RCMP cut Taser use, but are dragging feet on many recommendations, report finds

October 7, 2011
Robert Hiltz, Postmedia News

OTTAWA — Canada's national police force has reduced the use of controversial Taser stun guns significantly in the past three years, according to the RCMP complaints commission's annual report.

In the report released Friday, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP was optimistic about the use of Tasers since the commission released its 2009 report — made public in June 2010 — on the use of the stun guns.

The CPC said it is satisfied with the RCMP's progress in response to a report on the death of Robert Dziekanski, who died in 2007 after being Tasered and restrained by four RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport.

The commission also found that the RCMP is moving toward clearer policy regarding the use of the stun guns and has implemented a higher threshold for their use.

However, in the report, the interim chair of the CPC criticizes the national police force's commissioner for "extensive delays" responding to recommendations. Ian McPhail says that just over half of the notices from the RCMP commissioner have been delayed by "more than six months", while another two have been delayed for more than a year.

"In performing its work, the commission continues to be guided by the tenet that in order to be effective, review must be timely," McPhail writes. "I remain concerned that extensive delays in the response of the RCMP Commissioner to the commission's recommendations continue to occur."

Complaints commission figures show that 39 notices submitted to the head of the RCMP are still outstanding. Twenty of those have received no reply from the commissioner for an average of more than eight months.

"While the RCMP made a significant effort to clear its backlog in 2009, the backlog returned and has continued to grow this year. Although the CPC received 38 commissioner's notices from the RCMP, most were in response to interim reports sent to the RCMP in the previous fiscal year," the report states.

"The CPC's concern regarding the delay in the provision of commissioner's notices continues to grow, as these delays threaten the integrity of the public complaint process."

The watchdog is unable to complete its reports, or provide them to the complainant or RCMP member, until it receives a notice from the commissioner.

The documents also say external police investigations into serious incidents involving RCMP officers have begun quickly in the wake of a previous CPC report.

McPhail says the CPC's role is integral to keeping the RCMP accountable to the public and urges that the government reintroduce a bill that would create a new complaints and review commission with expanded powers. A new mandate is necessary, the interim commissioner says, because greater oversight is "widely accepted as essential" and the new review body needs stability to effectively carry out its duties.

The bill to create a new commission died when the 2011 federal election was called.

EDITORIAL: New guidelines are needed for Taser use

April 16, 2011
The Vancouver Sun

Certainly, there are no winners in the incident involving the RCMP Tasering of an 11-year-old aboriginal boy in Prince George last week.

But whatever the outcome of the investigation now being conducted by the West Vancouver Police Department, you can bet that the RCMP, and police forces across the province, will be the big losers.

Although very few details of the incident have been released, the Prince George Mounties have said that two officers responded to a 911 call involving a stabbing last Thursday afternoon.

Upon arriving, they "confirmed a 37-year-old male had been allegedly stabbed by an 11-year-old male."

The man was taken to hospital, and the 11-year-old suspect was found at a nearby property.

The officers tried to get him out of the house, and when he emerged, they Tasered him and took him into custody.

It's not clear if he was in possession of a weapon when he was subdued.

That's not a lot of information to go on, but many people have still expressed concern about the incident.

The concern is understandable given that the death of Robert Dziekanski is still fresh in many people's minds, and given that some officers have used Tasers in highly questionable circumstances, such as the Tasering of an 82-year-old man in his hospital bed in 2008.

Concerns are heightened in this case, however, since this boy is apparently the youngest subject of a Tasering in Canada.

The Tasering of children is something that seems not to even have been contemplated by most police forces, since few have any written policy on the matter.

And the Braidwood inquiry, which investigated the death of Dziekanski and the use of Tasers more generally, made no recommendations regarding Taser use on youth, although it did say that children, due to their small size, could be at increased risk from Tasers.

This is something that was confirmed by cardiologists in the days after the Prince George incident.

It is, therefore, imperative the RCMP and other police forces develop explicit guidelines regarding the use of Tasers on children.

This does not necessarily mean that Tasers should never be used -- one can imagine that Tasering a child might be indicated if the child is brandishing a firearm and all other means of defusing the situation have failed -- but for the sake of both the public and the police, officers do need clear instructions on what is acceptable and what isn't.

However, even if guidelines are developed and investigators conclude that officers adhered to them, many members of the public will remain suspicious as long as police continue to investigate themselves.

So in addition to highlighting the need for proper Taser guidelines, this case highlights, once again, the need for an independent, civilian-led agency to investigate allegations of serious misconduct against the police.

The development of a such an agency was, in fact, among the recommendations of the Braidwood Inquiry, and it was a recommendation that the province promised to implement.

For the sake of the public, and even more so, for the sake of public confidence in the police, Premier Christy Clark should make fulfilling this promise a priority.

This editorial first appeared in the Vancouver Sun.

Boy's tasering will be probed

April 15, 2011
Postmedia News

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP has launched a probe of the conduct of an RCMP officer in Prince George, B.C., who used a Taser on an 11-year-old boy last week.

Ian McPhail, a lawyer who is the interim chair of the commission, initiated the complaint Thursday into the conduct of the officer involved in the April 7 incident.

"We've been monitoring this case since the day of the incident," said Jamie Robertson, spokesman for the RCMP complaints commission.

He said the commissioner's probe will run parallel to the criminal investigation being conducted by the West Vancouver police department.

Robertson said the RCMP itself has raised issues of caution using a Taser on children because they are considered a medical risk group.

The commission's probe will determine whether the use of force was justified and whether it complied with policies, procedures and training.

The RCMP's policy on the use of a Taser was changed a year ago, after the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport on Oct. 14, 2007 and the subsequent provincial inquiry.

The RCMP can now only use a Taser when there is immediate risk of death or bodily harm to the officer or another individual.

The 11-year-old boy was Tasered after police received a 911 call on April 7, reporting a man had been stabbed.

Mountie who Tasered boy placed on administrative leave

April 13, 2011
Vancouver Sun

The Prince George RCMP officer who Tasered an 11-year-old boy last week has been placed on administrative leave, says the West Vancouver police department which has been assigned to investigate the case.

The officer involved has 18 months experience, West Vancouver Police Cpl. Fred Harding said in a press release Tuesday.

The West Vancouver police "operate with the knowledge that there is a public concern with the perception of police investigating police. (West Vancouver Police) Chief Lepine is confident that the officers assigned to the investigation will ensure that as with all West Vancouver Police investigations, the highest levels of integrity and policing standards will be applied," Harding said.

A prominent human rights groups said Monday it is "very troubled" by the case and said federal leadership is needed to ensure the weapon is not used unnecessarily against children.

Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, said strict guidelines are needed to govern the use of Tasers, especially on children, and that alternative and less dangerous methods of enforcement should be exhausted before the device is used by police.

"Police forces should adopt guidelines which prohibit the use of Tasers against children unless there is an immediate threat to life that cannot be dealt with though lesser means," Neve said Monday. "It's a pretty high standard — it's an immediate threat to life, not an immediate threat of harm or injury. That's the only circumstance, in our view, police should even consider resorting to a Taser when dealing with a child.

"It needs to be a consistent guideline applied across the country. What we are often faced with in Canada, because we have a multitude of different policing jurisdictions, is different policing forces being subjected to different standards and regulations. When it comes to something this profoundly important — what kind of weapon is going to be used against a child — it can't come down in the end (to) what municipality and province that child happens to be in. We need to see some real federal leadership here."

The 11-year-old boy was Tasered by police after he was accused of stabbing a 37-year-old man in a group home on April 7. The child was taken to hospital for assessment, while the stabbing victim was brought to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond — B.C.'s child and youth advocate — is reviewing the case. She said she expects she will launch a formal investigation, noting the youth is an aboriginal living in care and is therefore among the "most vulnerable" youths in B.C.

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP issued a news release saying it is "closely monitoring the case."

Neve noted that last week's case involves the youngest person that, to Amnesty International's knowledge, has ever been Tasered in Canada. He said any potential police review of the B.C. case "will almost certainly point to a very serious need for much clearer guidelines that determine when and if Tasers will ever be used against children."

The president of the Vancouver Police Union said officers must carefully weigh the use of a conducted energy weapon (CEW) such as a Taser.

"It's generally not something that a police officer would consider doing lightly," Tom Stamatakis said. "We would see using a charged electric weapon against a minor, an elderly person, a pregnant woman or someone with a known medical condition as a higher risk application of that level of force. We would be much more cautious about discharging a CEW in those circumstances."

Stamatakis also said that officers face unique challenges in policing situations involving minors.

"Dealing with youth is challenging for police officers, especially youth that are at risk," he said. "It's not like you're dealing with an adult that's more developed physically and mentally. You're dealing with a child that's still a child, regardless of what they're doing."

Neve said Canada's reputation regarding Taser use isn't the cleanest, tainted by other headline-grabbing cases such as the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski after he was Tasered by Mounties at Vancouver's airport.

"Because of the Robert Dziekanski incident in particular, the world is very much aware of the fact that Canada does not yet have its act together when it comes to ensuring proper regulation of Taser use by police in this country," he said. "This case is almost inevitably going to deepen those concerns, therefore all the more reason why we need to hear very quickly — in a detailed and transparent way from the police — as to how this all transpired."

Nick Bala of Queen's University's faculty of law said that to have a child so young Tasered by police is "unprecedented" in Canada, adding there are "grave concerns" about the situation.

Bala, who has authored several books on youth justice in Canada and a paper on criminal acts by children under the age of 12, said it is difficult to know where the onus lies in the most recent incident, but added the use of a Taser on a child that young would be extreme in most cases.

"We've never had a case like this in Canada when it would have been appropriate," he said. "And unless he had a firearm or possibly was threatening someone with a knife at the moment he was Tasered, it would not be appropriate physically, psychologically or legally."

Bala said until an investigation sheds more light on what actually happened, there will be many unanswered questions, but added the level of risk in Tasering is elevated in a child that young.

He noted the early indicators from last week's case in B.C. do not point to a justified use of a Taser.

"In fairness to the officer, we don't know whether the officer was aware of (the boy's) age ... but even with an adolescent, there are concerns about the use of Tasers," he said. "Officers are required to use reasonable force. There are situations where you have a large, threatening adult where a Taser may be appropriate, but this does not seems to be one of those cases.

"I'm not saying it would never be appropriate, but there would be very grave concerns about the situation and it would take most unusual circumstances to justify and I certainly hope the details of the investigation will be made public in due course."

Probe wraps up on Tasering of 11-year-old Prince George boy - But it could be some time before the public learns outcome, police advise

April 12, 2011
By Sean Sullivan, The Province; With Files From Postmedia

West Vancouver police say it may be some time before the public learns why a Prince George RCMP officer used a stun gun on an 11-year-old boy last week.

The West Vancouver Police Department has been called in to investigate Thursday's Tasering after Prince George RCMP responded to an emergency call.

"Our chief constable has made this investigation the top priority of his department," WVPD Sgt. Paul Skelton told The Province on Monday. "Our goal is to determine whether the RCMP officer was justified in using this level of force."

Officers at the scene found a 37-year-old man suffering from stab wounds that he said were caused by the boy. Officers located the child at a nearby home, where he was Tasered.

The boy was taken to hospital but did not suffer physical injuries, Skelton said.

Detectives from West Vancouver began their investigation Sunday and expect to wrap up this afternoon.

Skelton said the detectives will also review the RCMP's policy on Tasers, as well as the RCMP officer's record and Taser training.

The Mountie involved has 18 months' experience on the job. He has been placed on administrative duties, Skelton said.

It's not known why the officer used a Taser on the boy. Skelton said police can't divulge that information during their investigation.

The incident touches on two hot-button issues in B.C.: Taser use, and the practise of police investigating other police, both of which Skelton said are being taken into account. "We're sensitive to the public perception of police investigating police," Skelton said. He said the RCMP officers involved are co-operating fully with the detectives.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International Canada weighed in on Monday, saying it is "very troubled" by the incident. "Police forces should adopt guidelines which prohibit the use of Tasers against children unless there is an immediate threat to life that cannot be dealt with through lesser means," secretary-general Alex Neve said.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.'s child and youth advocate, is reviewing the case. She said she expects she will launch a formal probe of the case, noting the youth is an aboriginal living in care and among the "most vulnerable" group in B.C.

Firm guidelines needed for Taser use on youth: Amnesty International

April 11, 2011
Bradley Bouzane and Frank Appleyard, Postmedia News
Vancouver Sun

A prominent human rights groups said Monday it is "very troubled" by the recent Tasering of an 11-year-old boy by B.C. Mounties and said federal leadership is needed to ensure the weapon is not used against children in unnecessary circumstances.

Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, says strict guidelines are needed to govern the use of Tasers, especially on children, and that alternative and less dangerous methods of enforcement should be exhausted before the device is used by police.

"Police forces should adopt guidelines which prohibit the use of Tasers against children unless there is an immediate threat to life that cannot be dealt with though lesser means," Neve said Monday. "It's a pretty high standard — it's an immediate threat to life, not an immediate threat of harm or injury. That's the only circumstance, in our view, police should even consider resorting to a Taser when dealing with a child.

