Taser use not "relevant factor" in tattoo artist's death

June 5, 2012

CBC

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2012/06/04/edmonton-fatality-inquiry-report-trevor-grimolfson.html

The use of a Taser stun gun on Edmonton tattoo artist Trevor Grimolfson was "not a relevant factor" in his death, according to a fatality inquiry report obtained by CBC News prior to its release later this month.

The two-page report into Grimolfsen's death on Oct. 29th, 2008 also contains no recommendations, which concerns his mother Beverly."All you can get are recommendations and you don't even get one to prevent a similar death? Not even one?" she asked. "That's what my son would want. He would not want anyone else to die like that."

Trevor Grimolfson, 38, died after police tried to subdue him outside his tattoo parlour at 153rd Street and Stony Plain Road. Officers were called after Grimolfson rampaged through a nearby pawnshop and assaulted the store owner.

Police used the Taser on him three times. Grimolfson lost consciousness after he was put in handcuffs and was pronounced dead by the time he arrived at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

In his report, fatality inquiry judge Frederick Day wrote that the last use of a Taser needs to be within 15 seconds of a loss of consciousness for it to be considered a factor in someone's death.

In Grimolfson's case, "a few minutes passed, not seconds, from the time of last Taser use to time of unconsciousness; therefore, the Taser use is not a relevant factor," the judge wrote.

The medical examiner found that Grimolfson died of "excited delirium" triggered by "multiple drug toxicity." He was found to have high levels of the street drugs ecstasy and ketamine in his blood.

Beverly Grimolfson plans to protest outside of future fatality inquiries with relatives of others who have died after Taser use.

During the inquiry, she recommended that researchers at the University of Alberta conduct studies on the effects of the device.

"Something has to be done to get proper testing going here and that's what I'm going to focus on," she said.

Mother overcome by autopsy pictures

November 25, 2010
Andrea Sands, Edmonton Journal

Beverly Grimolfson began sobbing then gasping for air during a fatality inquiry after she saw autopsy pictures of her son, who died two years ago after he was repeatedly Tasered by police.

Two security officers were called in as a precaution when Grimolfson became increasingly agitated while looking through binders of inquiry material during the lunch break Thursday afternoon.

"I have to try to calm down," she said, sobbing, after seeing autopsy photos of Trevor Grimolfson, who died after violent struggle with police.

"I've just never looked at these before."

She was led out of the room in Provincial Court, where she could still be heard yelling and sobbing outside as two court security officers came in.

She returned to her seat at the front of the courtroom, where she continued crying.

"I want to ask the judge how he thought I could come here and do this ... Why didn't he let me have a lawyer? A lawyer could have helped me. That's my kid in there. I never got to see him. I don't understand the cruelty of it all."

Hands shaking violently, gasping for breath, Grimolfson was given a plastic bag to breath into, and court officials urged her to calm down before she was led out of the courtroom a second time.

Grimolfson has been representing herself during the fatality inquiry that began Monday.

Family members of those who have died are allowed to speak and ask questions at an inquiry, but provincial legislation does not provide funding for their legal representation. Beverly Grimolfson was unsuccessful in her request for funding to hire a lawyer.

Inquiry counsel Glenn Epp asked that the inquiry be adjourned until Friday morning to give Grimolfson time to recover.

She told Judge Fred Day she is convinced police used excessive force on her son.

"My son is dead and I have the right to get to the bottom of this," he said. "I truly believe that excessive force was used here."

Det. Lee Scott painted a different picture in his testimony Thursday morning.

Trevor Grimolfson struggled violently against police and seemed oblivious to repeated jolts from their Tasers, said Scott, who was a constable at the time he fought with Grimolfson during the man's drug-fuelled rampage through a pawnshop.

The inquest heard testimony this week from Alberta's chief medical examiner that Grimolfson, 38, died of excited delirium caused by high levels of the drugs ecstasy and ketamine, an animal tranquillizer. The levels of each drug in Grimolfson's body were high enough to have been fatal, Dr. Graeme Dowling said.

Scott told the fatality inquiry Thursday he thought his Taser wasn't working when he fired the device at Grimolfson on Oct. 29, 2008, while trying to subdue him in the pawnshop on Stony Plain Road.

Scott said when he entered the pawnshop the smell of bear spray hung in the air.

He said Grimolfson's skin was yellow and he was sweating profusely and flailing his arms. Scott said he fired the Taser repeatedly at Grimolfson, who was heading toward another officer at the end of a long glass counter.

"I could hear it (working), absolutely, but it wasn't doing what it was supposed to do ... He should have been on the ground. He should have been incapacitated, but he wasn't," Scott said.

