New Brunswick Police divided on use of Taser cams

Tasers with cameras attached to them to record what happens when the weapons are deployed have made their way to New Brunswick.

But there is no uniform policy on the use of Taser cams - or stun guns - in the province.

The Telegraph-Journal has learned that at least one of the province's municipal police forces - Edmundston - has shelved the controversial weapons, while others have no plans to purchase them as a result of the public debate over their safety.

The Saint John and Fredericton police forces have been using the Taser cams for more than two years.

But a poll of the other municipal and regional police forces in New Brunswick found a different story in each community.

The Rothesay police detachment uses the stun guns but without the camera attachment. Grand Falls and Bathurst don't use Tasers at all.

A Bathurst police spokeswoman indicated the force is apprehensive about purchasing Tasers until a uniform policy on their use comes into place.

The unwillingness to use the devices stems directly from the death of air passenger Robert Dziekanski, according to Edmundston Deputy Police Chief Percy Picard.

"We do have the Taser with the camera attached, we have three, but they are not in use right now," Picard said. "We took them off the patrol division once everything with the Dziekanski case happened.

"We are waiting for the province and the New Brunswick police chiefs to come out with a policy and approach to their use."

Dziekanski, en route to British Columbia from Poland to join his mother, Zofia Cisowski, died in October 2007 after being subdued by a Mountie's Taser at the Vancouver airport.

A video of the confrontation, filmed by a fellow passenger, showed an agitated and disoriented Dziekanski zapped five times. It was seen by millions of people and triggered public outrage and widespread re-examination of stun gun use.

The RCMP recently apologized to Cisowski and agreed to a financial settlement.

Picard said there is a sense of uneasiness by police officers around the use of stun guns.

"We are also currently in search for more training," Picard said. "It's another big issue."

The Woodstock Police Force has no plans to purchase Tasers, but would do so only if a camera is attached.

"We're not looking at (acquiring Tasers for use by the police force) in the near future," said Woodstock Police Chief Dana Collicott. "If at some point down the road we do look at outfitting our officers, we would go with the ones with the cameras.

"They record what is taking place at the time the Taser is used and would have some added evidentiary value for sure."

A RCMP complaints commission report on the Dziekanski case found there would have been "a clear benefit" to video footage capturing the events from the officers' perspectives.

A report recently released by Liberal senators also recommended that RCMP officers be equipped with miniature cameras to enhance transparency for both officers and citizens, protecting both sides from accusations of improper behaviour.

In New Brunswick, there is nothing mandating the use of Taser cams.

"At this point, there has been no move to make anything a requirement," said Barry MacKnight, president of the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police.

"It's left to the individual agencies."

MacKnight said the association's use of force policy - rules for all of the province's police forces - was rewritten in 2007 to include specifics on the use of Tasers. But there have been no policy discussions on mandating cameras.

A spokesman for Taser International, the manufacturer of the Taser cam, said the camera device was created to provide heightened accountability.

"Certainly we are no stranger to controversy in Canada, but I think what the Taser cam does is it adds merit to the seriousness of what law enforcement thinks about the deployment of Tasers," said Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle in a phone interview from the company's Scottsdale, Arizona offices.

"And that is that they do require accountability."

Taser cams have been in use since May 2003, mostly in the United States. Roughly 40,000 Taser cams are used by nearly 2,000 police agencies in 44 countries worldwide.

"People tend to behave better when they are on video tape, and it works both ways because the officers perform better as well," Tuttle said. "The Taser cam provides another layer of comfort for law enforcement agencies, but it is also a comfort to the public."

Codiac RCMP in Moncton are currently part of a national pilot project, along with the RCMP in Kelowna, B.C., testing the Taser cam and a second type of camera that attaches to an officer's belt radio.

Both options record audio and video. The Taser cam also includes a computer chip that records the time, date and duration of each Taser deployment.

"The RCMP continually reviews its policies and procedures to ensure best practices are being utilized by RCMP members," said Const. Chantal Farrah, media relations officer for both the Codiac RCMP and New Brunswick's J Division.

"This includes research of new technology, which is sometimes extended to pilot testing, if it is deemed to be a potential benefit to RCMP members in providing security to the Canadian public."

The cameras will be used in the field by Codiac RCMP by the end of June with analysis of the recordings and feedback from the members, according to Farrah.

Ontario Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci said last week he is considering making cameras mandatory with Tasers.

The Police Association of Ontario has voiced its concern with the move, its president saying he sees little use for the cameras currently on the market because they provide a limited view of an incident.

Both federal and provincial governments have been working on national standards for stun gun use, but Ontario moved ahead with its own plan earlier this month.

Ontario has promised tighter rules around the use of stun guns by police, mainly against pregnant women and children, and promised to amend provincial guidelines to include rules about deployment of the guns as well as standardized training.

The New Brunswick Department of Public Safety declined to take a position on whether cameras are needed to record Taser use. The province maintains it is a decision to be made by the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police.

MacKnight, who is also the Fredericton police chief, would not speculate on future discussions to make the cameras mandatory.

"We have not dealt with this issue from a policy perspective; we have only dealt with the general use of force policy on the use of conductive energy devices," he said.

"As far as the Fredericton Police Force is concerned, we have always had Taser cams as soon as we were operational with Tasers on the street.

"We see it as a very positive way to capture evidence of very critical incidents - when officers are resorting to the use of force in order to carry out their duties."

Police may begin taser tests next month

January 26th, 2009
A6By MICHAEL STAPLES, The Daily Gleaner

Testing on conducted-energy devices belonging to the Fredericton Police Force will likely begin next month.

Const. Ralph Currie said the finishing touches are being put on a contract with a local company to do the work, and that should be completed soon.

The force confirmed in December that it was going to have the voltage readings on its conducted-energy devices checked through independent testing.

The Fredericton Police Force has 20 of the devices, which can shoot out 50,000 volts.

The decision to proceed with the testing followed tests commissioned by CBC and French-language Radio-Canada which found that out of 41 guns tested, four discharged more current than the manufacturer Taser International said was possible.

More than 20 people in Canada have died after being shocked by a taser.

Taser International has said that the devices can't be blamed for deaths.