"It needs to be a consistent guideline applied across the country. What we are often faced with in Canada, because we have a multitude of different policing jurisdictions, is different policing forces being subjected to different standards and regulations. When it comes to something this profoundly important — what kind of weapon is going to be used against a child — it can't come down in the end what municipality and province that child happens to be in. We need to see some real federal leadership here."

The 11-year-old boy in Prince George, B.C., was Tasered by police after he was accused of stabbing a 37-year-old man in a group home on April 7. The child was taken to hospital for assessment, while the stabbing victim was brought to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond — B.C.'s child and youth advocate — is reviewing case. She said she expects she will launch a formal investigation of the case, noting the youth is an aboriginal living in care and among the "most vulnerable" group in B.C.

Neve, noting that last week's case involves the youngest person that Amnesty International is aware of to face a Taser in Canada, said any potential police review of the B.C. case "will almost certainly point to a very serious need for much clearer guidelines that determine when and if Tasers will ever be used against children."

The president of the Vancouver Police Union said officers must carefully weigh the use of a conducted energy weapon (CEW) such as a Taser.

"It's generally not something that a police officer would consider doing lightly," Tom Stamatakis said. "We would see using a charged electric weapon against a minor, an elderly person, a pregnant woman or someone with a known medical condition as a higher risk application of that level of force. We would be much more cautious about discharging a CEW in those circumstances."

Stamatakis also said that officers face unique challenges in policing situations involving minors.

"Dealing with youth is challenging for police officers, especially youth that are at risk," he said. "It's not like you're dealing with an adult that's more developed physically and mentally. You're dealing with a child that's still a child, regardless of what they're doing."

Neve said Canada's reputation regarding Taser use isn't the cleanest, with other high-profile cases such as the Taser death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski making international headlines.

"Because of the Robert Dziekanski incident in particular, the world is very much aware of the fact that Canada does not yet have its act together when it comes to ensuring proper regulation of Taser use by police in this country," he said. "This case is almost inevitably going to deepen those concerns, therefore all the more reason why we need to hear very quickly — in a detailed and transparent way from the police — as to how this all transpired."

Nick Bala of Queen's University's faculty of law, said to have a child so young Tasered by police is "unprecedented" in Canada, adding there are "grave concerns" about the situation.

Bala, who has authored several books on youth justice in Canada and a paper on criminal offending by children under the age of 12, said it is difficult to know where the onus lies in the most recent incident, but said the use of a Taser on a child that young would be extreme in most cases.

"We've never had a case like this in Canada when it would have been appropriate," he said. "And unless he had a firearm or possibly was threatening someone with a knife at the moment he was Tasered, it would not be appropriate physically, psychologically or legally."

Bala said until an investigation sheds more light on what actually happened, there will be many unanswered questions, but said the level of risk in Tasering is elevated in a child that young.

He noted the early indicators from last week's case in B.C. do not point to a justified use of a Taser.

"In fairness to the officer, we don't know whether the officer was aware of (the boy's) age . . . but even with an adolescent, there are concerns about the use of Tasers," he said. "Officers are required to use reasonable force. There are situations where you have a large, threatening adult where a Taser may be appropriate, but this does not seems to be one of those cases.

"I'm not saying it would never be appropriate, but there would be very grave concerns about the situation and it would take most unusual circumstances to justify and I certainly hope the details of the investigation will be made public in due course."

Missed the memo on Tasers

april 11, 2011
Urban Compass by Paul Sullivan
METRO VANCOUVER

Details on the Tasering of an 11-year-old boy at his group home by Prince George RCMP last Thursday are sketchy.

Whoa! Did I say “the Tasering of an 11-year-old boy?” Yup. And the details are sketchy. The boy in question allegedly stabbed a 37-year-old person with a steak knife, and then barricaded himself. I can’t tell from the reports at this point if he still had the knife.

But it wasn’t until he left the house that he was Tasered. The boy’s alleged victim has non-life-threatening injuries, and, as this is written, the condition of the boy isn’t clear. We do know our intrepid Representative for Children and Youth Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafonde is on the case.

Her questions: “Why are we using Tasers on children? Did the police take steps to de-escalate the situation?” Good questions.

How hard can it be to subdue an 11-year-old? Even if he’s spitting like a cornered wolverine, he’s still 11. The RCMP is 138. Advantage RCMP.

In Lakewood, Colo., last week, an eight-year-old boy made international news when he was pepper-sprayed during a violent meltdown. Police chose not to Taser him because it would be too dangerous.

If the RCMP doesn’t know it by now, especially in the wake of the notorious death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver Airport, those things are indeed dangerous. Critics say more than 245 people have died since Tasers were introduced as “non-lethal” alternatives to guns. According to the CBC, 20 of those deaths have occurred in Canada, several of those in B.C. and at least one in Prince George.

But those facts obviously don’t cut a lot of mustard with the RCMP, which apparently can’t bring down an 11-year-old without resorting to its officially authorized thunderbolt. It gets murky when you try to figure out exactly how much voltage ran through the targeted 11-year-old. Depending on the model, it’s anywhere from 1,500 to 50,000 volts. At least as bad as getting zapped by a toaster or an electrical outlet, and anyone who has been blown across the room by sticking a screwdriver where it shouldn’t go can.

By now, we shouldn’t be surprised by violence from children; this kid’s behaviour obviously required caution. What it did not require and will never require, was electrocution, even of the “non-lethal” variety.

The RCMP has changed its guidelines for using Tasers in the wake of the Dziekanski affair. Maybe the officer who Tasered the kid didn’t get the memo, but whatever happened, it’s time to take 11-year-olds out of the line of fire.

Once and for all.

Braidwood critical of probe into use of Taser on child

April 10, 2011
James Keller , The Canadian Press

The case of an 11-year-old boy who was stunned with an RCMP Taser in British Columbia is yet another reminder that police shouldn't be investigating themselves, says the head of a wide-ranging public inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski.

The Mounties have asked West Vancouver police to investigate what happened when the boy was jolted with a Taser in Prince George last Thursday.

The RCMP said the boy was considered a suspect in the stabbing of 37-year-old man, although neither the Mounties nor the West Vancouver police have explained what prompted an officer to fire the Taser, what other options were used first, or whether the boy was holding a weapon when he was stunned.

Former appeal court justice Thomas Braidwood, who oversaw two sets of public hearings following Dziekanski's 2007 death at Vancouver's airport, said the case underscores his call for a civilian-led body to investigate the conduct of police.

