Edmonton officer wants disciplinary charges stayed - Wasylyshen’s lawyer argues alleged Taser incident nine years old

August 12, 2011
Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - There is another delay in the disciplinary hearing of an Edmonton police officer charged with unnecessary force in a 2002 Taser incident.

Const. Mike Wasylyshen was charged in the Oct. 5, 2002, incident during which teenager Randy Fryingpan was allegedly Tasered eight times in 68 seconds.

Wasylyshen also faces a charge for hitting Fryingpan in the head and three insubordination charges for alleged violations of police procedure.

Wasylyshen’s lawyer, Robert Hladun, was scheduled to deliver his closing arguments on Friday. That was put off until November after Hladun filed a judicial review in the Court of Queen’s Bench.

He hopes the court will give the hearing’s presiding officer, Supt. Paul Manuel of the Calgary Police Service, the authority to throw out the disciplinary charges because the incident took place nine years ago.

If the application succeeds, the authority to stay the charges would be in Manuel’s hands.

“Right now, my client just wants to take advantage of the law everyone else can take advantage of,” Hladun said after the hearing.

In previous testimony, Fryingpan said he still has nightmares and takes painkillers because of injuries sustained by eight Taser strikes. He said he had several drinks that night at a friend’s birthday party, after which he and three companions climbed into a parked Oldsmobile “to smoke a joint” at about midnight or 1 a.m.

Wasylyshen was one of five officers who responded to complaints of an attempted car theft. The Taser was used during Fryingpan’s arrest.

After the 2002 incident, Wasylyshen’s father, then-police chief Bob Wasylyshen, decided no internal disciplinary action would be taken against any of the officers present during the arrest. But in 2009, the Law Enforcement Review Board ordered police Chief Mike Boyd to lay several charges against Wasylyshen.

Wasylyshen was not present at Friday’s hearing, which is scheduled to resume Nov. 29.

Cop sues CBC over Tasered teen story

May 13, 2011
Tony Blais, QMI Agency - Edmonton Sun

EDMONTON - Edmonton police officer Mike Wasylyshen has filed a $100,000 defamation lawsuit against the CBC regarding a TV broadcast about him repeatedly Tasering a city teen.

According to a statement of claim filed in Court of Queen¹s Bench on April 28, Wasylyshen alleges the 2009 broadcast falsely stated he admitted to committing a number of violent and potentially criminal acts.

In particular, Wasylyshen claims the story stated he is a cop with a record for assault who is "admitting to once again crossing the line," which he says implies he has admitted to having committed an assault or other crime.

The 12-year veteran also alleges the April 29, 2009 item on the 6 p.m. TV news stated he had admitted to both having "repeatedly Tasered a passed out teenager then beat him" and having hit the teen so hard on the back of the head with the butt of the Taser that he "snapped off a tooth when he landed face first on the ground."

According to the statement of claim, the broadcast, when taken as a whole, is defamatory because it falsely states Wasylyshen has admitted to having used unreasonable and excessive force towards a defenseless teenager when carrying out his duties as a police officer.

A statement of defence has not yet been filed. Statements of claim and statements of defence contain allegations which have not been proven in court.

Wasylyshen is currently before a police disciplinary hearing regarding the 2002 Tasering incident on internal charges of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority and insubordination, and is awaiting a decision.

According to agreed facts, Wasylyshen and four other officers were dispatched to a complaint of a group trying to steal a parked car on Oct. 5, 2002, near Abbottsfield Road.

The cops ordered the people out of the car and three of four people inside exited, but Randy Fryingpan, then 16, was passed out in the back seat from drinking and did not respond to the order to get out of the car.

Wasylyshen then deployed his Taser on Fryingpan eight times in 68 seconds "in what appeared to be an effort to remove the passed-out youth from the vehicle," according to the Law Enforcement Review Board decision.

At the disciplinary hearing, Wasylyshen testified he Tasered Fryingpan six times, not eight, and maintained it was an appropriate use of force.

Wasylyshen, 35, was fined $500 and given a criminal record on April 16, 2009 for a Dec, 18, 2005 off-duty incident on Whyte Avenue where he drunkenly punched a man on crutches he called a "cripple," and threatened to burn down the home of a security guard who helped him.

Constable's story evolved, lawyer says

February 12, 2011
Jana G. Pruden, Edmonton Journal

An Edmonton lawyer says a police officer's original notes -- not his subsequent testimony at a disciplinary hearing -- tell the real story of a 2002 arrest during which a teenager was repeatedly Tasered.

