Halifax police decline Taser cameras

March 14, 2009
By DAVENE JEFFREY, Chronicle Herald

Halifax police say they’re not interested in capturing their stun gun use on camera.

Taser International, the company that makes stun guns used by police forces in Nova Scotia, sells a camera which fits onto the gun handle of some models.

"There’s too many issues with them," said Halifax police spokesman Const. Jeff Carr, explaining that his department is aware of the optional add-on.

According to Taser’s website, the camera records audio and video when the gun is used and offers increased accountability.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," the company’s website boasts. The company also says that citizen complaints are down by up to 50 per cent in jurisdictions where police forces use the Taser cam.

"It makes a lot of sense," said NDP justice critic Bill Estabrooks.

Mr. Estabrooks is very clear that he is not against police forces having stun guns and believes they have likely saved lives.

But an audio and video record of every time an officer uses a Taser sounds like "common sense." With a recording, it would be clear what an officer was facing when the weapon was drawn and deployed, the politician said.

Nova Scotia’s Justice Department is also not considering ordering police forces to add the cam to their stun-gun weaponry.

"This is not part of our government’s standards in Nova Scotia at this time," said Justice spokeswoman Sherri Aikenhead.

Some agencies may have gone ahead and purchased the cameras on their own, she said, but the government at this time is not going to make it mandatory.

"It’s really up to the individual agencies," she said.

Tasers have been under attack in Canada over the past couple of years.

Late last month the Canadian Police Association and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police admitted that police have overused the weapon in this country and have not been transparent enough in reporting how they have used the stun gun.

A public inquiry is currently underway into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski. He is one of at least 20 people who have died in this country after being zapped with a stun gun.

'Get rid of the Taser' - Halifax man calls for ban at inquiry into friend's death

Good for you, Mr. McLean!

I am very surprised to see that Taser International's lawyers are not (yet) on the list of parties who have been granted standing at this fatality inquiry. However, I expect they *will* be added in due course. I think it's fairly safe to say that a large table front and centre with at least two chairs will be needed for Taser International lawyer (and former RCMP officer) David T. Neave (of the Vancouver lawfirm "Blakes") and at least one of his legal beagles. Been there, done that.

February 18, 2009
Chronicle Herald

Philip McLean, a friend of the late Howard Hyde, came to the first day of an inquiry with one thing on his mind — a call for a complete ban on the use of Taser stun guns.

“I knew Howard and to me he wasn’t a violent person and I feel like the use of the Taser is the wrong thing for anyone in general, really I’m against it,” Mr. McLean told reporters at Halifax provincial court, where the inquiry into Mr. Hyde’s November 2007 death opened Wednesday morning.

Mr. McLean knew Mr. Hyde for two years. The two had met at a social club they both frequented.

“It’s too late to bring Howard and other people back alive, but I just hope that the Justice (Department) will get rid of the Taser.”

Mr. McLean, of Halifax, remembers his friend as a friendly and intelligent gentleman and “an all-around nice guy.”

“Unfortunately I think it can and will happen again unless the law is changed."

Mr. Hyde, 45, died on Nov. 22, 2007, some 30 hours after he was shocked with a stun gun at Halifax Regional Police headquarters.

Mr. Hyde, who had schizophrenia, died shortly after collapsing at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth. He died about 30 hours after Halifax Regional Police used a stun gun on him during a disturbance at the booking desk at police headquarters.

Mr. Hyde had been arrested and charged with assault stemming from a domestic dispute. His girlfriend, Karen Ellet, said at the time that he had stopped taking his medication.

The fatality inquiry will look at several things, including whether Mr. Hyde should have been in a hospital’s psychiatric ward as opposed to a police station and then a jail. Judge Anne Derrick, who is conducting the inquiry, will make findings and recommendations about the circumstances surrounding Mr. Hyde’s death, cause and manner of death and on anything else that may arise out of the hearings.

“I do not know the facts of this case, I will be listening to the evidence with an open mind,” Judge Derrick said. “At this point, I want to pause for a moment to reflect on the fact that we are all here this morning because of a tragic event. Howard Hyde’s death on Nov. 22, 2007 is the reason for this inquiry.

“Whatever the facts may be with respect to Mr. Hyde’s death and the events leading to it and whatever recommendations may emerge on the evidence presented here, it can be safely assumed that Mr. Hyde’s death has been a tragedy for his family and his friends, the people in his life who loved him immensely.”

The probe cannot make any findings of civil or criminal liability.

The inquiry resumes April 22. The bulk of the evidence will be heard in July and August. The inquiry was ordered in September by Justice Minister Cecil Clarke.

Cape Breton chief Crown attorney Dan MacRury has been appointed counsel for the inquiry. He has not yet determined how many witnesses he will call.

