P.E.I. RCMP quibble with taser numbers

June 13, 2008
CBC PEI

Multiple firings of stun guns by RCMP are not as routine on P.E.I. as a CBC investigation shows, Mounties on the island say, but the use of the weapon is more frequent than previously thought.

A joint investigation by the CBC and the Canadian Press, looking at data from 2002 to 2007, estimated RCMP nationwide used their Tasers more than 3,000 times during the period. On more than 1,300 of those occasions, or 43 per cent of the time, the stun gun was fired multiple times. RCMP policy states officers should avoid firing Tasers, which deliver an incapacitating electrical shock to a subject, more than once at a person.

For the same five-year span, the media investigation found 31 incidents of Taser use by RCMP on P.E.I. In 17 of those cases, or 55 per cent of the time, the stun gun was fired more than once.

The Mounties dispute those numbers. Sgt. Denis Morin told CBC News on Tuesday that multiple firings occurred in only 38 per cent of cases, below the national average. But he added that RCMP data shows Tasers were deployed more often on P.E.I. — 49 times, of which 19 were multiple firings. Both figures are higher than what the CBC-Canadian Press investigation determined.

Morin, who calls the Tasers "conducted energy weapons" or CEWs, said officers will only fire multiple times as a last resort.

"[It] might be caused by the CEW wasn't effective when it reached the target," he said. "It hit clothing or didn't penetrate clothing or the subject moved, or that person was combative.... You'd think it would be enough to take anybody down, but it seems in some cases, members have to use it again."

Mother of victim shocked

The information regarding multiple uses of the Taser came as a shock to Riki Bagnell of Charlottetown. Her son Robert died in British Columbia in 2004 after police used stun guns on him.

"He was unarmed and he was of no threat to them, which they have since admitted, but for whatever reason they decided to Taser him," Bagnell said. "They Tasered him more than once, and he died on the scene."

Since her son's death, Bagnell has been researching stun guns and started a blog dedicated to him called Truth, Not Tasers. She noted that according to Taser International, which makes the stun guns, Tasers cause the subject to lose all muscle control. She doesn't understand why they would need to be used more than once.

Canada's RCMP complaints commissioner will soon release a report on the weapon, and it's expected to call for a much tighter rein on the use of stun guns.

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.

PEI Premier wants review of taser usage

December 13, 2007
WAYNE THIBODEAU, The Guardian

HALIFAX — Premier Robert Ghiz has asked his attorney general to review the use of Tasers in Prince Edward Island. Ghiz made the comments during a closing news conference at the Council of Atlantic Premiers meeting in Halifax Wednesday.
That comes as the RCMP’s watchdog is recommending the force restrict the use of Taser stun guns. The Commission for Complaints Against the RCMP says the 50,000-volt Taser should only be used when suspects are “combative’’ or pose a risk of “death or grievous bodily harm’’ to an officer, themselves or the public. The commission’s interim report on Tasers, released Wednesday, stops short of calling for a moratorium on the widely used stun guns. The RCMP and Charlottetown City Police use Tasers in Prince Edward Island. The Summerside Police Department does not have Tasers. “Our attorney general is following the situation, obviously,’’ said Ghiz. The premier said he will not go as far as Newfoundland and call for a moratorium on their use — at least not yet.