Const. Mike Wasylyshen, the son of former police chief Bob Wasylyshen, discharged his Taser eight times in the course of about a minute while arresting 16-year-old Randy Fryingpan.

Wasylyshen is charged with using inappropriate force during the arrest, and for allegedly hitting Frying pan in the head, causing him to lose a tooth. Wasylyshen also faces insubordination charges for violating police procedure, in part by allegedly having an unauthorized civilian with him on a ride along at the time.

The case was the subject of a police disciplinary hearing this fall, and the proceedings resumed on Friday for closing arguments from the prosecution.

Presenting officer Derek Cranna told the hearing he believes there is enough evidence to find Wasylyshen guilty on all of the disciplinary charges.

Wasylyshen's lawyer, Robert Hladun, will present his closing arguments when the hearing reconvenes next month.

The arrest happened on Oct. 5, 2002, as Fryingpan was sitting in a parked car on Abbottsfield Road with friends.

Wasylyshen responded to the scene to investigate whether the car was stolen. He got into a confrontation with Fryingpan when the drunken teen refused to get out of the car.

Testifying at the disciplinary hearing in November, Wasylyshen said he Tasered Fryingpan six times, not eight, because he contacted himself with one of the Taser strikes and another was unaccounted for. He said the Taser deployed for a complete five-second cycle only once.

Wasylyshen maintained the response was an appropriate use of force, which was in keeping with police procedure at the time.

But Cranna said that Wasylyshen's account of the event has changed through the years, and that details have changed to justify his actions.

Cranna said Wasylyshen's original notes describe only that Fryingpan pushed the officer's hands away, but in subsequent reports and proceedings Wasylyshen described being "violently pushed," or "batted away," and being hit in the arm with a closed fist.

"You can see the evolution of this over time," Cranna said, adding Wasylyshen provided details that would justify his actions.

He said Wasylyshen wasn't concerned enough about the dangers of the situation to wait for other officers, despite knowing that they would be arriving at the scene within moments.

Cranna said with eight Taser discharges in 68 seconds, Fryingpan wouldn't have had enough time to comply.

"The circumstances do not point to appropriate use of force," Cranna said. "They do not."

After the incident, then-chief Bob Wasylyshen decided no disciplinary action should be taken against any of the officers involved, but the Law Enforcement Review Board later ordered that charges be laid.

Detective takes the stand at Wasylyshen's disciplinary hearing

November 9, 2010
CTV

An Edmonton police detective took the stand Tuesday at Constable Mike Wasylyshen's disciplinary hearing. The veteran officer is accused of repeatedly Tasering a teenager back in 2002.

Detective Alfred Normand described what he remembers happening on the night in question, back in October of 2002. He was working with Wasylyshen that evening and says they were called to the Beverly area on a report of a auto theft.

He described the call as routine. And after eight years, he says he remembers one thing about that night.

"Trying to help each other. We're partners and I couldn't get there to assist my partner at that time. There's a feeling inside that I need to be there and I couldn't.


It was just a day ago that Wasylyshen took the stand to recount the chain of events that led up to the multiple Tasering of a then 16-year-old boy.

A now 25-year-old Randy Fryingpan says he was the victim of excessive force and abuse at the hands of Wasylyshen.

Wasylyshen told the hearing he was called to the Abbotsfield Road area at around 3 a.m. He was responding to reports of a possible car theft in progress.

He told the hearing that when he encountered Fryingpan at the scene, the teenager was belligerent and violent.

"He's coming out but he's coming out angry," testified Wasylyshen. "I know the difference between the cooperative face and the I wanna fight face... I thought he's going to assault me."

Wasylyshen said he feared for his safety and was justified in his use of force.

An agreed statement of facts showed a Taser was deployed eight times in 68 seconds. Wasylyshen said Fryingpan was hit six times by the Taser.

Fryingpan allegedly suffered a head injury, a broken tooth and burns from the Taser. Earlier in the hearing, he testified he felt humiliated and said he couldn't remember much because he was intoxicated.

"Next thing I remembered is being handcuffed and spitting out my tooth and it was bloody," Fryingpan told the hearing.

In his conclusion, the presenting officer Derek Cranna suggested Wasylyshen used the Taser on Fryingpan to wake him up.

"I don't like your suggestion. It's wrong," said Wasylyshen, denying that's what happened.

Wasylyshen appeared heated and frustrated several times on the stand. At one point, he was told to show some decorum.