Several parties have been granted standing to participate in the inquiry. They include: Mr. Hyde’s sister and brother-in-law, Joanna Blair and her husband, Dr. Hunter Blair; the Nova Scotia General and Government Employees Union, which represents employees at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth and within the Capital district health authority; the Capital district health authority; the Canadian Mental Health Association; the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia; Attorney General of Nova Scotia; Dr. Janet MacIntyre, an emergency room physician at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre; Dr. Stephen Curry, one of the doctors who treated Mr. Hyde; and Halifax Regional Police.

Stephen Ayer, executive director of the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia said because Mr. Hyde lived with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia there are many unanswered questions concerning the circumstances of his death.


“One question is why after he was taken to the emergency department and then to the court and then with instructions from the emergency department to return him if he wasn’t taken to a psychiatric facility ..., why wasn’t that done?,” Mr. Ayer said outside of court. “I have information from Ms. Ellet, his common law wife, that while he was at the correctional facility, he was examined by a psychiatric nurse why was he not examined by a psychiatrist at that particular point? So there’s some really hard questions that I would like to see answered.”

Mr. Ayer’s biggest concern is what method of restraint was used on Mr. Hyde, when and why was he restrained and was that method of restraint a factor in his death.

The province’s chief medical examiner has said being shocked with the device didn’t kill Mr. Hyde. His death was ruled accidental.

Nova Scotia tracks taser use

February 14, 2009
By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG, Chronicle Herald

The province’s two largest municipal police forces will look at the changes to the RCMP’s national policy on Taser use. But force officials say they’ve already complied with changes Nova Scotia made last year.

"It’s very unlikely there will be any changes to our policy, as it’s virtually the same as ours," said Const. Jeff Carr, spokesman for Halifax Regional Police.

Earlier this week, RCMP Commissioner William Elliott told MPs on the Commons public safety committee that the new rules clearly set out that Mounties can’t zap suspects for simple resistance or refusing to co-operate, The Canadian Press reported.

Instead, officers must only use Tasers in cases involving a threat to officers or public safety and must report and justify each time they use or threaten to use the device, the news agency reported.

The Halifax force’s policy was also "updated last year subsequent to an extensive review by the Nova Scotia Department of Justice," Const. Carr said.

Following that study, provincial Justice Minister Cecil Clarke tightened restrictions surrounding the use of Tasers to "situations of violent or aggressive resistance or active threat" that could injure officers, the public or a suspect.

He accepted a series of recommendations from an advisory panel’s review report, which also pointed to concerns Tasers were "being used as a compliance tool" on those who were not actively resisting."It’s certainly not intended nor is it used as a compliance instrument," Chief Myles Burke of Cape Breton Regional Police said.

Since the provincial review was completed, the Cape Breton force’s senior trainer conducts an internal review each time an officer uses the device. He sends a written report to the chief and that information is forwarded to the provincial Justice Department, Chief Burke said.

"We are accountable," he said.

As with any weapon, "anything we do dealing with force, there’s a risk, and we continue to do training . . . and review our policies," he said.

A provincial fatality inquiry will open next week into the 2007 death of Howard Hyde. The Dartmouth man had a history of schizophrenia and died about 30 hours after Halifax Regional Police used a stun gun on him. The province’s chief medical examiner ruled Mr. Hyde’s death accidental, but the inquiry will look at the circumstances surrounding the death.

Back in 2002, Halifax was the first department in the province to provide officers with Tasers. Last year, the force had 33 Tasers and about 45 per cent of its officers were trained to use them. More are being trained.

Chief Burke didn’t have the exact number of stun guns his force owns, but he said it is continuing to purchase the devices and officer training is ongoing.

"We will continue to use the conductive energy devices and we certainly deploy them where there’s a need to take control, because certainly in a number of cases that we’re reviewed, lethal force would be an option," he said. "Having that (stun gun) option, we see it as being a very valuable, valuable thing for our staff."

TASER REVIEW
Justice Minister Cecil Clarke accepted all 16 recommendations of a ministerial review on Tasers last year.

Some of those include:

•Appoint a panel of scientific experts to annually review Taser safety.
•Create a provincial database of Taser use.
•Establish provincial standards for all use-of-force devices.
•Conduct a full policy review of Taser use in the province, but restrict the use of the device in the meantime.
•Ensure uniform training standards for officers, and instructors should be accredited under provincial standards.
•Establish a provincial commission to investigate complaints about police Taser use and review training and use-of-force policy.

Nova Scotia Justice Minister orders police to stop using old tasers

December 11, 2008
By The Canadian Press

Nova Scotia police departments have been ordered to shelve an older model of Taser because of concerns they might be unsafe.

CBC News reported Wednesday that Justice Minister Cecil Clarke gave the order.

The Taser in question is the Model X26, purchased before Jan. 1, 2006.

The CBC said seven of the older stun guns are in use with the Halifax, Bridgewater and Stellarton police forces.

A CBC News/Radio-Canada investigation found that the electrical current produced by some of the older Tasers was stronger than specified by manufacturer Taser International.