"I knew I wasn't going to let him leave the pawnshop. I knew there were people outside. I knew he was going to try to kill someone. I knew he was going to try to kill Matt (the other police constable)."

Grimolfson didn't react to the Taser and didn't obey police orders to get down on the floor, said Scott.

Police wrestled Grimolfson to the floor on his stomach, where he continued to twist and fight as Scott handcuffed him.

Scott Tasered Grimolfson again. "I did that on top of his back and he didn't even flinch."

Grimolfson was spitting and chanting "OK, OK" as Scott told him to stop fighting. He didn't seem to tire despite the intense struggle, Scott said.

"He was not calming down," Scott said.

"I'd never seen anything like this before.

Police immediately called emergency medical crews and superior officers, as is policy when a Taser is deployed, Scott said.

Roughly five minutes after police got the handcuffs on him, Grimolfson lost consciousness and stopped breathing, he said.

Scott started CPR but was later told Grimolfson had died.

Taser had no effect, fatality inquiry told

November 25, 2010
CBC News

The Edmonton police officer who deployed a Taser on Trevor Grimolfson moments before he died told a fatality inquiry Thursday that the stun gun appeared to have no effect.

"We're not using this anymore," Det. Lee Scott said he told his police colleagues during the daytime altercation with Grimolfson in a west Edmonton pawn shop two years ago. "It's not working."

Grimolfson, 38, died on Oct. 29, 2008, not long after police stunned him three times with the Taser. A fatality inquiry looking into Grimolfson's death is underway this week in Edmonton.

Scott, then an Edmonton police constable, testified he first met Grimolfson earlier that day when he responded to a call about a fight. Grimolfson seemed rational when Scott spoke to him in a back alley. He was released without charges.

About 40 minutes later, Scott raced to a call at a pawn shop in the same area. When he arrived, he heard yelling and the sound of glass breaking. A man Scott believed was the son of the pawn shop owner ran up to the police cruiser.

"He's going to kill my dad," he reportedly told Scott. "You've got to do something,"

When Scott entered the shop, he saw the man he had seen earlier in the alley — Grimolfson — covered in sweat and wildly flailing his hands around.

Grimolfson was standing on the other side of the counter and started walking toward police, Scott said.

Grimolfson refused to heed police instructions to get down on the ground.

Scott said he used his Taser once, but with no effect. Another officer deployed his Taser, but again, Grimolfson was not subdued.

'He could feel nothing'
Scott told the inquiry he struck Grimolfson twice in the jaw. Scott deployed a stun gun on Grimolfson a third time.

"Nothing was working," Scott said. "He could feel nothing."

Grimolfson was frothing, spitting and continued to fight. "Still chanting. Just not normal," Scott said.

Police were able to handcuff Grimolfson and put a spit mask on him, but then Grimolfson stopped struggling and ceased breathing.

Scott took off the handcuffs and Grimolfson's tongue flopped out as he removed the spit mask.

Scott could only detect a faint pulse and started doing chest compressions. Paramedics rushed Grimolfson to hospital where he was declared dead.

The medical examiner later ruled the cause of death as "excited delirium due to the consequences of multiple drug toxicity." Ketamine, ecstasy and cocaine were found in Grimolfson's blood.

Earlier this week, a man told the inquiry that when he arrived to do demolition work at Grimolfson's tattoo parlour, he was attacked.

Minutes later, Grimolfson went into the pawn shop. The owner told the inquiry Tuesday that Grimolfson broke a window on the front door of his store and threw a glass of water that hit him in the head.

Two pictures of Trevor Grimolfson emerge at inquiry

November 24, 2010
Alexandra Zabjek, Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON — Two portraits of Trevor Grimolfson emerged during a fatality inquiry into his death in provincial court on Tuesday.

A close friend described Grimolfson as a generous and popular man, who loved his children fiercely and was never violent.

A worker who encountered Grimolfson on the day he was Tasered several times by police said he met an agitated man who appeared high on drugs and couldn’t be reasoned with.

Melinda Parasynchuk told the fatality inquiry she had known Grimolfson for nine years. They had once dated and remained close friends at the time of the Oct. 29, 2008, incident, when Grimolfson was Tasered by police in a pawnshop on Stony Plain Road.

“He was very giving, he was like a year-round Santa Claus,” Parasynchuk said, noting Grimolfson especially liked to spoil children at Christmas.

She said Grimolfson’s own children were “his everything.”

Grimolfson, 38, was a talented tattoo artist and a well-known wrestling commentator who was “very, very funny,” said Parasynchuk, who broke down in tears at several points in her testimony.

“Trevor was someone easy to reason with, easy to talk to. I can’t imagine Trevor being violent.”