"The most significant and important weapon the arsenal of any police force is public support, and the way to get public support is to have an independent body investigate situations like that," Braidwood told The Canadian Press in an interview Sunday.

"If the other tribunal is not in place, then I can see that (calling in the West Vancouver police) is the way it would have to be, but I don't agree that is the correct solution, because there is a camaraderie and other matters that exist between police forces -- and indeed, so there should be, they have to support each other -- so it doesn't quite go far enough."

Braidwood was appointed to examine what happened when four RCMP officers confronted Dziekanski -- a Polish immigrant who was agitated, confused and didn't speak English -- at Vancouver's airport in October 2007. Within seconds of their arrival, the officers stunned Dziekanski multiple times with a Taser, and he died shortly after.

Braidwood first conducted hearings into the broad issues surrounding Taser use, and later examined Dziekanski's death in detail.

In his report into Dziekanski's death, he called on the B.C. government to create an independent body to investigate cases involving police conduct, similar to agencies in place in Ontario and Alberta.

The provincial government has since pledged to create such a body and the RCMP has promised to use it in cases involving its own officers, but it has so far not materialized.

Braidwood said he's still confident the province will follow through.

"They accepted all of the recommendations, so I'm very pleased with them about that," said Braidwood. "I just wish they'd hurry up."

Braidwood declined to comment about the specifics of the Prince George case.

While his reports didn't make any recommendations about the use of Tasers on youth, one of them said children, because of their small size, could be at an elevated risk from a Taser jolt.

Braidwood's 2009 report on Taser use in B.C. also concluded a Taser jolt can be deadly in certain rare cases, and called for tighter restrictions on their use. That finding prompted Taser International to challenge Braidwood's findings in court, but a judge ruled against the company.

The document noted only two police forces in the province -- Victoria and Saanich -- had policies advising offers to avoid using Tasers on "very young" suspects, though that term wasn't defined. The RCMP did not have such a policy when Braidwood issued his report, and no one from the force was available to comment Sunday about whether that's changed.

A separate report released last year by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP identified 194 cases between 2002 and 2009 in which the force deployed Tasers on subjects aged 13 to 17, including two 13-year-olds. None were as young as 11.

As for the incident in Prince George, Simon Fraser University criminologist David MacAlister said the "extremely young age" of the boy adds to the questions the investigation must answer -- especially to address the public controversy it has already generated.

"To hear that somebody as young as 11 was on the receiving end of a big jolt came as a bit of a surprise," said MacAlister, who stressed it was impossible to make any conclusions about the officers' conduct without knowing exactly what happened.

"What were the police thinking? What alternative responses were they contemplating? You have to wonder what happened in the situation to merit the use of a Taser."

B.C.'s representative for children and youth is considering launching her own investigation.

Prince George RCMP fire Taser on 11-year-old

What the hell?!? According to RCMP policy on CEW deployment, the taser may only be used when: "a subject is causing bodily harm, or the member believes on reasonable grounds, that the subject will imminently cause bodily harm." This little boy, according to reports, was "emerging from the home."

April 9, 2011
Andrea Woo, Vancouver Sun

Mounties in Prince George fired a Taser on an 11-year-old boy who was suspected of stabbing a 37-year-old man on Thursday.

The incident began around 5:30 p.m. when Prince George RCMP received a report of a stabbing at a home, according to a written statement issued Thursday afternoon by Prince George detachment commander Supt. Brenda Butterworth-Carr.

Attending officers received information that the boy had allegedly stabbed the adult male, who was then en route to hospital. Police began a search for the boy and found him at a neighbouring property.

"Efforts were made to get the individual out of the house, and when he emerged from the home, a conducted energy weapon was deployed by a member," Butterworth-Carr said.

"The male was taken into custody and transported to hospital for assessment."

The West Vancouver Police Department is now investigating the matter. Prince George RCMP did not disclose the boy's relationship to the stabbing victim.

RCMP moving forward with Taser recommendations: watchdog

February 10, 2011
Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER — The Commission for Public Complaints into the RCMP has closed the file on the tragic 2007 death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport.

In a final report, interim chairman Ian McPhail said the force was in the process of addressing all 16 recommendations made in 2009 after the commission's initial investigation of the Polish immigrant's death at the hands of the RCMP.

Most of those recommendations concerned the use of Tasers.

The Mounties say 11 of the recommendations are already implemented, two have been partially implemented and the remaining three also have been separately addressed.

"In particular," McPhail wrote in the report, "the RCMP has revised its policy on the usage of (conducted energy weapons) and the reporting and tracking requirements flowing there from. The RCMP is also increasingly emphasizing de-escalation in its member training.

"In addition, the RCMP has developed and implemented an external investigation policy which requires that serious incidents be investigated by other agencies. Notably, the commissioner (of the RCMP) also addressed deficiencies in member note taking and emphasized the importance of thorough and reliable contemporaneous notes."
Concerns continue to exist with respect to the national force's capacity for strategic communications, McPhail added, and "the commission hopes that progress in this area continues."

An independent body with jurisdiction over complaints about all members, the commission normally waits for the RCMP to respond to a report before publicly releasing its findings.

In this case, however, the former chair felt public interest demanded the results of this investigation be released as quickly as possible.

The international attention, the widespread concerns over what happened and the slow pace of the Braidwood Inquiry into the incident, pushed the commission toward the release of the report in December 2009.

In it, former chairman Paul Kennedy concluded the RCMP officers failed in the performance of their duties and afterward, lied about what happened when they subdued the 40-year-old Dziekanski with multiple Taser jolts.

The RCMP only disagreed with the commission's criticism of a use-of-force expert who was consulted during the police investigation.

Lisa-Marie Inman, director of reviews for the commission, said the report was found to be limited in direction. For example, she said it failed to compare the officers' actions against the RCMP's specific policy for use of force.

As well, Inman said Fawcett's report made certain assumptions that were not conclusive, such as that Dziekanski was angry.

"The RCMP commissioner disagreed and referenced the use of force expert's qualifications and the evidence available to him," the commission said. "The CPC stands by its finding . . ."

RCMP today tasered a 14 year old boy "out of concerns for his safety and 'WHATNOT'"

"Unfortunately, our officers, from time to time, encounter 14-year-olds who are extremely threatening" (RCMP Commissioner William Elliott, Feb 12, 2009) - read it here.