Sherri Aikenhead, spokeswoman for the Justice Department, said the department went looking for the older models when it heard about the CBC’s findings.

Minister not part of taser review

September 26, 2008
Metro Halifax

AMHERST Justice Minister Cecil Clarke is not going to intervene in a review of Taser use being conducted by the Amherst Police Department following their use on a patient in medical distress.

“Everything I’m aware of is it (fell) within the standards and the department is doing its followup and due diligence on the matter,” Clarke said.

The minister’s comments come a few days after Amherst Police confirmed officers used a Taser on a man in diabetic shock who was resisting treatment by paramedics.

Editorial: Don’t taser the patients

September 25, 2008
The Chronicle Herald

IN JULY, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Cecil Clarke said this province was "poised to be a world leader in the safe and prudent use" of Tasers by law enforcement officers.

On Tuesday, Mr. Clarke said he had no problem with the recent, controversial actions of Amherst police, who Tasered a local diabetic – disoriented and combative due to extremely low blood sugar – after being called to assist with an emergency medical situation at the man’s home.

It’s likely safe to say the world will not be looking to Nova Scotia for leadership on this issue anytime soon.

Mr. Clarke might have been more "prudent," to use his earlier language, if he had awaited the results of an internal Amherst police review of the Sept. 14 incident before exonerating the officers.

It might also have been wise for Mr. Clarke to consider that spokespeople for Emergency Health Services – who had asked for assistance in dealing with an unco-operative patient – have said they would never advise Tasering a diabetic in that situation. In fact, EHS spokesman Paul Maynard said police never asked paramedics at the scene whether using the Taser would be helpful. He said once paramedics realized police intended to use the Taser, the officers ignored their verbal attempts to prevent the weapon from being fired. All of this took place in a matter of seconds, Mr. Maynard said.

The justice minister’s July comments came as he accepted all the recommendations of a ministerial review on Taser use in Nova Scotia, a review which said an absence of usage data made it impossible to say if the weapon was being used in an appropriate way. At that time, Mr. Clarke outlined strict rules for police Taser use, although he, as did the review, rejected calls for a moratorium.

We believed then, and maintain now, that was a mistake. Given public lack of confidence in police Taser use, after a series of highly publicized misuses of the stun gun across the country – including the deaths of some of those Tasered – and the lack of clear standards in Nova Scotia, the prudent course would have been to holster the weapon for the time being.

It’s frankly appalling that Amherst police, called to assist in a medical emergency, not at a crime scene, would consider firing a weapon at the person whose health is in distress.

Diabetics whose blood sugar reaches dangerously low levels often become disoriented and combative. To argue, as some who defend the police have, that the man could not be controlled by several officers and therefore posed a danger to himself and others is to suggest medical staff don’t have alternate ways to deal with such unco-operative patients. On the contrary. Paramedics, nurses and other health professionals have handled similar situations for years. And none, to our knowledge, has ever had to reach for a Taser.

Which is what happened. After realizing setting up an IV wouldn’t be possible in the circumstances, the paramedics gave the patient an injection of glucose, which calmed the man almost immediately.

EHS officials rightly say they plan to set up a protocol with police forces concerning Taser use in medical calls. How about "don’t Taser the patients"?

In the meantime, police who are called to help in medical situations should look to the trained health care experts on the scene to lead on how best they can be of assistance.

Doctor questions use of taser on man in insulin shock

September 25, 2008
THE AMHERST DAILY NEWS

An Amherst physician is questioning police’s use of energy weapons following an incident in which a man in insulin shock was Tasered. “For the life of me, I can’t understand the rationale behind using this weapon in this situation,” said Dr. Brian Ferguson. “You have a man with a dangerously low blood sugar and two paramedics and two or three police officers couldn’t control him?”

Amherst police officers used the Taser on a 34-year-old diabetic man who wouldn’t stay still while paramedics tried to put in an intravenous line.

Ferguson is not blaming the officers for using the weapon, but feels those who use it have to understand the risks associated with using it on someone with a medical or mental condition. “If you’re on certain medications that affect heartbeat or have a genetic connection to that, an electric shock can kill you,” Ferguson said.

New protocol was followed - Minister won't intervene in taser case

September 25, 2008
DARRELL COLE, The Amherst Daily News

AMHERST - Justice Minister Cecil Clarke is not going to intervene in a review of Taser use being conducted by the Amherst Police Department following the recent shocking of a patient in medical distress.

"The local department has its own review process and my understanding from talking to the chief of police there is that the new governance standards were followed," Clarke said. "Everything I'm aware of is it falled within the standards and the department is doing its followup and due diligence on the matter."

The minister's comments come a few days after Amherst Police confirmed its officers used a Taser on a man in diabetic shock who was resisting treatment by EHS paramedics.

The man's wife, who spoke on the condition of withholding her identity, is calling for an inquiry into Taser use so no one else will have to go through what her husband did.

Clarke suggested giving the department time to conduct its review and said the man who was tased by police and his family have the right to complain to the police complaints commission.

