, the VPD had more than 120 Tasers, which are made in the United States by Taser International. The stun gun resembles a handgun and releases 50,000 volts of electricity through two probes into clothing or skin.

Family wants inquiry into taser death

August 29, 2008
Montreal Gazette

MONTREAL - Ask Marie-Jésula Registre whether she feels any anger over the fact a police taser that fires a 50,000-volt charge was used six times on her son Quilem and she replies softly, her eyes rimmed with tears. "I'm a Christian. I don't keep anger in my heart. But this has been devastating blow for myself and our family. He was our only son."

Maria-Jesula, her husband Augustin-François and their, daughters Francine and Chantal, met with reporters Friday after a Quebec coroner added more questions to those the Registre family have had since Quilem's death on Oct. 18, 2008, days after being tasered by Montreal police officers.

"The main question is: 'Why?'," said Evans Sanelus, Quilem's cousin, "No one deserved the fate (Quilem experienced), no matter what they've done in life. If a (police officer) is there to do their job, their first objective is to protect and to analyse a situation before intervening."

Quilem's father called for an independent, public inquiry into his son's death, an exercise he said would result in "justice" being done.

That call for a public inquiry, echoed by Dan Philip of the Black Coalition of Quebec, follows the publication of a coroner's report into Registre's death that concludes that while the cocaine and alcohol in Registre's system may have contributed to his demise, the fact police found it necessary to subdue him with six 50,000-volt electrical charges made it "difficult to believe (the taserings) played no role in his death."

Coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier was also critical of the lack of information personnel at Sacré Coeur Hospital received about Registre's condition once he was transported by Urgences Santé from the scene of his arrest on Rivard St. for running a stop sign. "Mr. Registre was first received at Sacré Coeur Hospital as a traffic accident victim who was intoxicated," she wrote. "The treating physicians deplored ... the fact they had been given so little details on the use of (a Taser) and Mr. Registre's condition beforehand."

Rudel-Tessier also noted she was unable to personally interview the two officers who arrested Registre, their version of events provided to her only in incident reports filed two days after his arrest on Oct. 16 and one day before his death.

"I therefore have no explanation why the use of other forms of force (rather than the Taser) were insufficient or inefficient," she wrote. "I had no access to the process of their decision making nor any details on their strategic thinking. We can ask if there was another way, other means of subduing Mr. Registre and calming him. Since he was visibly agitated, one would think back-up could have been called in, ambulance technicians in particular, since this was a medical emergency. Even if Mr. Registre did not pull a gun, was the fact he didn't respond to an order to raise his hands sufficient reason to immediate resort to (the Taser)?"

What the coroner did glean from the police reports was that only one of the two officers who arrested Registre - who they described as being "hysterical" after attempting to drive away from the traffic stop and slamming his car into another vehicle parked nearby - was trained to use a Taser.

Rudel-Tessier recommended that the Montreal police ensure all members of a team equipped with a Taser be trained to use it, and that training programs educate officers in how to restrain a suspect once they've been it with an electrical charge.

She also called on Quebec's Public Security Department to examine the possibility of ordering the province's police departments to equip their tasers with cameras to record the circumstances of their use.

A spokesperson for Claude Dauphin, chairperson of the city's executive committee and responsible for public security, said the police department has been asked to examine the coroner's findings and produce a report that would detail what changes, if necessary, would be made to existing procedures.

Montreal family wants public inquiry after coroner says taser use avoidable

August 29, 2008
The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — The family of a Montreal man who died after police zapped him several times with a Taser says a coroner's report still leaves questions unanswered about his death.

Quilem Registre died last year, four days after Montreal police subdued him using a Taser. A Quebec coroner's report into his death suggests that had the officers been better trained they could have brought the agitated Registre under control without using a Taser.

Registre's family gathered at the offices of a local community organization Friday to demand an independent public inquiry.

"All we feel is that if we have our questions answered and we have the policemen's version, we will feel a little bit better," Registre's cousin Evans Sanelus said during a news conference at the Black Coalition of Quebec. It still won't bring Quilem back. But if we have justice, then maybe we will feel a little bit better."

The family said they want to hear from the police officers.

"If they would have taken the time to use better judgment, maybe the situation would have been different." Sanelus said. "We're asking for a public inquiry to re-evaluate the entire situation."

Registre, 38, was stopped by Montreal police in October 2007 for driving erratically.

Police have said he was intoxicated and aggressive and they used the stun gun - which emits a 50,000-volt electrical charge - to subdue him.

In her report, coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier said the Taser cannot be blamed for Registre's death. However, she said the fact he was struck six times may have been a contributing factor.

Rudel-Tessier said electronic stun guns can be effective policing tools and should be used instead of firearms whenever possible.