EDITORIAL: New Brunswick should test every taser gun

December 12, 2008
Editorial, Times Transcript

There should be no waffling on the question of whether to test tasers now in use by police forces across New Brunswick.

The stun-gun weapons have become increasingly controversial due to the number of deaths reported in the last few years, including a Moncton man who was subdued with a taser at a downtown bar in 2005.

Independent tests suggest some of the guns -- perhaps those manufactured more than three years ago -- are discharging more electric current than the manufacturer's recommended guidelines. This is akin to a police department not being sure whether the bullets they are firing at a suspect are rubber bullets or the type that explode on impact.

If the degree of force these weapons discharge is not known -- or is inconsistently applied -- every police force using tasers in New Brunswick should have every one of the weapons tested by an independent lab.

Even if all of their tasers pass the discharge test, we urge police officers to use the weapons in only the most severe circumstances. The case of Robert Dziekanski of Poland, who was tasered and died at the Vancouver Airport in 2007, should have been a sobering wake-up call to police officers everywhere.

Even a well-calibrated taser is still a powerful instrument that should be reserved as a weapon of last resort for volatile circumstances.

Police have several other weapons and strategies at their disposal. We fear tasers are still used as a matter of course, instead of a means of protection for both officers and the public.

CBC study used 'flawed data,' taser manufacturer argues

December 11, 2008
TU THANH HA and CAROLINE ALPHONSO AND IAN BAILEY, Globe and Mail

TORONTO and VANCOUVER — As more police forces withdraw older models of tasers, the controversial stun gun manufacturer is insisting its devices are safe and has offered to help test them.

Police forces in Winnipeg, Newfoundland, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Fredericton and York Region, north of Toronto, are following police agencies in British Columbia and the RCMP in removing pre-2006 taser models for tests. Ontario has ordered tests but no blanket recall of the older models.

The move stemmed from a CBC/Radio-Canada report that found four of 41 tested units discharged more current than the manufacturer said was possible. The tests involved X26 taser models manufactured before Dec. 31, 2005.

Peter Holran, a spokesman for Taser International, dismissed the report as scientifically unsound.

"It is unfortunate that false allegations based on scientifically flawed data can create such uncertainty," he said in a statement. The Arizona-based company said it has provided its factory test protocol to laboratories in Canada "so police agencies can avoid the scientific errors made by the CBC." Mr. Holran said the four stun guns that produced higher electrical currents can be explained by the lack of a spark test before the devices were used, a safety procedure required of all officers using tasers in the field.

A spark test is required because a taser that hasn't been fired for a while needs more voltage to activate, he said.

Yesterday, the Winnipeg Police Service cited the test results as it announced it was removing the X26 models from service. "I think it is a very valuable tool. But given this information with regards to these particular models, we are concerned," said Constable Jason Michalyshen. Tasers became controversial in Winnipeg when 17-year-old Michael Langan died after being tasered during a confrontation with police last summer.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary removed tasers from service on Tuesday. Constable Paul Davis said the RNC is awaiting the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police's policy on tasers.

"We don't know where we're going to go at this point in time as far as testing, replacing, repairing, that type of thing," he said. "That decision will made some time in the future."

The RNC suspended its purchase of stun guns for front-line officers last fall following the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski after a tasering incident at Vancouver International Airport.

In Quebec, Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis has ordered that all tasers manufactured before Dec. 31, 2005, be systematically tested by the provincial crime lab, in addition to random audits on later models.

Vancouver Police have completed an inventory of pre-2006, X26 model tasers. Sixty-three of the 171 tasers in the VPD will be taken out of service for further testing. This follows a request yesterday by Solicitor-General John van Dongen asking municipal police forces around B.C. to recall pre-2006, X26 models from service for further testing. In Ontario, the Ministry of Community Safety has instructed police services to check their X26 models, department spokesman Anthony Brown said yesterday.

York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge said concerns surrounding tasers purchased prior to 2006 resulted in the force pulling 14 of its 31 tasers from service. "They will be tested before any consideration is given to having them put back into circulation," he said.

"We are looking at having a process in place whereby we would be examining all our tasers on an ongoing basis."

Toronto Police, Canada's largest municipal force, previously replaced its old tasers, and no longer has any that were purchased before 2006.

Other forces say their devices function properly. "We're quite confident our tasers are all in good working order," said Constable Wayne Patterson of the Peel Regional Police. "They are tested regularly each time they are taken out."

Police forces in British Columbia and New Brunswick to test tasers

December 9, 2008
Globe and Mail - The Canadian Press

B.C. municipal police forces will pull the plug on all tasers acquired before 2006 over concerns they generate shocks higher than the manufacturer specifies.

Solicitor General John van Dongen said Tuesday that municipal chiefs of police unanimously agreed to the remove the shock weapons from service after testing showed the voltage sometimes exceeded the weapon specs.

B.C. Corrections, the provincial sheriff's service and transit police will also stop using the pre-2006 tasers and Mr. van Dongen said RCMP, too, have called older tasers in for immediate testing.

“The [conducted energy weapons] will be tested to ensure they generate electrical currents consistent with manufacturers' specifications,” the provincial Public Safety Ministry said in a statement.

Each organization has undertaken an inventory to determine the number of devices that will need mandatory outside testing, the ministry said.

In New Brunswick, the Fredericton Police Force will also check voltage readings on conducted-energy devices used by its officers.

Constable Ralph Currie said Tuesday the department will have its tasers checked out by an independent tester.

The Fredericton force has 20 of the devices, which can produce 50,000 volts.

“We're looking at where we can have some independent testing done,” Constable Currie said. “We want to ensure that what we have and what we are using does by documentation meet with the manufacturer's recommended guidelines.

“We're pretty confident that the tasers we're using do meet those guidelines.”

The decisions come after recent tests commissioned by CBC News and Radio-Canada.

The tests found that out of 41 guns tested, four discharged more current than the manufacturer Taser International said was possible.

The examination was conducted for the CBC and Radio-Canada by National Technical Systems, a U.S.-based firm, using X26 model tasers. The weapons were from seven American departments that agreed to participate on condition of anonymity.