The minister also took exception to comments made by Liberal justice critic Michel Samson, who called on him to clearly define appropriate protocol for using the device.

"There is a protocol in place and the changes we have put in place are based on the two reviews we completed. Nova Scotia has completed one of the most comprehensive reviews in Canada," the minister said. "Mr. Samson is wrong and is misinformed about the fact the standards have changed. There is a strict criteria with regards to the imminent threat to members of the public or law enforcement officials and others and it was followed."

In July, the province completed the second part of a ministerial review of the policies and use of conductive energy devices. The 36-page review contained 16 recommendations from an advisory panel that looked at policies and procedures governing the use of Tasers.

Diabetic man zapped by police as he resisted paramedics’ treatment

Nova Scotia Justice Minister Cecil Clarke said the officer’s decision to use the stun gun was in compliance with Canadian standards. And WHAT CANADIAN STANDARDS would those be?! There ARE NO Canadian standards!

One of the people who commented on this news item said - and I can only agree: "Unbelieveable. So now what we are seeing is a God given right for police to exert a dangerous level of control over individuals who not only present combative behaviour but for medically induced combative behaviour as well. What has this world come to?"

September 24, 2008
By TOM McCOAG, The Chronicle Herald

AMHERST — An Amherst woman wants an inquiry into why police Tasered her diabetic husband as paramedics treated him.

"I just can’t believe they’d Taser an obviously sick man," the woman said Tuesday. She agreed to an interview but asked that neither she nor her husband be named.

The incident began shortly before 2 p.m. on Sept. 14 after the man’s children couldn’t wake him. "I checked his blood sugars. It measured 1.4 on the scale and it should read around eight," the distraught woman said, her voice trembling. "I’d never seen it that low before."

She attempted to boost her husband’s blood-sugar level by giving him some maple sugar, but he began making strange noises that scared her. "I called 911. They came really quick."

She admitted that her husband, who is six feet tall and 230 pounds, wasn’t keeping still for paramedics. They asked her if it was all right to call the Amherst Police Department because they needed to get an IV into him quickly. She agreed.

Four officers arrived and went into the bedroom. She left because the small room was becoming crowded. "I didn’t hear any sounds of a struggle when I heard an officer scream, ‘I’m going to Taser you. I’m going to Taser you,’ " the woman said. "I ran down the hall screaming ‘No’ when I heard the zap. When I got into the room, he was sitting up holding his side, crying."

After a few minutes, she said her husband calmed down enough to be given an IV. But she said the change in her husband’s disposition was the result of a glucose shot, not the result of being zapped with a stun gun. Paramedics offered to take him to the hospital, but he refused. "He doesn’t remember anything about the incident, is feeling fine now and is back at work," the woman said. "He really wants the whole thing dropped and we aren’t planning on suing anyone."

But she doesn’t understand why officers Tasered her husband, who has been a diabetic for 12 years.

Paul Maynard, spokesman for Emergency Health Services, said Tuesday that paramedics were trying to give the man an IV for a life-threatening diabetic condition when police were called because of the man’s combative nature. "It’s not unusual for someone to become combative when blood sugars are low," Mr. Maynard said. But he said this is the first time that he knew of where an officer has Tasered a man after paramedics were on the scene.

"I don’t know why they would have Tasered him," Mr. Maynard said. "That is a question you will have to ask the police. But it is not something that would have been recommended by the paramedics."

Deputy Police Chief Ian Naylor said the department is conducting an internal review, as required under provincial guidelines, adopted in July, involving Taser use.

On the afternoon of the incident, paramedics called police "to assist them with a combative 34-year-old man who required immediate medical assistance," Deputy Chief Naylor said. Officers attempted to restrain the man, with one officer holding each of the man’s arms and a third holding his legs, the deputy chief said. The man continued to struggle, sat up, lifted the officer holding his legs into the air and attempted to bite an officer holding an arm, he said.

"The officers were unable to control the man due to his size and strength. The officers were concerned that if he did break free, he would be a danger to himself, the . . . paramedics and the officers."

The struggle lasted about five minutes before the man was warned that the stun gun would be used if he did not calm down, the deputy chief said. He said the man kept struggling, so "a touch stun was applied to the man’s left side for approximately one second. Shortly after, the man’s resistance decreased and paramedics were able to treat" him.

Deputy Chief Naylor said the review is still underway so he could not say if the Taser caused the man to stop struggling. "All I know at this stage is that shortly after the Taser was applied, the paramedics were able to give him the medication he needed."

Deputy Chief Naylor said the public needs to know that the officers were told by paramedics that the man was facing a life-threatening situation and needed to be subdued quickly for medical treatment.

The officer who Tasered the man was trained to use the stun gun last summer. Officers must undergo Taser training every 36 months.

Provincial guidelines leave the decision to use a Taser in the hands of officers at the scene but indicate it can only be discharged "where a subject exhibits behaviour consistent with aggressive or violent resistance or active threat that may cause serious injury to the police officer, the subject or the public."