Registre's loved ones, meanwhile, do not want his death to be in vain. "Life goes on, he's dead but we're still alive," Sanelus said. "We have to ask for justice. That's the only thing we can do right now and that's what Quilem would have wanted."

Complaint filed after Montreal taser death

March 6, 2008
Irwin Block, The Montreal Gazette

The father of Quilem Registre, who died after Montreal police use a Taser gun to subdue him, has filed an excessive-force complaint with the Police Ethics Commission. The complaint, sent Tuesday by Augustin Registre, also alleges that officers were negligent and abused their powers when they tasered Quilem Registre Oct. 14. It also alleges the use of the Taser by police who were trying to arrest him caused his death four days later.

Police have said Registre was suspected of drunk driving when he was stopped. He was pronounced dead four days later at Sacré Coeur Hospital after suffering multiple heart attacks. The Black Coalition of Quebec, which supported the complaint, is part of a group that is calling for a moratorium on Taser use until an independent study can look at the medical and psychological consequences of being hit by 50,000 volts of electricity.

The taser will be a permanent part of police arsenal

March 4, 2008
Henry Aubin, Montreal Gazette

The videotape of RCMP officers' gratuitous and fatal use of a Taser against a man in Vancouver last fall prompted a nationwide eruption of public horror over police forces' use of this weapon. In the wake of that incident, many law-enforcement officials have voiced concern and reviewed their use. So, problem over, right? Wrong.

Don't let officialdom's regretful tone fool you. Now that the Vancouver affair has blown over, Tasers are creeping back in much of the country.

Let's start with Quebec.

Although the incidents drew little attention because they were not videotaped, two men died in Quebec last year in the days after police shot them with the electric-shock device.

Quebec City police tasered a 32-year-old translator, Claudio Castagnetta, after they stopped him for loitering and, according to witnesses, he resisted being placed in a patrol car by making his body rigid.

In Montreal, police tasered 38-year-old Quilem Registre after they stopped him for erratic driving and, they say, he became aggressive.

Quebec's public security ministry, which oversees police forces across the province, issued a report on Tasers in mid-December. The ministry immediately accepted all the report's recommendations for restricting the police's use of Tasers, but those restrictions are slight.

For example, the province's earlier rules, apparently ignored by the officers who zapped Castagnetta with impunity, barred tasering people who were only "passively resisting" arrest. The new rules say officers can use the Taser on people whose "resistance represents a significant risk to the safety of the officer or anyone else." Despite the change in wording, the versions differ little in their practical application.

Indeed, the new rules also say officers should assess a person's "potential for violence." The word "potential" is a loophole giving officers enormous discretionary power. Officers might claim after the fact that even mild-mannered individuals had given them reason to believe they would become aggressive.

The report also cavalierly dismissed France's practice of clipping a camera (made by the Taser's manufacturer) onto the weapon and recording all the action in video and audio. The report says current training "conditions police to place their hands (on the Taser) in a way that would obstruct the camera's view."

The panel that wrote the report had 26 members and associates, of whom 25 are from the world of law enforcement -- that is, from the police departments, the police academy or the ministry. (The exception is a doctor employed by the province.) So much for taking into account the broad public interest.

Incidentally, Montreal could set tougher rules for its own force. So far, however, the current administration has given no sign of concern.

Elsewhere in Canada, it's much the same lethargy.

After the Vancouver incident, the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP made recommendations for changes. The RCMP, however, rejected a key one: The elevation of Tasers from the category of "intermediate weapon," a relatively humdrum status that includes pepper spray, to the serious category of "impact weapon."

If Tasers were in the latter group, they could be used only against people who are "combative" or otherwise dangerous.

In New Brunswick, police chiefs ordered a review of Taser use, and have concluded no substantive changes are needed.

As for Toronto, its police chief is certainly demanding change -- but it's not in the direction that reformers would like. He wants to buy 500 additional Tasers.

The devices are supposed to be substitutes for firearms. Too often they are substitutes for talk.

In Montreal, a coalition of critics that includes two councillors from the city's ruling party -- Warren Allmand and Marvin Rotrand -- is asking to suspend the use of Tasers until impartial research is in on how these 50,000-volt guns affect people with various health problems or who are high on drugs.

Twenty people in Canada have died after being tasered, says Amnesty. If governments require the pharmaceutical industry to test its wares for health effects before selling them, why not ask the same of Taser International?

The company is poised to launch later this year a new model that will make the current one look like a peashooter. The current handgun-style model zaps people as far away as eight metres. The new model is a 12-gauge shotgun with a range of 30 metres.

Unless politicians suddenly wake up, we ain't seen nothing yet.