The X26 is widely used by the RCMP and many other police forces across North America. The four tasers that malfunctioned were amongst the oldest, manufactured prior to 2005.

Fredericton's Constable Currie said the force is checking its tasers and looking at the manufacturer's dates.

Tasers now banned in New Brunswick's youth jails

June 11, 2008
Canwest News Service

FREDERICTON - A day after rejecting the notion of banning the use of Tasers on youths in custody, the New Brunswick government has reversed itself and banned guards from using the weapons in its youth detention centres.

New Brunswick Public Safety Minister John Foran announced the about-face after receiving a report from Bernard Richard, the provincial ombudsman and child and youth advocate, on the custody and subsequent death of a New Brunswick teenager while in an Ontario prison.

Richard told Canwest News Service he was appalled to learn Ashley Smith was hit by a Taser at least twice while in custody at the New Brunswick Youth Detention Centre.

Smith, 19, was found unconscious in her cell at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont. in 2007. She died in hospital of what police called "self-initiated asphyxiation."

Richard called for an immediate halt to the practice of using Tasers on youths in his report, which investigated mental health services for young people in conflict with the law.

Richard made sweeping recommendations to change youth jails in the province, including calling for the changes to the way jails use segregation cells. He also called for mentally ill youths to be treated in clinical settings rather than jails.

Foran said a committee will look at Richard's recommendations and said the government is not flip-flopping on the Taser issue, but making changes as more of the report is considered.

Stun guns will continue to be used in adult jails.

New Brunswick government reverses youth taser policy

June 11th, 2008
Mary Moszynski, Times & Transcript

Fredericton - The provincial government has reversed its policy of allowing tasers to be used on youths in adult jails -- a day after the minister responsible said there was no need to examine the law.

Public Safety Minister John Foran said government is endorsing the recommendation as outlined in a report released by Ombudsman Bernard Richard examining the youth justice system. "We've gone through the report and one of the recommendations is that they will not be used on youth," he said. "We believe this is a really good report, it's got a lot of recommendations."

Four minors have been transferred from a youth detention centre to an adult jail in the past five years. However, a judge can sentence an 18-year-old to either an adult or youth facility.

Regardless of how they arrived at the adult prison, anyone under the age of 19 will not be tasered, said the government. But Foran refused to commit to following the other recommendations outlined in the report, including those centered on segregation and restraints.

"What we're committing to do is taking the ombudsman's report very seriously," he said.

Foran said his department is working on developing a clinical setting for youth at the detention centre who are at risk of harming themselves. However segregation and restraints will still be used, he said. There will also be psychologists and nurses on staff, he added.

"Things are done for various reasons and segregation is not just a matter of punishing somebody, it's a matter of sometimes putting them there to keep them from hurting themselves."

Richard's report is based on the life of Ashley Smith, a Moncton native who spent years in various prisons before killing herself at the age of 19. When she was 18, Smith was transferred from the youth jail in Miramichi to the adult prison in Saint John where she was hit by a taser twice.

Richard said officials should "absolutely stop" using tasers on anyone under the age of 19.

Yesterday Richard said he's pleased with government's change in taser policies. "It's a good start. And, in my view, it's a recognition that it shouldn't have happened in Ashley's case."

Oromocto Conservative MLA Jody Carr said government must now address the other recommendations in the report. "Very clearly we see a government that's making policy on the fly. The fact the minister has changed his position in 24 hours is positive, he's following the recommendations of the ombudsman," he said. "The government needs to set clear timelines on all of these recommendations and take it very seriously."

RCMP use of tasers has more than doubled in past two years

May 19, 2008
Marianne White, Canwest News Service

While the RCMP is on the hot seat at the inquiry probing the use of Tasers in British Columbia following the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, documents from the Mounties show their use of stun guns has more than doubled across Canada between 2005 and 2007.

According to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act by Canwest News Service, the overall use of Tasers by the RCMP soared to 1,119 incidents in 2006 and 1,414 in 2007, compared to only 597 incidents in 2005.

The majority of the incidents took place in western Canada where the force does a lot of front-line policing -- Quebec and Ontario have their own provincial forces.

About a third of the RCMP use of Tasers occurred in B.C., the province where Mounties deployed their 50,000-volt weapon the most. The use of Tasers in B.C. jumped from 218 incidents in 2005, to 406 in 2006 and a high of 496 in 2007.

When you look at the use of Tasers per capita, B.C. still comes first in the country with 11.26 incidents per 100,000 people. P.E.I. comes second with 11.18 incidents per 100,000 people, followed closely by Manitoba at 10.83, New Brunswick at 10.78, Saskatchewan at 10.76 and Alberta at 10.64.

Former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh, now a Liberal MP and public-safety critic who is sitting on a parliamentary committee examining stun gun use in Canada, said he is deeply worried by this dramatic increase in his province as well as everywhere else in the country.

"What we see is that the Taser is now being used as a substitute for the good-old traditional talking by police, or the baton or pepper spray," said Mr. Dosanjh.

The RCMP have been under fire for months over the death of Mr. Dziekanski who received multiple electrical jolts from Mounties stun guns at the Vancouver airport last year. An amateur video of the incident showing the 40-year old writhing on the floor provoked an international outcry.

The national force was also criticized last week at a B.C. inquiry into the use of Tasers for being trigger-happy and using the stun gun as a compliance tool.

Mr. Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, told the inquiry she holds the RCMP responsible for her son's death. "I know my son would not die if he was not Tasered," she said during a short, but very emotional, testimony.

As questions are mounting about the safety and effectiveness of the stun guns, a review of the Taser incident reports shows the RCMP falls short of providing answers to those who criticize its use of the controversial weapon.

Officers are required to fill out a form every time they fire or draw a Taser. In the more than 4,000 reports filed since the Taser was introduced in 2001, the RCMP blacked out the injuries suffered by stun-gunned suspects as well as the summary of events that could have shed some light on how and why the officers use the Tasers.

Some summaries are totally blank, while others give very little information such as "members responded to call" or simply "intoxicated."