"If the province decides that (the incident) should be reviewed by an outside agency, we will co-operate," the deputy chief said.

Justice Minister Cecil Clarke said he has no problem with the actions of the Amherst officers. "It’s my understanding that all of the appropriate governance criteria have been met with regards to that case," Mr. Clarke said. He said the officer’s decision to use the stun gun was in compliance with Canadian standards. Police must determine the potential for threat on a case-by-case basis, he said.

New Democrat justice critic Bill Estabrooks would like to see better guidelines for Taser use. Mr. Estabrooks said he isn’t questioning the officer’s judgment, "but what I am questioning is the use of Tasers again in an inappropriate manner basically to sedate a patient. Maybe it would have been a situation where if he’d been allowed to calm down or if his blood-sugar level was that low, I would assume that he would have basically passed out or gone to sleep or whatever."

Liberal critic Michel Samson is not impressed that a 911 call regarding a man in medical distress ended up with that man Tasered. "Due to the lack of protocol from the minister of justice and the government on the use of Tasers, our law enforcement officials are left at a disadvantage, having to make a determination on their own as to when these Tasers are to be used."

With Dan Arsenault, crime reporter

Nova Scotia Justice Department complies with order for weapons for jail officers

June 24, 2008
The Canadian Press

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia Justice Department will provide weapons and training for corrections officers who escort prisoners on trips outside of jails, Justice Minister Cecil Clarke announced Tuesday.

Clarke told a hastily called news conference that his department was following through on a workplace order from the provincial Labour Department that had set June 24 as a deadline for a response.

"We will proceed with the ability to use pepper spray as well as batons," said Clarke.

However, the minister said guards would not be issued stun guns. "Tasers are off the table. There is no protocol in place with regards to that," said Clarke, noting that a review of stun gun use by police officers is currently underway.

"When we move forward, that review should establish protocols and procedures but I don't see a need or requirement to have that (Tasers) within the corrections environment."

Training programs for guards on prisoner escort duty will be put in place immediately in consultation with their union officials.

The hope is that they can be completed through the summer and fall. The delay is not sitting well with Jim Gosse, president of the union local that represents guards at the province's five correctional facilities. "We fully anticipated that the employer would reach a common-sense decision and provide correctional officers with the use of intermediate weapons," he said in a phone interview from Cape Breton.

But Gosse said the minister's time frame for implementation, pending training, doesn't make sense because several guards are already schooled in the use of pepper spray and batons. "We believe that there are enough individuals already in the system that this employer could put together specialized teams that already have the knowledge and the know-how to facilitate safe and efficient escorts," he said.

Gosse said he's left wondering if the delay is a form of payback for having forced the issue. "Because our members stepped forward and identified a serious occupational safety hazard in the workplace, it appears they're being penalized. Waiting (for months) to get what they need is not acceptable."

Because of limited staffing and hours of availability, Sheriff Services will continue to handle prisoner escorts at the Antigonish and Cumberland correctional facilities until new jails are built. The Labour Department issued the order earlier this month after unionized guards refused to do prisoner escorts citing safety reasons. Liberal justice critic Michel Samson said it has taken a long time for the government to address an obvious problem. "You'd be hard pressed to find any Nova Scotian who doesn't believe that the minister made a poor decision on this and had to be dragged screaming and kicking on what was an obvious safety issue for the guards," he said.

The Liberals are also pushing Clarke to broaden the scope of his stun gun review to include the use of sidearms. Samson said other provinces have seen fit to arm their guards with guns while escorting prisoners. "In light of all the reviews that the minister has undertaken, we certainly believe that that should be added to one of the existing reviews as an option," he said. "Nova Scotians are seeing more and more violent crimes out there which means more and more violent inmates."

Nova Scotia jail guards to be armed but taser-less when inmates move

June 12, 2008
By AMY SMITH and SHERRI BORDEN COLLEY, Chronicle Herald

Justice Minister Cecil Clarke says correctional officers will be armed if they move inmates outside of jails, but not with Tasers just yet.

On Monday, the Labour Department’s occupational health and safety committee ordered that jail guards on outside escorts and hospital supervision of inmates be armed with pepper spray and/or batons and/or Tasers.

Mr. Clarke said his department will comply with the order, but only pepper spray and batons will be available until the results are known of a Justice Department study on the use of stun guns in the province. “Until that report is complete there will be no authorization of Tasers,” the justice minister said Thursday after a cabinet meeting in Bible Hill.

Correctional officers have been complaining they have not been provided with enough training and equipment to do their jobs. The issue became front page news in April when Jermaine Carvery, who had been on remand for numerous charges, including attempted murder and hostage-taking, slipped out of his leg shackles and escaped during a transfer to hospital.

The guards who were moving the prisoner were unarmed and inexperienced. The minister said he is “very pleased” that Mr. Carvery was recaptured last week in Niagara Falls, Ont. “I believe that this is something that the public can stand confident that at least the person is where he needs to be,” he said.