...There also remains the recommendation to generally limit the CEW to members with five years or more of experience - May 2010 News Release by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP

RCMP Operational Manual - Conducted Energy Weapon: Medically high risk situation includes, but is not limited to the deployment in probe mode for longer than 5 seconds, and the deployment in either probe or push stun mode against: 2. 3. 2. 2. a child

November 2, 2010
CBC News

RCMP officers used a Taser to subdue a suicidal 14-year-old boy on Monday, but police say the teen's Surrey, B.C., family has no complaints about the incident.

The family called 911 from the Vancouver suburb and told the dispatcher the boy was highly emotional and suicidal, according to Const. Peter Neily. When officers arrived they tried to subdue the adult-sized boy as he hit himself in the head with a mallet.

"He's described as being five foot 10 and 180 pounds, so he's a large individual for his age," said Neily.

"Our members were able to get the mallet out of his hand, but the struggle continued from there," he said. "Out of concerns for his safety and whatnot, the conducted energy weapon was deployed in what at this time we are determining to be an appropriate use."

The boy was taken to hospital for treatment and the case will be reviewed, but the family is satisfied with the actions of the officers, said Neily.

RCMP Taser use drops, but mentally ill remain more-frequent targets

June 25, 2010
By Philip Ling, Canwest News Service

Use of the Taser by RCMP members in B.C. dropped by nearly half last year, but officers there are slightly more likely to use the weapon against young people than those elsewhere in the country, according to a new report by the force's independent watchdog.

According to the report, released Thursday by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, B.C. Mounties deployed their Tasers 109 times in 2009, down from 208 in 2008, a drop of 91 per cent.

The drop in Taser use was even greater nationwide, with deployments decreasing by more than half from 563 in 2008 to 276 in 2009.

Similar, though less dramatic, drops were seen in the number of times officers simply took the weapon out of their holster without firing it.

The commission expressed concern about reports of conducted energy weapon usage against youths aged 13 to 17, although the deployment for the age group essentially remained unchanged from 2008 at around five per cent.

The watchdog says Taser use involving youths was "proportionately more likely" in B.C., though such cases are still rare.

Youth cases where conducted-energy weapons were discharged were less likely to involve substance use, but much more likely to involve weapons.

The report notes that officers are Tasering those with mental-health problems "significantly" more than non-mental-health cases for the fourth straight year -- a statistic that is "worrisome" to the RCMP watchdog.

The commission's interim chairman, Ian McPhail, reported Thursday that officers deployed Tasers and other conducted energy weapons 49.6 per cent of the time after drawing them on mental health incidents, compared to 39.2 per cent for non-mental-health cases.

Mental-health cases represented almost one quarter of all deployments -- more than any other type of incident, such as assault, break-and-enter or domestic dispute.

But the report said there is no evidence to suggest that mental health cases were more risky for police than other incident types.

"The concern, therefore, is that ... there was nothing obvious that distinguished the circumstances of mental health incidents, except for the subjects themselves," the report wrote.

It added: "Of equal concern is the fact that the percentage of [conducted energy weapon] reports of deployment that are mental health-related has shown an increase for four straight years."

Overall, the number of times RCMP officers pulled their stun guns out last year totalled 694 -- 38 per cent less often in 2009 compared with the previous year. That figure includes each time the stun gun was simply taken out of a police holster -- whether the weapon was fired or not.

That's down from an all-time high in 2007 of 1,583 incidents. The RCMP introduced the conducted energy weapon into their arsenal in 2002.

Regionally, every RCMP division except Yukon saw Taser use -- the threatened or actual deployment of the weapon -- decrease.

The rate of actual deployment of the weapon also dropped in each division except for Prince Edward Island.

The report also shows that in 2009, for the first time ever, Mounties fired their Tasers less than 50 per cent of the times they drew them.

This suggests that "Tasers have increasingly been used as a means of deterrence and a tool for compliance," the commission wrote.

RCMP national spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Gagnon said the decrease is related to the new policy put into place following recommendations made by retired Appeal Court judge Thomas Braidwood, who led a public inquiry into the Tasering and death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver International Airport.

Since Dziekanski's death, the RCMP has made a number of changes to its Taser policies, including restricting the weapon's use to incidents of officer or public safety, introducing annual recertification for trained users and enhancing reporting on all use-of-force incidents by RCMP officers.

The most recent change was in May when it was determined Tasers should only be fired when a suspect is causing "bodily harm" or is about to do so.

The RCMP also changed its rules in June 2009 so that police could no longer use the weapon on suspects who did not cooperate.

The revised policy dictated that there must be a threat to the public or the police.

Gagnon did not comment on Taser use on subjects exhibiting mental health problems.

She said the RCMP was still reviewing the report Thursday afternoon.

- - -

Taser deployment 2008/09 by RCMP division

N.L. 20/7

Man. 49/15

B.C. 208/109

Sask. 68/26

N.W.T. 15/3

N.S. 24/4

N.B. 30/28

Alta. 123/66

P.E.I. 2/3

Yukon 6/6

Nunavut 18/9

Total 563/276

Power and authority of RCMP being drastically diluted

June 18, 2010
Gary Mason, Globe and Mail

The landscape of policing in Canada is undergoing a radical transformation. And the once unchallenged power and authority of the RCMP is being drastically diluted in the process.

It’s difficult to imagine a 48-hour period in the force’s history that has been as damaging and wrought with implications for the future as the one the Mounties have just endured.

On Thursday, the conduct of the RCMP was condemned in a report into the greatest mass-murder in Canadian history – the Air India bombing. And a day later, the behaviour of four Mounties in B.C. was denounced in the harshest terms possible by the commission investigating the tasering death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski.

Behind the findings and the fundamental changes the RCMP is facing lies the power of a Canadian public whose growing disenchantment and distrust of Canada’s iconic police brigade could no longer be ignored by our political leaders and even the force itself.

That cynicism and suspicion is what really has driven the rather urgent policy changes now being rolled out. Public trust is the cornerstone of policing. Without it, officers have little credibility, which ultimately undermines their effectiveness and threatens the stability of a crucial pillar upon which a just society is built.

This is why the RCMP recently made internal changes in the way its members are investigated and disciplined. This is why the federal government recently gave the RCMP watchdog sweeping new powers to obtain documents during his investigations and also compel officers to testify. This is why Ottawa is expected to adopt the recommendations of John Major, head of the Air India Commission, that a new national-security czar be established that will severely crimp the RCMP’s investigative authority.

And this is why the B.C. government waited less than an hour after commissioner Thomas Braidwood released his exhaustive report Friday on the Dziekanski affair to announce it was adopting all of its recommendations, including the establishment of an Ontario-like Special Investigative Unit to carry out all probes of the police in the province – municipal or RCMP.