The police force cites the need to protect privacy to explain why it removed basic details from its reports. "We have to strike a balance between the individual rights to privacy and releasing information. If we release information about a person that has been Tasered in a small community, maybe someone will come out and say ‘Hey, I know that person'. So that's where we are getting into difficulties," said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Nathalie Deschenes.

In the incidents reports obtained by Canwest, the RCMP also censored the injuries suffered by people, if the incident involved a mental health crisis and what police tried before resorting to the stun gun.

The reports did show that more than half of the suspects were under the influence of alcohol or drugs when they were Tasered and that they were not armed.

The RCMP defended the stun gun that is often seen as the best option to neutralize a threat without having to draw guns. "There are no cookie-cutter scenarios where the Taser will be used or not. It's not because a person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs that he or she will be Tasered, it all depends on the circumstances," said Sgt. Deschenes.

Mr. Dosanjh, who testified at the B.C. inquiry last week, said there should be stricter guidelines about when police can deploy Tasers. "The use of Tasers has gone up in the last few years partly because the forces feel freer to use them under circumstances where they are not needed," Mr. Dosanjh said.

The RCMP said they don't plan to divulge more details of the incidents reports, such as what the officer did before resorting to the Taser.

The RCMP have some 2,800 Tasers and more than 9,000 officers are trained to use it.

Use of stun guns in Nova Scotia reflects patchwork of standards across Canada

March 6, 2008
The Canadian Press

Nova Scotia Conducted Energy Device (CED) Review

HALIFAX — The latest in a series of provincial reviews of police use of stun guns shows police departments in Nova Scotia receive "significantly" differing levels of training and follow a patchwork of rules on when to fire the weapons.

Civil liberties groups say the review adds to evidence that Canada has inconsistent training and rules for use of the 50,000-volt guns. "There's really no standard with respect to police forces in Canada - forces are all over the map," Murray Mollard, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said in an interview.

"It means different forces deploy in different ways, and we've seen real outcomes in terms of damage on the streets of Canada."

The Nova Scotia probe says RCMP and Correctional Services officers receive a 16-hour course, while municipal police and sheriffs in Nova Scotia are trained for eight hours.

The provincial Justice Department review also found that police use of the devices has shot up 80 per cent between 2005 and 2007 - to 182 incidents last year as police departments acquired the weapons.

The review also found big differences in procedures, including:

-Some police forces require notification of a supervisor before Tasers are fired, while others require supervisors to be informed later.

-The RCMP manual is the only one in the province that calls for special procedures when confronting a person is in excited delirium, a state of heart-pounding agitation.

-Some forces caution against using the device more than once, while others contain no reference to the topic.

Cecil Clarke, Nova Scotia's justice minister, called for the review in November following the death of a 45-year-old Dartmouth man about 30 hours after he was Tasered by Halifax police.

Howard Hyde, a man who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, was arrested for spousal abuse. He had struggled with jail guards moments before his death in a Dartmouth jail. The Nova Scotia review was one of several across Canada ordered following the death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who died after he was Tasered by RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14. Reviews were also ordered in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and nationally by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Police Research Centre.

In December, the RCMP watchdog said "usage creep" of Tasers by police forces is a "major concern." It argued the weapons were often being used to subdue people who "do not pose a threat of grievous bodily harm or death." The commission recommended revamped Taser training and stricter reporting requirements.

There are now more than 6,500 Tasers in use across Canada by police and correctional officers. Since 2003, about 20 Canadians have died following stun gun incidents.

The maker of the most popular brand of stun gun, Taser International, has long insisted Tasers are safe and cannot be blamed for any deaths.

In December, the Quebec government ordering police in the province to limit their use of Taser guns.

After a review in New Brunswick, officers there were told they will have to be certified in the use of Tasers once a year, up from once every three years.

Michel Samson, Nova Scotia's Liberal justice critic, said the evidence suggests the province should impose a moratorium on stun guns until the differences in procedures and training are resolved. "Until we have a universal policy in place, these Tasers shouldn't be used," he said.

John Tackaberry, a spokesman for Amnesty International, also said a moratorium would be the best approach until "the highest possible standards are applied."

Warren Allmand, a former federal solicitor general and past president of the International Centre for Human Rights, has said a full, independent medical and technical review of all stun guns is needed.

Nova Scotia's justice minister said he won't be rushed into any decisions and he doesn't expect to ban the use of Tasers. "When we go forward we'll be looking for the most effective way of using a Taser-type device," Clarke said. A panel of external experts, including representatives from law enforcement and scientific communities, will use the review to provide recommendations to the minister.

Meanwhile, Halifax Police Chief Frank Beazley defended his department's training program as "quite adequate," even if it is shorter than the RCMP's program. "What you have to look at is what the RCMP put in their training package," he said. "They train on Taser and then they take the second day and they do first aid, they do pepper spray use . . . Their two days is not just Taser." He also suggested identical procedures may not be practical for police officers facing violent confrontations. "At the end of the day, if somebody else's life is at risk, or your life is at risk, you have to make the decision. That decision will vary in each situation."

Taser is the trade name for what police usually call a "conductive energy device." The weapon fires a probe that delivers an electrical shock for five seconds, stunning the target's neuro-muscular system and usually causing him to fall from severe pain and muscle contractions.

New Brunswick officers require yearly certification to use tasers

February 6, 2008
CBC News

New Brunswick law enforcement officials using Tasers and any other type of stun gun will now require annual certification, Public Safety Minister John Foran announced Wednesday. The annual certification replaces the three-year certification process that previously existed in the province. It was announced after the public safety department concluded its review on the use of stun gun devices.

No other new restrictions will be placed on the use of the stun guns, Foran said, but the report recommends that police call medical help to deal with any individual who appears to be under mental distress.

"Every situation is different but if your [police officer] is on the scene and they see what some people would call excited delirium or any other medical or emotional or psychological concerns, they may want to ask for a medical responder right away before the situation escalates," Foran said at a news conference in Fredericton.

The entire policy will not be released until the province's police chiefs have had a chance to review it, Foran said.

An eyewitness video of RCMP officers shocking Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who subsequently died, at the Vancouver airport in October sparked international debate about the use of the weapon. In November, Howard Hyde, 45, died in a Dartmouth, N.S., jail 30 hours after being jolted by a Taser.