Since the escape, guards have refused to do transfers without weapons.

Mr. Clarke said sheriffs will continue to conduct the transfers until the Justice Department makes its response to the order, due on June 24. That’s when the province has to put an implementation plan in place.

The health and safety committee says Nova Scotia is the only province where correctional staff doesn’t have some type of intermediate weapon.

One correctional officer at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth said he and other guards remain sceptical about the Justice Department adhering to the latest compliance order “because nothing’s been implemented yet.”

“Because of the relationship with the employer over the years it’s very untrusting,” the guard, who asked not to be named, said. “Until they actually see it get implemented then they’ll believe it — when we actually have the training and the tools to do our job properly.”

Guards in this province have pepper spray, batons and stun guns available inside the jails but are expected to go out into the community with just a mobile phone and bullet-proof vest. “Brinks guards who protect money have firearms, but yet our employer sees that protecting human life does not carry the same value,” the guard wrote in an e-mail to The Chronicle Herald Thursday.

The guard who spoke to this newspaper also alleges that during past occupational health and safety meetings, before the latest compliance orders were issued, their employer had told staff that if they were being attacked during an outside escort by an offender to use a chair, wheelchair or clipboard to defend themselves. “Staff were enraged for the lack of caring from the employer for staff safety,” the guard said.

The training modules reviewed by a Labour Department investigating officer state that escalating situations of violence may require correctional staff to improvise with the use of flashlights, clipboards or chairs, the June 9 occupational health and safety report said.

When asked whether Mr. Carvery’s escape could have been prevented had guards been carrying some type of weapons, the guard said he believes this, combined with adequate training, could have made a difference. “These people (the two guards) were all new with no training,” he said. “It’s sort of like if you’re an electrician and start hooking up wires with no training, someone’s going to get electrocuted.”

Liberal MLA Michel Samson said he can’t believe it took a Labour Department order for Mr. Clarke “to show some common sense.” He said it’s not reasonable for guards to have to shed their weapons on outside escorts.

NDP MLA Bill Estabrooks questioned what took the minister so long. “The front-line workers are the ones that should have been listened to all along,” he said.

Nova Scotia gets call to arm

June 12, 2008
By DEVIN STEVENS, Chronicle Herald

Justice Department has until June 24 to provide weapons to jail guards

More than two months after a dangerous inmate escaped during a prisoner transfer in Halifax, the province has been ordered to provide jail guards with access to weapons, including a type of pepper spray, batons and Tasers.

"I think it’s important to remember here that the government isn’t coming out and doing this (because they’re) concerned about the safety of Nova Scotians," Jim Gosse, president of Local 480 of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "(If they’re) tough on crime, I don’t think it should have come to the Department of Labour to force their hand in issuing another order they have to comply with."

Jail guards were previously unarmed during escorts.

The compliance order issued on Monday from the Labour Department’s occupational health and safety committee says the Justice Department has until June 24 to come up with an implementation plan. The department will decide which weapons will be made available.

The escort system was thrust into the spotlight on April 3 when inmate Jermaine Carvery escaped while being escorted to a Halifax hospital. He somehow got out of his leg shackles en route and then bolted when a guard opened a door in the van.

Mr. Carvery, who was awaiting trial on charges including attempted murder and hostage-taking, evaded capture until last week in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Prison guards across Nova Scotia have refused to escort prisoners since the escape, saying they are undertrained and don’t have the proper tools to protect themselves and the public.

The health and safety committee says Nova Scotia is the only province where correctional staff don’t have some type of intermediate weapon.

A workplace inspection report, also issued Monday, says the Justice Department’s evaluation of intermediate weapon use in other provinces is incomplete.

The report also called the government evaluation "misleading" because it said oleoresin capsicum, a weapon similar to pepper spray, can’t be used in hospitals. The report said Nova Scotia sheriffs already carry the spray in medical facilities.

NDP justice critic Bill Estabrooks said Justice Minister Cecil Clarke has been reluctant to listen to front-line workers. "Correctional officers certainly should feel vindicated," Mr. Estabrooks said in a phone interview. "It’s always interesting when one department intervenes and tells another department how they should be handling their employees. To the Department of Labour’s credit, they’ve done the right thing."

Mr. Gosse said the union has been pushing for additional training and weapons for 2½ years. "You need the tools and equipment to do the job," he said. "To me, this only makes sense. This isn’t rocket science."

Mr. Gosse said he’s not worried about Taser use. He said guards will be held accountable if they use the controversial stun guns improperly.

Tasers may be necessary when escorting the most dangerous prisoners, Mr. Gosse said. He noted that when police officers escorted prisoners earlier this year, they were equipped with guns.

The government order is legally binding, but the Justice Department can appeal. Justice officials were not immediately available for comment Wednesday evening. A news release said the department is reviewing the report and compliance order. Both have been posted at correctional facilities throughout the province.