Boy stunned with Taser was 'coherent': officer

November 8, 2010
CBC News

An Edmonton police officer accused of repeatedly deploying a Taser on Randy Fryingpan in 2002 told a police disciplinary hearing the youth was coherent at the time.

"He was violent, irate, he was rational ... he was coherent," Const. Mike Wasylyshen said of Fryingpan, who was then 16. "He directly hit me."

Wasylyshen recounted his version of what happened that night at his police disciplinary hearing Monday. He faces five charges under the Police Service Regulation of the Police Act, including two counts of unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority and three counts of insubordination.

The constable was animated as he described what happened the night he arrested Fryingpan, now 25, who was drunk and passed out in the back of a car. Wasylyshen even got out of his chair to show the presiding officer how he used the device on the teen.

Wasylyshen responded to a call about an auto theft in the Abbotsfield area of Edmonton around 2:48 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2002. He told the hearing he didn't wait for backup when he came upon a vehicle with four people inside.

Three of the four were co-operative and were arrested without incident, Wasylyshen said. The fourth person was Fryingpan who was passed out in the back seat.

Fryingpan 'coherent,' constable says

Wasylyshen said he called to the youth: "Hey buddy, get up. It's the police."

As soon as the constable leaned in to touch Fryingpan, he said the youth immediately flung his left hand backwards, and tried to close the car door on him. Wasylyshen said he was struck by Fryingpan twice before he deployed the Taser.

Wasylyshen stunned the teen in the rib cage in an effort to gain compliance. It didn't work, so he used the stun gun again, negotiating with the teen the whole time.

"He was resisting even when I used the Taser," Wasylyshen said.

Wasylyshen's partner came to help as soon as Fryingpan was out of the car. Fryingpan growled and kicked his legs up and down as the officers tried to get him to the ground.

The Taser was then used on the teen's back. After continuing to struggle more, Wasylyshen said he was able to handcuff Fryingpan.

In total, the stun gun was deployed eight times within 68 seconds both inside and outside the car.

When he testified last week, Fryingpan said he recalls little about the incident. The only thing he remembered was being handcuffed by police and spitting up blood.

The constable's testimony continues Monday afternoon.

In 2005, a provincial court judge ruled Wasylyshen and his partner had violated Fryingpan's rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Judge Jack Easton called the officers' actions "cruel and unusual" treatment.

Disciplinary hearing underway for officer accused of Tasering young man

November 1, 2010
CTV Edmonton

A disciplinary hearing for Const. Mike Wasylyshen is underway Monday. It's been eight years after the controversial incident where the constable is accused of Tasering a young man in the back of a police cruiser.

Wasylyshen is accused of two counts of unlawful exercise of authority and three counts of insubordination.

The charges stem back to October 2002 when a then 16-year-old Randy Fryingpan was found in a vehicle drunk and passed out.

Neighbours called police thinking the vehicle was about to be stolen. An agreed statement of facts showed a Taser was deployed eight times in 68 seconds.

Randy Fryingpan told CTV News last year that at the time of incident he was humiliated when police used excessive force on him.

"All of a sudden I was on the ground getting Tasered I blacked out again and then I woke up in a cop car," said Fryingpan.

Fryingpan sustained a number of injuries in the incident including bruising to his left eye, a broken tooth and burns consistent to those caused by a Taser.

During opening arguments, Wasylyshen's lawyer said: "For the first time we will hear the full story rather than piece meal parts pasted together."

Fryingpan, who is now 25-years-old, began his testimony Monday morning.

Edmonton constable's disciplinary hearing postponed

August 9, 2010
Matthew Bisson, News880

An Edmonton Police Constable, who fired a taser eight times at a passed out teenager, won't be facing the music just yet.

A disciplinary hearing for Constable Mike Wasylyshen has been postponed. It's not clear why.

Last fall, the Law Enforcement Review Board called for Wasylyshen to be charged with unnecessary exercise of authority and insubordination in connection with an incident in 2002. The board heard that Wasylyshen fired a stun gun eight times, in just over a minute, on Randy Fryingpan. It was an effort to remove the teenager from a vehicle that a 911 caller told police was being stolen.

It's not the first time the son of former Edmonton Police Chief Bob Wasylyshen has been in trouble with the law. He pleaded guilty to assault and was fined $500 for attacking a man on crutches outside a Whyte Avenue bar while off duty back in 2005.

EDITORIAL: Justice Can Be Slow, and Mysterious

March 11, 2010
See Edmonton

British prime minister William Gladstone famously said: “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Gladstone may well have been speaking of the case of Randy Fryingpan, and Const. Mike Wasylyshen.