Foran, however, has previously said the deaths did not prompt the provincial review. The new policy will apply to Saint John, Fredericton, Rothesay and Edmundston municipal police forces that use the devices. It will not apply to RCMP officers in the province.

Fredericton police Chief Barry MacKnight said six people in the city were shocked in 2007 after resisting arrest and in nine other incidents, police officers threatened the use of a Taser. "When you look at the science, they are a very effective device in resolving situations where people are actively resisting and combative and even in some case when they're posing a lethal force threat," MacKnight told CBC News. "In some cases [Tasers] provide officers an option that is less than lethal."

New Brunswick to have new policy on Taser use by end of January

December 13, 2007
The Canadian Press

FREDERICTON - New Brunswick's public safety minister says the province will have a new policy on Taser use by the end of January. John Foran says his department is now looking at suggestions submitted earlier this week by the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police. The association's president, Barry MacKnight of Fredericton, says the generic policy will provide a guideline, but each police department can adapt it for their own use. He says current policies for Taser use are already quite consistent across the province. MacKnight says the association and the department meet on a regular basis to review policy, and are not reacting specifically to recent deaths that have followed the use of the stun gun. MacKnight admits he's concerned his officers might question their use of a Taser during a confrontation, but has told them to trust their training and instincts.

Taser Use on Children

What kind of police policy and government allows police to taser a child?! One has to wonder what police would have done if they didn't have the Tasers. Would they have shot these kids with service revolvers? I suspect not!

A 15-year-old boy in California was tasered last week after reportedly trying to run away from police.

In September 2006, Amnesty International condemned the repeated use of a Taser gun on a 17-year-old boy by RCMP officers at a house party in Hampton, New Brunswick.

In November 2005, Fort Myers, Florida police used their taser on an autistic 15-year-old when he was already down.

In June 2005, in Lorain, Ohio, police tasered a 12-year-old boy on a school bus for the crime of trying to steal another boy's CD case.

That same week, the Lorain police department said it was forced to use a Taser gun on an "unruly child" - a 16-year-old boy was tasered after an officer chased him from a fight.

In February 2005, a 14-year-old boy tasered at a group home in Chicago went into cardiac arrest. He did recover, physically at least.

In May 2004, a South Tucson, Arizona police sergeant was under investigation for firing his stun gun to subdue a handcuffed 9-year-old girl. The sergeant was one of at least two officers who responded to a call from the Arizona Children's Home, a school for special needs children. "It had to do with a runaway from the institution," the chief said. He declined to provide further details.

In January 2004, Miami police tasered a 12-year-old girl for the "crime" of skipping school, drinking and smoking. Good thing tasers weren't around when I was 12!!

A month earlier, Miami police also tasered a 6-year-old boy!!

An Edmonton police officer shocked a 15-year-old boy during a strip search in a police cell. The youth testified that the officer told him he was being zapped with the Taser because he had lied to police. The officer was found not guilty and charges were stayed against the youth. "By accusing, charging, detaining, strip-searching, convicting and punishing the boy before he was ever brought before the court, the police officer abused the power placed in his hands," the judge said in her 16-page ruling.

In October 2002, 16-year-old Randy Fryingpan was tasered seven times by an Edmonton police officer who used the taser to "roust" him when he - drunk and unconscious - failed to respond to police commands to exit his friend's car.

New Brunswick man's death from excited delirium raises questions about police Tasers

March 11, 2007
The Canadian Press

FREDERICTON -- A New Brunswick man's death due to a mysterious malady called excited delirium has raised more questions about police arrest techniques and the growing use of stun guns.

Kevin Geldart, 34, of Moncton, N.B., died after he was repeatedly shocked with Taser weapons by RCMP officers in 2005.

It was another in a long series of deaths in North America following the use of police force and Taser guns to control people who are described as combative, irrational and extraordinarily strong.

In most of these cases, the cause of death is difficult to pinpoint and is often attributed to cardiac arrest, drug intoxication or a combination of the two.

But a New Brunswick coroner's inquest into Geldart's death earlier this month ruled that the large, mentally ill man died of excited delirium -- a condition that cannot be found in medical or psychiatric text books.

"Excited delirium is not a diagnosis used in psychiatry,'' says Dr. Roumen Milev of the Mood Disorders Clinic at the Providence Continuing Care Centre in Kingston, Ont. "It does not exist as such either in the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic and statistical manual, or in the World Health Organization's international classification of diseases.''

Critics say excited delirium exists purely in the imaginations of those who are anxious to defend the use of Taser weapons and excessive police force.

Eric Balaban, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, says that blaming excited delirium for in-custody deaths could be a way of whitewashing inappropriate use of force by police. "It's not recognized as a mental-health diagnosis,'' Balaban says. "It is really used only by medical examiners to attribute the cause of death of an arrestee following a violent scuffle with police officers.''

Whatever excited delirium may be, it is characterized by extreme agitation, incoherence, bizarre behaviour, often superhuman strength and a high body temperature.

It is associated with drug abuse and mental illness, and occurs often in people who, like Geldart, are very large. Geldart was tall and weighed at least 350 pounds.

Family members and friends of people who die during police Taser arrests are almost always unsatisfied with descriptions of the cause of death and the fact that the police are exonerated.

One of Geldart's relatives has called for a moratorium on the use of Tasers until more is known about the effects of the weapon on people, especially on those with mental illness.

So far, 212 people in North America have died following custody struggles with Taser-wielding police officers -- at least 15 of them in Canada, where the weapon has been used since 2001.

In all cases, the stun gun has been cleared of any direct involvement in the deaths, even in cases like Geldart's, where there were eight Taser injuries to his body and head.

"I'm not aware of any case in the world where the conductive energy weapon has been found to be the factor that caused death,'' Sgt. Richard Groulx, an RCMP training and tactical weapons expert, told the New Brunswick inquest.

The Taser delivers a pulsating, 50,000-volt electrical current through the body, and police say it can pierce clothing four centimetres thick. The shock, which lasts up to five seconds, locks muscles instantly and overrides the central nervous system.