In fact, the investigative squad will have a mandate that far exceeds the SIU’s in Ontario. The B.C. group will not just investigate deaths involving an officer, but cases where serious harm has occurred, where a provision of the Criminal Code has been violated or where there has been a possible contravention of any federal or provincial statute. As significantly, the unit will be entirely civilian – no member of it will be allowed to have served anywhere in Canada as a police officer. (Although Mr. Braidwood allows for a five-year transition period during which former officers would be able to participate subject to certain conditions).

And B.C. Attorney General Mike de Jong made it clear that the RCMP will soon come under the authority of the provincial police-complaints commissioner as well.

The result is that B.C. will effectively have a provincial police force. And the RCMP, which polices 70 per cent of the province, isn’t saying a word about it because it understands it doesn’t have the moral authority to protest.

The Mounties’ new attitude stands in dramatic contrast to the one that was expressed only four years ago by the force’s top media-relations spokesman in B.C. When it was suggested the public had the right to know about how the force was handling the investigation into the in-custody death of mill worker Ian Bush in Houston, B.C., Staff Sergeant John Ward replied: “The public doesn’t have the right to know anything.”

The comment reverberated throughout the country.

Sadly, it often takes tragedy to forge change.

And in Canada it took the death of Ian Bush, hundreds of poor souls aboard Air India and Robert Dziekanski – among many, many others – to inflame the public mood to the point it ignited the changes we’re now witnessing.

If there was a case that tipped the balance it was the death of Mr. Dziekanski. Captured on an amateur video, it was the one that mortified this country, made us feel embarrassed of our national police. It would be the graphic, irrefutable bit of evidence Canadians would need before collectively exclaiming: Enough.

Walter Kosteckyj, the lawyer who so ably represented the interests of Mr. Dziekanski’s mother, Zofia Cisowski, at the Braidwood commission, was asked Friday how long it would take for the RCMP to regain the public’s trust.

“They didn’t lose it in one day,” he said. “It’s going to take a while. I guess we’ll see just how serious they are about repairing the damage. Ultimately it’s up to them.”

And they certainly deserve that chance.

RCMP must fire officers involved in YVR death - How can Canadians' trust in the force be restored if these four Mounties are still on the job?

June 19, 2010
By Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun

The bottom line is you and I still are paying the salaries of the four RCMP officers whose shameful conduct led to the death of Robert Dziekanski.

It's an outrage.

In his damning 470-page report, former justice Thomas Braidwood swept aside nearly three years of official Mountie obfuscation and outright lies by these individuals.

Braidwood said the Mounties had no justification for Tasering Dziekanski at Vancouver airport on Oct. 14, 2007.

The 40-year-old Polish immigrant was compliant and did not resist -- the officers completely over-reacted to the situation and were the authors of this tragedy.

Yet RCMP Commissioner William Elliott still refuses to do the right thing and axe them.

"Mr. Dziekanski in no way brought this on himself," Braidwood emphasized at his media conference, his voice rising with emotion. "He did not advance on any of the officers."

That's why they got together afterwards, discussed events and tried to deliberately mislead Braidwood during his public hearings. No wonder he called for a special prosecutor to be immediately appointed to consider laying criminal charges against the four men.

Braidwood couldn't talk about why provincial prosecutors swallowed an RCMP investigation that was obviously flawed or why their spokesman at the time, now police complaints commissioner Stan Lowe, all but blamed Dziekanski for causing his own death.

"My mandate didn't allow me to do that -- I couldn't do that," Braidwood said.

For the same reason, he also couldn't say what should happen to the officers.

When he spoke with reporters a few hours later, the RCMP commissioner couldn't say either.

Elliott said the force would review Braidwood's findings with the four disgraced officers but they may not face any discipline.

"We will certainly need to look at that," was the best he offered.

The mantra throughout Friday's many media conferences was that public confidence must be restored in the RCMP and the process for handling police-involved incidents.

Attorney-General Mike de Jong responded perfectly by immediately announcing the province would have an Ontario-style civilian investigation agency and follow up on all Braidwood's recommendations.

(Former solicitor-general Kash Heed must be kicking himself -- the ex-cop could have brought in this long-needed reform and reaped the kudos that go deservedly to de Jong.)

In response to concerns over the Crown's December 2008 decision not to prosecute, the AG said that was based on the best information available but the inquiry had brought much new information to light.

"There was misconduct here ... and that reflects badly, and that's why Mr. Braidwood used the language that he did," said de Jong, who has named Vancouver lawyer Richard Peck as special prosecutor.

Elliott's initial response, too, was hopeful -- "we've long acknowledged ... the RCMP messed up."

The iconic force, he explained, has substantially reformed its training and promotional policies and dramatically altered its rules for the use of conducted energy weapons. It has made many changes since this regrettable event that are laudable.

Elliott welcomed the new provincial investigative agency.

But when it came to discipline and dealing with the four ...

"We will review the report and determine and take appropriate action," was the best Elliott offered.

What a ridiculous response! Was he unaware of their performance at the inquiry?

Until Braidwood unveiled his conclusions, I could understand if not support the force standing behind the men even if they were spinning a "patently unbelievable" tale. But in the wake of these staggering findings and their deceit, they should be thrown under the bus.

How can Canadians restore their trust in the force if these four are still on the job, still carrying firearms and still able to exercise the powers of a police officer after being branded no better than lying thugs?

Braidwood said it loud and clear -- these officers committed such outrageous misconduct it must be weighed against a criminal standard by a special prosecutor.

Dziekanski's mum Zofia Cisowski shook her head after hearing the Mounties continued to be employed: "They still have no consequences."

That these four officers are still drawing public pay is an absolute disgrace.

The question Braidwood used as the title of his report remains -- why?

Federal government upset with Dziekanski 'apology'

June 17, 2010
By Chad Skelton and Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun

One day before RCMP Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass publicly apologized to Robert Dziekanski's mother for the Mounties' role in her son's death after being Tasered, Bass e-mailed an RCMP member assuring him the apology did not mean the force was sorry for anything specific its officers did.

"Even though the word 'apology' worries some, we are not apologizing for the actions of specific members or saying anything about specific actions," Bass wrote in a March 31 e-mail to RCMP staff relations representative Brian Roach. "I am apologizing for the loss of her son and where the [RCMP commissioner] says we could have done better, from my perspective, that relates to the fact we had to revise our policy and training."

A spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office said the government is troubled by Bass's e-mail.

"We're disappointed," said Sara MacIntyre, who contacted The Sun after a story about the e-mail appeared on vancouversun.com."The apology was obviously very important to his family and his mother. And we find the e-mail troubling."