In October 2002, Const. Wasylyshen and four other officers were investigating a complaint of the attempted theft of a car. When they arrived on the scene, they found four people in the suspect vehicle.

Three of them left the car when ordered, but 16-year-old Fryingpan didn’t. He had passed out.

Wasylyshen unholstered his handy Taser and gave the unresponsive Fryingpan not one, not two, but EIGHT zaps in 68 seconds.

This is where Wasylyshen and Fryingpan entered the netherworld of complaints against police. Fryingpan registered a complaint, which was dismissed by the police when they arrived at the quite amazing conclusion that Wasylyshen was justified in Tasering an unresponsive man. Fryingpan’s lawyer appealed to the Law Enforcement Review Board in 2005. It took two more years before a decision was made to charge Wasylyshen with unlawful exercise of authority and insubordination. The internal disciplinary hearing on Wasylyshen will be held on Aug. 9 of this year.

Why the delay? According to Tony Simioni, head of the police union, if an appeal request is made, it must be heard, unlike a court of law where a judge decides if there is cause of hearing. This has resulted in cases dragging out for years.

This is absurd. No one — neither the alleged victim nor the accused cop — should have to wait eight years for a resolution.

Edmonton police chief directed to charge officer over Taser incident

August 18, 2009
By FRANK LANDRY, CITY HALL BUREAU

Police Chief Mike Boyd has been directed to lay charges against an Edmonton cop who repeatedly used a stun gun on a 16-year-old boy nearly seven years ago.

In its decision, the Law Enforcement Review Board calls for charges of "unlawful or unnecessary exercise of authority" and "insubordination" against Const. Mike Wasylyshen.

The board also recommends a presiding officer outside of the Edmonton Police Service oversee the disciplinary hearing.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Wasylyshen and four other officers were dispatched to a complaint of people trying to steal a parked car. The call was in the area of Abbottsfield Road. The cops, including Wasylyshen, ordered the people out of the vehicle without first questioning them or conducting a query on the licence plate. Three of four people inside immediately exited, but Randy Fryingpan was passed out in the backseat "as a result of his alcohol consumption and did not respond to the order to get out of the vehicle."

Wasylyshen fired his Taser at Fryingpan eight times over a period of a little more than a minute.

Fryingpan was arrested and later taken to the Sturgeon Community Hospital "where he was noted to have bruising to the left eye area, a skin flap laceration to the left fifth finger and a broken tooth."

Later, at the Edmonton Young Offenders Centre, he was observed to have several marks on his body "that appeared to be consistnt with burns caused by a Taser," states the decision.

The board concludes that: “Wasylyshen deployed his Taser on (Fryingpan) eight times in the span of 68 seconds, in what appeared to be an effort to remove the passed-out youth from the vehicle," states the decision.

"No evidence was presented to justify the use of a Taser; nor was any evidence presented to explain why the Taser was deployed eight times in just over a minute."

During the incident, Fryingpan suffered a blow to the back of his head. He fell to the ground and chipped his tooth, states the decision.

The board said there is sufficient evidence to suggest Wasylyshen "could have administered the blow."

Judge Jack Easton later halted Fryingpan's trial for breaching his bail conditions after concluding the teen's charter rights had been repeatedly violated by Wasylyshen, who, the judge declared, had used excessive force on the teen.

But Wasylyshen was never disciplined over the incident, as the EPS found insufficient evidence to support charges against him.

Fryingpan's lawyer launched an appeal to the Law Enforcement Review Board in 2005.

Police officer to face disciplinary hearing over Taser use

August 13, 2009
CBC News

An Edmonton police officer will face an internal disciplinary hearing related to an incident in 2002 in which he used a Taser stun gun repeatedly on a teenager who was passed out at the time.

Alberta's Law Enforcement Review Board ordered Edmonton Police Chief Mike Boyd to charge Const. Mike Wasylyshen with using excessive force and insubordination.

In its ruling, the board said Randy Fryingpan, then 16, was passed out drunk in the back seat of a broken-down car when the Taser was used on him. The board ruled there was no evidence to justify the use of the Taser.

The board has also ordered Edmonton Police to bring in a officer from another police service to preside over the disciplinary hearing "in the interest of providing a fair hearing."

In 2005, former acting police chief Daryl Da Costa decided Wasylyshen would not face any charges because he felt the allegations were unfounded.

The ruling by the Law Enforcement Review Board follows a lengthy appeal by Fryingpan's mother.