Dr. Deborah Mash, professor of neurology at the University of Miami and a leading expert in North America on excited delirium, says the ultimate goal of her research is to establish a protocol so police know how to handle people exhibiting signs of the condition.

Mash says excited delirium is a real brain disorder. "There are clearly neuro-chemical changes in the brain,'' she says. "There is a defect. The issue of police brutality is simply wrong. That's not to say it can't occur, but when the police are confronted by someone exhibiting superhuman strength like a Hulk Hogan ... what can they do?''

Mash says the phenomenon came to light in the 1980s, when crack cocaine first burst onto the Florida drug scene. She says many victims have cocaine or drugs in their systems, although mentally ill people like Geldart, who was bipolar, are also susceptible. "It doesn't have to be drug-related,'' she says. "There are a number of triggers that will pop the switch.''

Mash says no one knows the best intervention techniques for police when confronted by an individual in the throes of excited delirium. She says she hopes a standard of practice can be developed. She also says research may ultimately unlock a clear diagnosis of the disorder, so victims can be identified before they run into trouble.

"Thanks to advances in molecular biology, we have an opportunity to look for the first time for real diagnostic markers, and that's what we need,'' Mash says.

New Brunswick police to monitor Taser use

March 7, 2007
CBC News

A new policy on how police in New Brunswick can use force to apprehend suspects will include a requirement to track the use of Taser weapons. The rules will apply to municipal forces, but not the Mounties.

The province, along with the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police, is drafting a new use of force policy because the one currently in place doesn't include monitoring the use of Tasers, said Mike Quigley, director of policing services for the province.

"At this time there are only three of the municipal regional police forces that have been using it for a year or two, but other police forces have expressed interest," Quigley said Tuesday.

The RCMP does have a Taser-use policy in place, but Quigley said he'll pass along a copy of the province's new policy to the RCMP once it is complete.

The announcement of the new policy comes days after the conclusion of a coroner's inquest into the Taser-related death of Kevin Geldart.

Geldart died in May 2005 after RCMP officers used Taser weapons to subdue him at a Moncton bar. He had walked away hours earlier from the psychiatric ward at Moncton Hospital where he was being treated for bipolar disorder.

At an inquest completed last week, the jury determined the cause of death was a condition known as excited delirium, but found that injuries from the Taser weapon contributed to it.

Quigley said the new policy could be adopted by municipal forces this summer.

"We're hoping to achieve the final draft by the end of June and it will have to proceed through the policy committee of the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police," Quigley said. "That procedure is not expected to be very lengthy."

Taser inquest disappoints relatives of N.B. man

March 5, 2007
CHRIS MORRIS, Canadian Press; Rick Cash and Johanna Boffa

MONCTON -- Relatives of a New Brunswick man who died after he was repeatedly shocked by police with a taser say they are disappointed with a coroner's jury that recommended better training for police and medical officials.

A coroner's inquest into the sudden death of 34-year-old Kevin Geldart ruled on Friday that he died accidentally of a condition known as excited delirium, with contributing factors.

A pathologist testified during the eight-day inquest that "contributing factors" included repeated shocks to Mr. Geldart's torso and head from an RCMP taser weapon.

"There should be a moratorium on tasers until they know more about them and their effect on people," said Margaret Geldart, Mr. Geldart's aunt.

Mr. Geldart's sister, Karen Geldart, said she was disappointed the five-member jury did not go beyond recommending more training and education for police and emergency medical personnel.

"There is so much that is unknown about these tasers," she said. "It was clear to me that even though the police officers were trained to use the taser, they didn't seem to have a good understanding of when it is appropriate to use and when it is not."

Mr. Geldart, described by his family as a gentle giant of a man, died on May 5, 2005, after four RCMP officers attempted to take him into custody at a downtown Moncton bar.

The victim, who weighed 350 pounds, had earlier slipped out of a hospital psychiatric ward where he was being treated for bipolar disorder.

The coroner's jury made 16 recommendations calling for such things as seminars on tasers for police, recertification of taser instructors every five years and changes to the weapon itself to make sure it accurately records each firing.

It was not clear from police evidence presented at the inquest exactly how many times the taser was used against Mr. Geldart, although pathologist Ken Obenson said there were eight taser injuries on his body.

Karen Geldart said there were inconsistencies in the evidence, which has left family members wondering what actually happened. She said she was bothered by the fact that witnesses at the bar described her brother as scared and confused in his final moments, while police officers said he was aggressive and combative.

Coroner Dianne Kelly made several recommendations of her own on Friday, including the referral of all in-custody deaths to independent agencies for investigation.

Although four RCMP officers were involved in the incident, the investigation into what happened was handled by fellow RCMP officers in Fredericton.

Ms. Kelly also recommended that New Brunswick police agencies develop policies on tasers, including training.

The inquest came at a time when more people are asking questions about the usefulness of the taser as a so-called non-lethal weapon to control violent behaviour.

So far, 212 people have died in incidents in Canada and the United States where tasers have been deployed.

In the vast majority of those cases, pathologists have not been able to clearly identify a cause of death. In many cases, including the Geldart case, death has been attributed to a relatively new condition called excited delirium.

Other taser inquests

Gurmit Singh Sundhu: Died June 30, 2005, after he was restrained by at least two RCMP officers. Police were called to his Surrey, B.C., home where the man was allegedly assaulting his wife in a cocaine-induced state. The 40-year-old father of four was hit by a taser gun a number of times by the first officer at the scene. The coroner's inquest concluded that the cause of death was acute cocaine intoxication.

Robert Bagnell: Died June 23, 2004, after police were called to a Granville Street hotel in Vancouver where Mr. Bagnell had barricaded himself. According to the pathologist and toxicologist who testified at the inquest, death was due to heart problems and acute cocaine intoxication. B.C. coroner Stephen Fonseca abruptly shut down the inquest in September, 2006, after the family of the victim tried to introduce a letter from the Victoria chief of police that raised concerns about the use of tasers. The inquest is adjourned until March 7.