Asked if Harper would be taking any direct steps with the RCMP to follow up on the e-mail, MacIntyre said: "We'll be looking at that."

Bass closes his e-mail to Roach with: "Let me know if I can explain any further as it is important the membership gets the right message as to what we are trying to do [here]."

The day after the e-mail was written, Bass appeared at a news conference to announce the RCMP had reached an out-of-court settlement with Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski of Kamloops.

"Your son's death is a tragedy and for the role the force played in this tragedy, we offer our sincere apology," Bass read from his prepared statement.

"There are no words to express how sorry the RCMP is about your son's death and the pain this has brought."

RCMP spokesman Insp. Tim Shields said Wednesday that Bass's apology at the news conference was genuine.

"The apology from ... Bass was heartfelt and sincere and reflected his sentiments as the commanding officer for all RCMP members in B.C.," Shields wrote in an e-mail. "To suggest the apology was not heartfelt is wrong. Period."

Bass's internal e-mail was released by the RCMP on Wednesday in response to an Access to Information Act request.

Another e-mail released Wednesday, from Assistant Commissioner Al MacIntyre to Bass, encouraged him to give his apology in front of Dziekanski's mother.

"I think hearing you say it in front of her will demonstrate the compassion/ caring/acceptance of responsibility and to seal it with a handshake/ respectful embrace would be appropriate," he wrote.

Meanwhile, the Braidwood commission of inquiry's final report on the death of Dziekanski will be publicly released on Friday at 10 a.m.

The report was completed last month and submitted to the attorney-general.

Copies have been printed and will be released during a news conference at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue in Vancouver.

The first report was released last year and examined the use of Tasers -- known as conducted energy weapons -- by police, sheriffs and corrections staff in B.C.

The second phase of the inquiry focused on the events surrounding the tragic death of Dziekanski, 40, at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14, 2007.

Dziekanski, who spoke no English and had never been on a plane before, was unable to find his mother after arriving at the airport. He remained in a secure customs area for about 10 hours and then, appearing dazed and delirious, began throwing around furniture, prompting a 911 call reporting a violent drunk (no drugs or alcohol were found in his system).

Seconds after four RCMP officers arrived on the scene, Dziekanski was jolted five times with a Taser.

He died minutes after he was restrained and handcuffed face-down on the airport floor.

The incident was captured on amateur video, which resulted in an international public outcry.

Since his death, the RCMP has made a number of changes to its Taser policies, including restricting the weapon's use to incidents threatening officer or public safety, annual recertification for trained users and enhanced reporting on all use-of-force incidents by RCMP officers.

The most recent change was in May when it was determined Tasers should only be fired when a suspect is causing "bodily harm" or is about to do so.

The RCMP also changed their rules in June 2009 so that police could no longer use the weapon on suspects merely for their failure to cooperate. Their revised policy -- dictating that there must be a threat to the public or the police -- was widely criticized as being too vague.

Amnesty official wants national policy on stun gun use

The Canadian Press

FREDERICTON — The secretary general for Amnesty International Canada says while there have been great strides to improve stun gun use in Canada, there needs to be a strict set of national standards.

Alex Neve said Tuesday the federal government needs to show leadership to ensure new standards for use of the weapons apply to all police forces, and not just the RCMP.

"We've seen some very welcome restrictions placed on RCMP use of the Taser," said Neve, who was attending a conference in Fredericton organized by the Canadian Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. "What we don't have though is consistency and coherence across the country. There are a multitude of different policing jurisdictions in Canada."

Neve said there is a place for the use of stun guns as long as they are used in accordance with the law and proper training.

"We have been calling for very careful guidelines and restrictions to be imposed on how Tasers get used, by whom, under what circumstance, how often, on what parts of the body, and many other aspects," he said in an interview.

In May, the Mounties announced they would fire stun guns at people only when they are hurting someone or clearly about to harm them.

"We would have liked there to have been an adjective there for serious bodily harm or grievous bodily harm," Neve said.

The use of the weapons has come under public scrutiny as the result of numerous incidents across the country, including the death of airline passenger Robert Dziekanski in Vancouver, which prompted the Braidwood inquiry in British Columbia.

Kevin Brosseau, senior director of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP said he believes public scrutiny may be one of the reasons for nearly a 50 per cent drop in stun gun use by the Mounties over the last couple of years.

He said their use fell from about 1,200 uses in 2007 to about 650 in 2009.

"From my point of view, the reports -- whether it's the Braidwood inquiry or our report -- the significant media attention paid to this thing has given members of the police a greater appreciation of what this thing is and how it needs to be used in a more judicious way," Brosseau said in an interview.

Like Neve, Brosseau said stun guns are an important part of a police officer's arsenal as long as they are used properly.

Brosseau said a national policy is needed, but believes some forces may be reluctant to agree to a "one size fits all" set of guidelines.

"Every police force has its own terminology and is reluctant to change terminology to someone else's, but that is really what is going to have to happen," he said.

EDITORIAL: Mounties' rule should apply here

May 7, 2010
Winnipeg Free Press

A decision by RCMP to restrict the use of Tasers to situations in a person is harming or about to hurt someone is a reasonable response to the worrisome creep in usage of the weapon. The stun gun no longer deserves the reputation nor the manufacturer's assurances that it is safe to use on just about everyone.

The use of force policy has been changed by the national police force to make it clear that a Taser is to be used only when an officer or someone else is under threat of physical harm. This tightens up an increasingly relaxed approach that saw the stun gun, the use of which fell between the baton and the firearm, become the favoured police weapon in confrontations. It allowed officers to restrain or gain compliance of individuals who may physically resist, resulting in injury. But the inquiry into the Taser-related death in 2007 of Polish traveller Robert Dzienkanski concluded that this operating procedure is risky, and medical evidence was growing that a stun gun could cause or contribute to death.

Bowing to the evidence, Taser's manufacturer last year revised its operating manual, instructing that the gun's probes be fired to hit the lower torso, avoiding the chest. Animal studies have shown that the electric shock across a heart could affect its function.

The Winnipeg Police Service has adopted some of the advice of inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood, but the force rejected adopting the Mountie's rule to restrict use of the Taser to people causing or about to cause bodily harm. Officers often must react instantly to dynamic circumstances and narrowing the use of force policy further was seen as too tightly tying the hands of police.

Statistics to 2008 indicated that the Winnipeg police were not part of the national trend of Taser usage creep. But the wording of the WPS's policy gives officers wider discretion in using a Taser, which can be used on those who are "actively aggressive or violent," according to a spokesman. The term "aggressive" is open to interpretation. It could describe someone who is verbally hostile or thrashing about, or someone with a weapon advancing on an officer or another person. In contrast, the Mounties' new standard restricts the stun gun's use to someone who is "causing bodily harm" or will "imminently" lash out.