Wasylyshen agrees to disciplinary hearing over Taser incident

April 29, 2009
Elise Stolte, Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON — An Edmonton constable accused of Tasering a teenager passed out in the backseat of a car has agreed to refer the matter to an internal disciplinary hearing if all other officers connected to the file are excused.

A lawyer for Const. Michael Wasylyshen and four other officers made the request in an agreed statement of facts submitted to the Law Enforcement Review Board on Wednesday.

In October 2002, Randy Fryingpan, 16, was passed out in the backseat of a car. According to the statement, the data port on Wasylyshen’s Taser shows the trigger was pulled eight times in about one minute.

Later, when Fryingpan was taken to the Sturgeon Community Hospital, he had bruising under the left eye, a cut on his finger, a broken tooth and several burns on his body consistent with those caused by a Taser.

Wasylyshen recently came to public attention issuing a tearful apology after being convicted of assault for an off-duty incident on Whyte Avenue in December 2005.

Fryingpan’s mother complained about her son’s treatment in 2002, but then police Chief Bob Wasylyshen, the constable’s father, refused to call in outside investigators.

Then in February 2005, Provincial Court Judge Jack Easton ruled Fryingpan suffered “cruel and unusual treatment” and refused to punish him for breaching bail conditions by drinking.

In September 2005, then police chief Darryl da Costa reviewed the internal police investigation and decided charges were not warranted against the officers, including Wasylyshen.

Fryingpan’s lawyer appealed to the Law Enforcement Review Board.

They reserved their decision Wednesday and promised to issue a written decision soon.

Cop agrees to internal hearing into stun gun allegations

April 28, 2009
By SUN MEDIA

Const. Mike Wasylyshen has consented to an internal disciplinary hearing into an incident nearly four years ago when he zapped a sleeping teen with a Taser, confirmed a local lawyer.

The 33-year-old son of former police Chief Bob Wasylyshen recently came to an agreement with Randy Fryingpan's lawyer to proceed with a hearing.

Both parties are now awaiting a written decision from the Law Enforcement Review Board.

"We'll be back (today) to present a new agreed statement of facts," said lawyer Erika Norheim. "Hopefully the board will like it and approve the agreement."

In October 2002, Wasylyshen and five other police officers responded to a noise complaint near Abbottsfield Road. Fryingpan, then 16, had been drinking and smoking pot with several other youths when Wasylyshen and two other officers found him passed out in the back of a car. Wasylyshen is said to have shocked him with a Taser several times. Charges against Fryingpan were dropped in February 2003 after Judge Jack Easton ruled that he had suffered cruel and unusual treatment.

In May, Crown prosecutors argued there was insufficient evidence to charge Wasylyshen.

Fryingpan's lawyer launched an appeal to the Law Enforcement Review Board in 2005.

An internal disciplinary hearing was recently ordered for a December 2005 off-duty incident involving Wasylyshen in which he punched a man on crutches on Whyte Avenue, called him a cripple and threatened to burn down the home of a security guard who came to the victim's aid.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of assault, was fined $500 and given a criminal record.

EDITORIAL: Rein in those tasers

January 19, 2008
The Globe and Mail

At a public forum organized by the Toronto Police Services Board on Thursday, Thomas Smith, co-founder of Arizona-based Taser International Inc., found himself placed on the defensive by members of the public opposed to the weapon. Patti Gillman, the sister of a man who died after being tasered by Vancouver police in 2004, told Mr. Smith that her brother, Robert Bagnell, was unarmed and was no threat to police or to the public when he was fatally shot with the stun gun. There was little Mr. Smith could really be expected to say in response to such information. His company merely manufactures the 50,000-volt weapon. Taser International doesn't decide how and when to use it. That's left to the discretion of individual police officers. And that's part of the problem.

Tasers are held up by police as a relatively safe alternative to handguns. Yet they are often used in cases where police would never have pulled handguns. It is inconceivable, for example, that police would have used handguns in the case of the 17-year-old Ottawa high-school student tasered last month because he was acting strangely near a busy road. The boy said he was distraught over a breakup with his girlfriend, but was out of the traffic and had his hands up when he was tasered by police.

The same surely can be said of 16-year-old Randy Fryingpan, who was tasered six times in just over a minute by Edmonton police in 2002. The boy was drunk, and sleeping in the back seat of a friend's car. He was tasered when he failed to respond to an officer's orders to get up. A judge later described the incident as cruel and unusual punishment. The same applies to the 2004 Edmonton police tasering of Hector Jara, who was given jolts even though he had surrendered to police and was lying face down on the ground after a car chase. The courts said that Mr. Jara was "completely at [the police's] mercy" when he was twice tasered and that police actions in that case were "irresponsible."