James Foldi: Died July 1, 2005, in Beamsville, Ont., after he was tasered at least 12 times, including 11 times using what is known as a drive stun technique, where the device is pressed against the person and fired. Mr. Foldi, who was acting erratically, allegedly from a cocaine overdose, rampaged through several houses in his neighbourhood and tried to flee when confronted by three police officers. They struggled for a few minutes, during which time the tasers were used. Mr. Foldi fell to the ground, lost consciousness and never recovered. An inquest is pending.

Roman Andreichikov: Died on May 1, 2004, after he was subdued by police officers who responded to a 911 call about a potential suicide. Mr. Andreichikov, a fitness trainer, had been on a five-day cocaine binge, and after fighting with his girlfriend tried to commit suicide twice by attempting to leap from the fourth floor balcony of his Granville Street apartment in Vancouver. The police had difficulty subduing him and tasered him twice. The inquest decided that cardiac arrest and cocaine intoxication, not the taser, were responsible for his death.

Peter Lamonday: Died on May 14, 2004, after police responded to a break-in at a Hamilton Road gift shop in London. Eight officers attempted to subdue him, and during the altercation Mr. Lamonday was tasered three times. He died about 50 minutes later in hospital. The inquest decided that Mr. Lamonday died from cocaine-induced delirium.

Research: Rick Cash and Johanna Boffa

N.B. inquest into death of Tasered man told police cleared of wrongdoing

March 1, 2007
Craig Babstock - Moncton Times and Transcript

"Staff Sgt. Gerry Belliveau did note that there were three Taser burns to the back of Geldart’s head. This is not an area recommended for shocking during Taser training, but Belliveau said it played no role in the outcome that night. According to Belliveau, Geldart was Tasered three times by police that night, despite testimony from witnesses he was shocked several more times than that.

There are still unanswered questions about the use of the Taser that night. The weapon has a memory that tells when it’s activated or used and that report is confusing at best. Police identified three Taser activations from that report they say correspond with the three hits on Geldart. However, the report says those three hits happened over a span of 13 minutes. Officers involved that night testified the struggle with Geldart only lasted a couple of minutes."

Taser alone didn't kill Geldart: pathologist

February 28, 2007
CBC News

A temporary condition, not an electronic stun gun used by Moncton police, was likely to blame for the death of a psychiatric patient, an inquest heard Wednesday.

Kevin Geldart, 34, who had walked away from the psychiatric unit at the Moncton Hospital, died in the Right Spot bar on May 5th, 2005, after police used a Taser in a bid to subdue him.

Ken Obenson, the pathologist who examined Geldart's body, told the inquest that in his opinion the primary cause of Geldart's death was "excited delirium," a condition in which a mentally ill person is acutely agitated, violent, sweating profusely and showing an insensitivity to pain.

Geldart showed many of those symptoms, according to previous testimony from four police officers who confronted him at the Right Spot Bar in Moncton. The officers used pepper spray and a Taser, an electronic stun gun, to try to subdue Geldart, who was six-feet-six inches tall, weighed more than 350 lbs., and suffered from asthma.

Obenson said that because an agitated Geldart was wrestling with police, his adrenaline level would have been high.

His potassium level would also have been high, Obsenson said, and that would have protected his heart. However, once restrained, his potassium level would have dropped, Obenson said, and that would have lead to arrthymia, an upset in the heart's normal rhythm.

Obenson said the Taser, pepper spray and Geldart's obesity might have been contributing factors in his death. But even if those factors had not been present, he said, the outcome still would have likely been death.

However, if the condition of excited delirium were removed, and every other factor left in place, Obenson said, Geldart likely wouldn't have died.

Tasers rarely kill, inquest told

February 28, 2007
Canadian Press

N.B. man died as police applied repeated shocks to subdue him

MONCTON -- A bioelectricity expert has told an inquest into the death of a man who had been tasered by police that there are almost no recorded cases of the devices killing people.

"There have been deaths following taser use, such as the one before you, but in no case was it caused by the taser," J. Patrick Riley said yesterday.

In each case, he said, "other factors were present."

Mr. Riley was testifying at the inquest into the death of Kevin Geldart, 34, of Riverview, N.B., who died May 5, 2005, after being shocked several times by RCMP officers.

Mr. Geldart, who suffered from bipolar disorder, left the psychiatric unit of the Moncton Hospital that night. Police were called when he showed up at a bar and began acting strangely.

He was heavily medicated and likely experiencing a psychotic episode.

Mr. Riley is an electrical engineer who works at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He's an expert on the effects of electricity on living creatures and this is the third time he's testified at a Canadian inquest into a taser-related death.

Mr. Riley said aside from the death of a seven-month-old child who was shocked repeatedly by her foster mother, there are no cases where a person died solely because they were shocked by a conducted-energy weapon such as a taser.

But he also said more research needs to be done on tasers to fully understand how they affect people.

For example, inquest legal counsel Nicole Poirier asked Mr. Riley about the effects of a taser on an individual who was mentally ill, heavily medicated, recently pepper-sprayed or suffering from asthma -- all factors that applied to Mr. Geldart.

Mr. Riley said he's not familiar with any research that covers those specific circumstances.

He did list several factors that could make an individual more sensitive to this kind of electrical shock. They include people high on illegal drugs such as cocaine, pregnant women, young children, the elderly, thin or small people, and people with physical conditions such as muscle injuries.

Women would likely be affected more by tasers because they're smaller, on average.

Large people -- like the 6-foot-6, 360-pound Mr. Geldart -- tend to be less affected.

"The larger person tends to be less sensitive so they require a larger dose of electricity to have the same effect as a smaller person," Mr. Riley said.

Mr. Geldart had been tasered in November of 2003 and didn't stiffen and fall down, like most people do. He simply kneeled down and allowed police to cuff him, the inquest was told.

Police testified that at the bar the night of his death, he didn't react or slow down when they shocked him.

Four officers struggled with him and pinned him to the floor as he tried to escape. Police wanted to take him back to the hospital, but he wouldn't go and witnesses said he looked scared of the officers. When they finally had him cuffed, they realized he was no longer breathing.

At various times, police, firefighters and paramedics worked on Mr. Geldart, but he never recovered.

Mr. Geldart's death is being blamed on excited delirium, a condition that will be explained as the inquest proceeds.