Meanwhile, down in Orange County, California - THIS.

Jail staff knew tasered man was mentally ill, relative says

March 12, 2008
By BRIAN MEDEL and DAVENE JEFFREY, Halifax Chronicle

Justice officials won’t comment on a document that suggests staff at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth were aware that Howard Hyde was mentally ill. Mr. Hyde, 45, died last Nov. 22 after struggling with guards at the jail. The previous day, Halifax Regional Police had Tasered him at about 2 a.m. as he became highly agitated when he was being booked after his arrest on a spousal assault complaint.

After he was shocked with the stun gun, possibly as many as four times, his face reportedly turned blue and he went into severe distress.

Click here to see the documents

When he was taken to hospital, an emergency room physician at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre observed he was psychotic and suffered from schizophrenia. The doctor agreed to release Mr. Hyde to attend court on condition that he be returned to the hospital, unless a judge ruled he should instead be sent to another medical facility for a forensic psychiatric assessment.

The hospital released him back into police custody shortly after 9 a.m., but Mr. Hyde was not called before a judge until so late in the afternoon that the court did not have time to deal with him that day. But instead of being returned to the hospital, Mr. Hyde was taken to jail, where he scuffled with guards the next morning when they tried to take him back to court. He collapsed and soon died.

In November, Fred Honsberger, the executive director for correctional services in Nova Scotia, said jail staff may have known, "only anecdotally," that Mr. Hyde suffered from schizophrenia. And on Tuesday, Justice Department spokeswoman Carla Grant said: "We wouldn’t want to discuss this particular case. We wouldn’t have anything further to add."

But a transfer document prepared at the jail when Mr. Hyde was rushed to Dartmouth General Hospital after collapsing clearly shows that jail staff knew Mr. Hyde was ill, said his brother-in-law, Dr. Hunter Blair. "Psychosis" and "schizophrenia" are both written on the form that confirms Mr. Hyde was in an unresponsive state with no pulse. The form describes the destination as "DGH," lists escorting officers by last name and says medical information is attached. CPR was begun and 911 called, the form states.

Deputy Chief Tony Burbridge of Halifax Regional Police said documents accompany all prisoners taken to hospital. "In Nova Scotia, when we take somebody to the hospital, there’s a form that we take . . . so everybody is aware or should be aware of what has happened to somebody," he said.

Mental illness often is not considered to be as serious as other types of conditions, said Dr. Blair, a Barrington Passage physician. "If I’m in jail and I complain of chest pain, they’re going to have me off to hospital so fast," he said. "But there is a prejudice against psychotic people."

Liberal justice critic Michel Samson said justice officials need to act now to prevent prisoners like Mr. Hyde from dying in custody. According to documents released to the Hyde family, doctors wanted Mr. Hyde in hospital. "How could (that) be overlooked?" Mr. Samson said. He said he is not demanding a full public inquiry into Mr. Hyde’s death but the Justice Department must review the case immediately.

"Somewhere along the way, information wasn’t shared and medical advice was not followed," Mr. Samson said. "The minister should be calling for a review so he has all the facts in front of him and has a full understanding of why the doctor’s advice was ignored. He has a responsibility to ensure everything is done to prevent this tragedy from happening again."

Mr. Samson is worried about any appearance of bias against the mentally ill in the legal system. "The real fear is that our justice system continues to not give appropriate consideration, not only to all accused, but certainly to accused who suffer from a mental illness," he said.

The Justice Department said it is waiting for two other reports before it decides what to do next. "At this point, it would be premature to consider a public inquiry into this matter in light of the fact that both the RCMP investigation and the chief medical examiner’s report have yet to be completed or have yet to come forward," Ms. Grant said.

The department was unsure when the medical examiner’s or RCMP reports would be finished, but RCMP spokesman Sgt. Mark Gallagher shed some light on the timeline. He said the RCMP cannot finish their work until they read the medical examiner’s report, but that is coming soon. "We’re hoping to have it by the end of the month," he said.

RCMP investigators will read that report and then make their recommendations, he said. NDP Leader Darrell Dexter has called for an inquiry under the Fatality Investigations Act that would cover the last few days of Mr. Hyde’s life.

EDITORIAL: More doubts on taser use

March 9, 2008
Halifax Chronicle Herald

POLICE in Nova Scotia should keep Tasers holstered until a provincial review of the potent weapons is completed and any recommendations acted upon.

That’s been our stance on Tasers since the review was announced last fall, when a number of Taser-related deaths in Canada, including in Nova Scotia, garnered headlines from coast to coast. We see no reason to change that position now that the initial findings of that review have been made public. Simply put, more studies are needed on how Tasers can impact the human body, and more consistency – and restraint – is necessary in police training and rules of engagement using the stun guns.

The findings of the provincial review, released last week, only reinforce our belief that government should implement a temporary moratorium on police use of Tasers. The Justice Department study found widely inconsistent rules for their use, along with uneven training programs. (The weapons can deliver thousands of volts of electricity, incapacitating a subject.)