The RCMP and other municipal forces have moved to tighten training and policies on Tasers, recognizing the risk that is carried by the massive jolt delivered to a person's body. Winnipeg police policy ought to reflect that, too.

EDITORIAL: Belated RCMP stun gun rules

May 6, 2010
Editorial
The Toronto Star

Are police reaching for their stun guns too often? Baseball fans in Philadelphia, the “city of brotherly love,” think so. They roundly booed a cop who stunned Steve Consalvi after the 17-year-old dashed onto the field Monday waving a club fan towel.

Public concern about “usage creep” isn’t limited to the United States. Canadians were appalled when Robert Dziekanski died at the Vancouver airport in 2007 after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police stunned him repeatedly. And there have been other ugly incidents.

Given all this, RCMP Commissioner William Elliott did well to tighten the rules this week.

From now on the Mounties will use stun guns only if a person is “causing bodily harm” or if there are “reasonable grounds” to fear that he or she “will imminently” cause harm, the force says. This is a welcome narrowing of the rules, though it stops short of requiring a severe threat to life and limb. The previous, overly permissive rules set the bar at any “threat to officer or public safety.”

The new rules also require officers to issue a verbal warning first, when feasible. They caution officers generally to restrict jolts to 5 seconds or less and to avoid multiple jolts. And they point out that the stun gun is “not intended as a restraint device.”

With these changes the RCMP finally has a policy that reflects its own view that stun guns put some people “at a high risk of death.” Other police forces should pay heed.

Ontario Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci recently felt compelled to remind police that, “where possible,” the 50,000-volt weapons ought not to be used on the elderly, pregnant women, young children, and people in handcuffs, among others.

Welcome as the new RCMP rules are, Elliott is a late convert to prudence. As the Star noted in an editorial last year, on his watch the force brought in new rules on Feb. 3, 2009 that watered down aspects of a previous, tougher policy. The requirement to shout a warning was dropped. So were rules against multiple jolts and restricting jolts to 15-20 seconds.

Whatever caused the change of heart, it’s a good thing that the older, tougher rules have been reintroduced, and improved upon.

RCMP Taser policy praised by ex-watchdog head

May 6, 2010
CBC News

The RCMP's new rules for using Tasers will help prevent police from using the stun guns beyond necessary situations, said the former chair of an independent RCMP watchdog.

Paul Kennedy, who chaired the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP until Dec. 31, praised the national police force's move this week to revise its policy on stun guns.

Under the new rules, officers are limited to using their stun guns only if a person is causing bodily harm, or if an officer has "reasonable grounds" to believe a person will "imminently" harm someone.

Officers must give a verbal warning, "where tactically feasible," that they are about to use the shock weapons, according to the policy.

'Comprehensive policy'

"It's a very comprehensive policy, and it certainly addresses the major concerns that I had," Kennedy told CBC News on Wednesday.

The commission has demanded more explicit rules on when officers can use shock weapons such as Tasers.

The RCMP's policy changes come in response to the B.C. inquiry into the October 2007 death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver International Airport, as well as new Taser guidelines in Alberta.

The new policy also addresses persistent criticism from human-rights advocates that the Taser was often being used to make people obey police commands, not to defuse the most serious threats.

Before his term expired last year, Kennedy issued a scathing review of the RCMP's use of a Taser on a 15-year-old girl at the Arctic Tern Young Offenders Facility in Inuvik, N.W.T., in March 2007.

Taser use unjustified in N.W.T. case

Kennedy ruled an RCMP officer was not justified in using the stun gun on the girl, who at the time was handcuffed and held face down on the floor by jail staff.

Prior to Kennedy's ruling, two RCMP investigations had cleared the officer of any wrongdoing, as did a similar investigation by the Northwest Territories Justice Department. The police force said it has accepted nearly all of Kennedy's findings.

Chief Supt. Wade Blake, the head of the RCMP in the N.W.T., said the new Taser policy gives officers a clearer direction on when to use the devices, which are also known as conducted energy weapons, or CEWs.

"The old policy gave a fair bit more discretion to officers in regards to combative subjects," Blake said. "The new policy more aligns the use of the CEW with direction from the Criminal Code."

Blake said Taser use in the Northwest Territories has declined steadily in recent years. Officers in the territory have unholstered or used stun guns three times so far this year. In all of 2007, they used the weapons 51 times.

New Taser rules a continuation of ongoing process: top cop

May 6, 2010
Jack Wilson - Red Deer Advocate

New rules governing how the RCMP use stun guns are basically a continuation of the process started a few years ago, Red Deer’s top policeman said on Wednesday.

“In the last few years, there has been a complete evaluation of the process of the use of the conducted energy weapon guidelines and rules,” Supt. Brian Simpson said. “This is just the continuation of that process and at the end of the day we want to be open and transparent in terms of how we do business,” he added.

New rules were unveiled on Tuesday in Ottawa. The rules limit RCMP officers to using their stun gun in cases where a person is causing bodily harm or an officer has “reasonable grounds” to believe a person will “imminently” harm somebody.

“Members’ actions must be reasonable and the force used must be necessary in the circumstances,” according to the revised policy.

Simpson said the use of the Taser stun gun has decreased in the last several months.
Simpson said the city detachment has about five Tasers available for use per shift. There are four shifts.

RCMP officers must always give a verbal warning, “where tactically feasible,” that they are about to use their stun gun, the policy says. In medically high-risk situations, officers will be required to request medical assistance, when feasible, before using their stun guns, policy states.

Simpson said all officers authorized to carry the weapon are well trained and undergo updated training when time allows. He said every time officers deploy the weapon, they must “articulate and justify their reason for doing so. There’s been a lot of negative headlines about the weapon but there are many positives too,” Simpson said. Many times the weapon has “helped neutralize a potentially dangerous situation,” he added.

Some Tasers used by city detachment officers have been sent away for regular maintenance and found to be firing at a lower amperage than called for, he said.

The RCMP changes come in response to the B.C. inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski, new Alberta guidelines and persistent criticism from human-rights advocates that the Taser was often being used to make people obey police commands, not to defuse the most serious threats.

Bob Paulson, an assistant RCMP commissioner, said the threshold is more specific than the previous one, defined as “a threat to officer or public safety.”

In 2006, Jason Doan, 28, died after being tasered three times by police in Red Deer following a complaint to RCMP about a man smashing car windows.