Deaths as a result of police taserings, such as those of Mr. Bagnell or Robert Dziekanski, the Polish newcomer tasered to death by the RCMP at Vancouver International Airport last Oct. 14, are still relatively unusual. But police taserings are not, and would become even more a matter of routine if police in Toronto and many other jurisdictions in Canada had their way.

That fact must weigh heavily in the assessment by the Toronto Police Services Board and the Ontario government of the request from Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair to spend $8.6-million to equip and train every front-line officer in Toronto with a taser. Mr. Blair believes that wide dissemination of the taser among officers is a way to "save lives." In some instances it might. But the tasers also cost lives, and risk imposing other costs, including jeopardizing public confidence in the police. Civilian authorities should be highly dubious about making Mr. Smith's frightening device ubiquitous.

Edmonton police officer faces five criminal charges

August 2, 2007
Trish Audette, CanWest News Service

An Edmonton police officer who Tasered a drunken teen six times in one minute -- but was never disciplined for the act -- now faces five new criminal charges. Const. Mike Wasylyshen, son of former Edmonton police chief Bob Wasylyshen, has been charged with assaulting and threatening to cause death or bodily harm to a 24-year-old Edmonton man, assaulting two more men and threatening to cause death or bodily harm to the family of a fourth man, age 21. All of the charges stem from an incident on Edmonton's Whyte Avenue, a popular bar and nightclub strip, on Dec. 18, 2005.

The 31-year-old officer, who has been with the Edmonton service for eight years, faces the following charges:

- one count of assaulting a 24-year-old Edmonton man;
- one count of threatening to cause death or bodily harm to the same man;
- one count of assaulting a second 24-year-old Edmonton man;
- one count of assaulting a third man;
- one count of threatening to cause death or bodily harm to the family of a 21-year-old Edmonton man.

Edmonton police laid the charges last month, but did not release further details -- except to say they began investigating after another officer came forward with information.

It's not the first time Wasylyshen has been accused of using unnecessary force. In October, 2002, Randy Fryingpan was 16 years old and passed out drunk in the back of a parked car at an Edmonton townhouse project. Wasylyshen roused the teen from his drunken slumber by shocking him six times in 66 seconds, knocked out his front tooth and left him with burn marks and bruises. Another officer later strip-searched the young man. Although a provincial court judge called the arrest "cruel and unusual punishment,"and Wasylyshen's Taser use "absolutely unnecessary," police refused to conduct an outside investigation.

Then-acting police chief Darryl da Costa said even an internal disciplinary hearing was unnecessary, and cleared Wasylyshen of allegations he had breached the Police Act -- including discreditable conduct, insubordination and unnecessary exercise of authority.

In the end, Wasylyshen faced neither criminal nor internal discipline for the incident. He remains on duty as a patrol officer and is scheduled to appear in court to face the new charges September 7th.

His father is former chief Bob Wasylyshen.

Tasered driver gets reduced sentence

July 21, 2007
Tony Blais, The Edmonton Sun

During the arrest Hector Patricio Jara, 22, was kicked in the head, hit twice with a TASER and had several fingers broken.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Sterling Sanderman said the kick might have been "a cheap shot," but ruled it wasn't excessive and said he had no issue with the broken fingers since Jara was resisting. However, regarding the use of the TASER, Sanderman said he found the constable had "personalized" the events and did not use his restraint.

Controversial Edmonton cop back in trouble

July 19, 2007
Andrew Hanon, Sun Media

"Wasylyshen earned notoriety for repeatedly using his stun gun on an unconscious teen (Randy Fryingpan) in 2002. Charges for breaching conditions of bail against Randy Fryingpan were stayed in 2005 after Judge Jack Easton labelled Wasylyshen's behaviour while arresting him "cruel and unusual." Fryingpan, who was 16 at the time, had been drinking and smoking pot with three other youths when Wasylyshen and two other cops found him. The teen was passed out in a car when Wasylyshen zapped him the first time. Wasylyshen used the stun gun five more times on the youth as he hauled Fryingpan out of the car. Despite the judge's ruling, Crown prosecutors who reviewed the case decided not to pursue criminal charges against Wasylyshen because they believed Wasylyshen was justified in using his stun gun."

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.

CANADA - Inappropriate and Excessive Use of Tasers

May 23, 2007
Amnesty International