The review found that police officers in various parts of the province are following different guidelines on the number of times a Taser should be used against an individual, whether firing a Taser at a subject requires prior approval from a supervisor and even about the types of warnings to be issued to someone who may be about to be Tasered.

In the wake of a disturbing number of deaths in Canada in recent years – as well as in other countries – after individuals were Tasered by police, a number of troubling questions remain unanswered. Despite claims by Taser proponents the weapons are safe, scientists and doctors have raised concerns about possible links between Tasers and potential heart and respiration problems, mental health and an individual’s state of exhaustion or agitation in confrontations with authorities. Certainly, too many people have ended up dying after incidents in which they were Tasered.

The public has also been concerned about what seems to be inappropriate use of Tasers in certain situations, such as when a Dartmouth teenage girl was Tasered by police officers in her own bedroom in February, 2007. In that regard, the provincial review’s finding that rules for deploying Tasers in Nova Scotia are all over the map is not reassuring. Critics are also worried Tasers are being used in Halifax at a rate far greater than in Toronto.

Public confidence in police use of Tasers has been shaken by deaths that have occurred, as well as when and how the weapons are used. Tasers should not be used until that confidence is restored.

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.

Nova Scotia police say taser increase reflects rise in violent incidents

March 5, 2008
Charles Mandel, Canwest News Service

HALIFAX - Police in Nova Scotia are quicker than ever to use Tasers, says a new report released by the provincial Justice Department on Wednesday. But the RCMP says the frequency of use is directly related to an increase in the number of violent incidents that police are responding to, and that the weapon is being used appropriately.

The report found Taser use in Nova Scotia has increased substantially, but standards around the weapon's use and training with it vary widely across provincial police forces.

The application of the weapon rose over the past three years, to 182 times in 2007 from 101 times in 2005, an 80 per cent increase. The hike could be attributed to an overall increase in the number of conducted energy weapons currently in use, the report said.

Although the 42-page report endorsed Tasers as a "promising 'less-lethal' weapon" that allows police to subdue violent attackers, it said several aspects of the weapon need further review. The report noted that the Taser's advantages include its rapid impact, use from a distance, potential for reducing injuries to officers, subjects and bystanders and "its reportedly short duration of physiological impact."

The reported also noted: "But these are the very characteristics that may render the CED (Conducted Energy Device) open to misuse or even abuse, particularly over-reliance on the weapon to subdue subjects when less intrusive means could be effective."

Among the report's recommendations are that the adequacy of current training programs be examined; whether operational procedures clearly outlining Taser use should exist and to what extent the government should be involved in establishing such procedures; and whether current accountability measures are adequate.

Police officials defended the use of the conducted energy weapon. "We feel it's being used when it should be used and at the appropriate time," said Halifax RCMP spokesman Sgt. Mark Gallagher. Gallagher said an increase in the number of violent incidents explains the rise in Taser use by the RCMP provincially - of 55 incidents in 2007, 25 involved armed individuals. Twenty-two of the Taser applications "defused" the situation, Gallagher said. "That could have gone another way had we not had the Taser, so there's certainly a place and a time for it."

Halifax police Chief Frank Beazley said the report's findings that Halifax Regional Police receive less training than provincial RCMP on the use of the device is a misunderstanding. He said his officers receive eight hours of training, while the RCMP's 16 hours of training include other aspects such as the use of pepper spray and first aid. "They do not train for two days just on the Taser."

In Nova Scotia, two people have died after being hit with Taser fire. In 2005, Paul Saulnier died shortly after being stunned, clubbed and pepper-sprayed by police. But it was the death of the second man, 45-year-old Howard Hyde, that prompted Nova Scotia to launch the review into Taser use. Hyde died in a Dartmouth prison last November more than a day after he was shocked with a Taser.

Both men suffered from schizophrenia, and Stephen Ayer of the Nova Scotia Schizophrenia Society criticized the Taser report as ignoring mental health issues.

The Nova Scotia Taser review is one of at least seven probes in Canada over the use of the weapon. Several of the probes are into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died after RCMP officers first applied a Taser and then subdued him in December at Vancouver International Airport.

Nova Scotia Justice Minister Cecil Clarke said in the vast majority of cases the use of the Taser has been "a very good thing," with some "unfortunate" exceptions. But Liberal justice critic Michel Samson said the report shows "unacceptable" inconsistencies in the training police receive in Taser use.

Nova Scotia report calls for clearer taser standards

March 5, 2008
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

HALIFAX — A review into police use of Tasers in Nova Scotia says the amount of officer training “differs significantly” between police departments and suggests the province establish standard qualifications for those using the devices.

The report released today also says that use of the devices has shot up 80% in the past three years — from 101 times to 182 incidents last year.

During that time, police say there were seven injuries and one death.

Provincial Justice Minister Cecil Clarke 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.