*****

How a taser weapon works

A taser weapon uses compressed gas to launch a pair of small darts at its target. The darts are connected to the weapon with wires. When the darts make contact, an electrical charge is released from the weapon through the wires. The charge is strong enough to disrupt the human body's electrical impulses. This disrupts the central nervous system, causing the muscles to contract. The target usually recovers within several minutes.

---

Air cartridge: Uses compressed nitrogen to fire darts.

Fine sight: Allows user to line up the target.

Screen: Shows power level remaining.

Laser sight: Activated when safety off.

Blast doors: Fly off when fired.

Darts: Fired at 60 metres per second.

Wires: Carry the electrical pulse to the target.

ID tags: Are dispensed when the gun is fired making the use traceable.

HITTING THE TARGET

Distance: The optimum shot is from 2 to 3 metres away from the target to achieve maximum effect.

Effectiveness: As long as the spread of the probes is at least 10 centimetres, the taser will be extremely effective.

Through clothing: Will work through up to 5 cm of cumulative clothing, even leather jacks.

Recovery time: Varies by individual - generally several minutes.

Automatic impulse regulation: Once the probes are launched, unit stay active for 5 seconds to keep target reliably down.

IF THE TARGET IS MISSED

There are 2 stun electrodes on the front of the unit that can be used to incapacitate the person by making direct contract.

SOURCE: TASERX26.COM

February 27, 2007
Craig Babstock, Canadaeast News Service

"Almost 18 months before Kevin Geldart died after being Tasered by police, he had an encounter with Codiac RCMP officers and a Taser, an inquest into the man's death heard Monday. It was the afternoon of Nov. 12, 2003, and Geldart was reported to the police after leaving The Moncton Hospital. Officers found him nearby, on MacBeath Avenue, and Const. Denis Hache approached him on the sidewalk. Hache had brought him to the hospital two years earlier at the request of his parents. He went to the Geldart home in neighbouring Riverview and spent more than an hour convincing the mentally ill man to go to the hospital. So when Hache approached Geldart on MacBeath, they were familiar with each other. Hache, supported by several other officers, said they were going to bring him back to the hospital, but Geldart refused. The six-foot-six, 360-pound Geldart sat down on the sidewalk. Hache warned he would use a Taser if he had to, but it didn't change Geldart's mind. Two officers approached, grabbing an arm each and lifting the large man up. Geldart stood, but then pushed the two Mounties away. One took out a baton and struck him on the back of the legs. Hache then shot him with the Taser. He expected Geldart to fall, stiffen or become incapacitated, but none of those things happened. The big man casually got down on his knees and lay on his stomach, allowing them to cuff him. Hache then walked him up the street to the hospital, because he wouldn't fit in the back of the patrol car. They talked about the Taser as they walked along. "He said shock therapy hurt more," Hache testified Monday at a coroner's inquest. "He said if he really wanted to, that little toy wouldn't stop him."

On the night of May 5, 2005, four officers were trying to subdue Geldart after the hospital's psychiatric unit reported he'd gone missing. He died after being Tasered several times. The officers testified Monday that the electrical shock seemed to have no effect on the man. "We were on the cusp of losing control of him," testified Const. Zane McLure. "It was a sick feeling because if he got control of us, we were done." The inquest began last Wednesday and continues all this week in Court of Queen's Bench. New Brunswick's chief coroner Dianne Kelly is presiding and Nicole Poirier of the Office of the Attorney General is serving as legal counsel. The inquest won't lay blame, but will clarify the facts and circumstances of the death. On Friday, a jury will make recommendations for preventing such deaths in the future.

On the opening day, Kelly said evidence would be heard that Geldart's death was blamed on excited elirium. An expert will testify about that later in the inquest. It's still not clear how many times Geldart was Tasered in 2005, with evidence indicating it could be anywhere from three times to a half dozen.

Geldart, 34, was brought to the hospital May 2, after suffering a psychotic episode. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or manic depression, in his late teens and had spent time in the psych ward on different occasions. He had been in the locked portion of the ward on this visit, until he was transferred to the unlocked part of the unit the morning of May 5. He left the hospital that night for a cigarette and never came back, eventually showing up at the Right Spot bar. Staff called police because Geldart was acting strangely and talking to himself in the mirror. Three RCMP officers showed up and entered the bar, with a fourth arriving halfway through the encounter. Staff Sgt. Al Parker was the first Mountie through the door that night. The 30-year veteran, who retired from the force last month, told his two colleagues he would take the lead. "We get 500 to 600 of these calls a year," Parker testified, referring to cases involving mentally ill or suicidal individuals. "99.9999 per cent of the time, we talk to them and give them a drive back to the hospital." That's what he tried, but it didn't work.

The officers went to the back of the bar, Parker in the lead, followed by Const. Dominique Pharand and Const. Pierre-Luc Hache, who both had a year of service with the Mounties at the time. Police had been warned by the hospital Geldart could be dangerous and were also concerned because of earlier reports about his behaviour, so Parker told Hache to have his Taser ready. They found Geldart talking to himself in the mirror. Parker called him by his name and asked if they could give him a lift. "He turned around to face me and that's when I knew I was in trouble," he said. Geldart was breathing heavily, sweating profusely and his pupils were completely dilated. "I figured I'd tell it like it is and not baloney him."

Parker told him he had to go back to the hospital and asked him to put his hands on the pool table so they could search him. He put his hand on Geldart's shoulder. "He said, 'You put your hands on the table,' in a very slow and slurred way," said Parker. "That's when he shoved me out of the way." The staff sergeant thought the man was on drugs. He told the jury he's had many experiences dealing with intoxicated people and Geldart appeared to be on something. (Geldart was medicated while at the hospital.) Geldart then ran past the officers and vaulted over a short wall, landing on a table and falling to the floor. They caught up to him and made a semi-circle around him as he stood against a wall. Parker said Geldart got up and bolted at him, like a football player.

"He was halfway to me and I told Pierre-Luc to give it to him, let him have it," said Parker."

Taser didn't stun giant man, inquest told

February 27, 2007
Craig Babstock, Canadian Press