But Patrick Saunders told the fatality inquiry Grimolfson assaulted him in his tattoo shop that day, leaving him with a fractured cheek bone, three broken teeth, and bruises on his body.

Saunders said he had met Grimolfson the day before the incident, when Grimolfson offered him demolition work at his tattoo shop on Stony Plain Road. Grimolfson seemed like a normal, trustworthy person, he testified.

When Saunders arrived the next morning, he said Grimolfson was sweating profusely, jumping around, and that he uttered the nonsensical phrase, “Bruce Lee’s revenge, bullets are flying.”

When Saunders tried to leave the shop, he said Grimolfson struck him. Saunders fought back, but was hit repeatedly before he was able to leave.

He said he saw Grimolfson approach a group on Stony Plain Road before he entered a nearby pawnshop, breaking a glass door.

When the pawnshop owner and his father asked Grimolfson to leave, Saunders said the man appeared, “lost, dazed, and confused.”

He said Grimolfson threw a cup at the older man’s head and the situation worsened from there.

“You could have said a million things to calm him down, it wouldn’t have worked,” he said.

Saunders told the inquiry Grimolfson was in a “rage” when police arrived and that he charged at one of the officers.

At one point, when questioned by Beverly Grimolfson, who is acting as her own lawyer at her son’s fatality inquiry, Saunders said: “I’m really sorry for what happened with Trevor that day.”

A medical examiner has testified Grimolfson’s death was caused by excited delirium, brought on by multiple drug toxicity. Fatal levels of ecstasy and ketamine were found in his body after his death.

Beverly Grimolfson has said she believes her son would still be alive if police hadn’t deployed a Taser.

The inquiry continues.

Two moms whose sons died after being Tasered by police lobby against stun guns

November 22, 2010
John Cotter, The Canadian Press

EDMONTON - The mothers of two men who died after being Tasered by police say they are forming a national group that will work to ban the use of electronic stun guns.

Zofia Cisowski, mother of Robert Dziekanski, made the pledge Monday outside a fatality inquiry into the death of an Edmonton man who was zapped with police Tasers a year after her own son died in Vancouver at the hands of RCMP.

Cisowski said it was painful to sit beside Bev Grimolfson at the inquiry as she asked questions about her son Trevor's death.

"I just want to support Bev because my son was Tasered at Vancouver International Airport," Cisowski said as she stood beside Grimolfson outside court.

"I am very frustrated because it reminded me of my son's death, struggling on the floor with his life."

Grimolfson said she is grateful for Cisowski's help. Together, they say they hope to make police more accountable in such deaths.

"I feel that there are a lot of questions that need to be asked," Grimolfson said.

"I was not allowed any funding for a lawyer so I had to come and stick up for my son by myself. I intend to get to the bottom of this."

Trevor Grimolfson, 38, died after Edmonton police shot him with a Taser several times on Oct. 29, 2008. A government investigation determined that Grimolfson was so violently out of control as he smashed up a pawn shop that officers were justified in firing at least three Taser darts into him, jolting his chest with numbing electric shocks.

When he finally fell to the ground, police handcuffed him and placed a spit mask over his face. Another officer also zapped him in the neck with a hand-held Taser.

After a few minutes, Grimolfson lapsed into unconsciousness until paramedics arrived. The former resident of Selkirk, Man., was pronounced dead soon after arrival in hospital.

The medical examiner said Grimolfson suffered from a heart condition and was extremely high on potentially lethal doses of ketamine and ecstasy. Cause of death was listed as excited delirium, a controversial term that has been linked to people who have died after being zapped by stun guns.

Last year, Alberta government investigators announced that no police officers would face criminal charges in Grimolfson's death.

Dr. Graeme Dowling, Alberta's chief medical examiner, reiterated his findings Monday as he testified at the inquiry.

When it was Grimolfson's turn to ask questions, she barraged Dowling: "Was he was aware that torturers use electrical devices in dictatorships? Did he know that Tasers have been used to subdue women and children in other countries?"

Judge Fred Day ruled that some of her questions were beyond the scope of the inquiry, which cannot find blame but works to glean information to prevent future deaths.

But he gave her latitude as she questioned Dowling on the public health risks associated with police use of Tasers.

"I found no evidence in this case that it was the cause of death," he replied. "I see no evidence of that."

More than 25 people have died in Canada after being stunned by Tasers.

The U.S. company that makes the devices points out that they have never directly been proven to have caused a death in Canada.

Cisowski said she will continue attending the fatality inquiry this week to give moral support to Grimolfson. She knows firsthand that such fact-finding takes time. She is still waiting for British Columbia to decide whether the four Mounties involved in the death of her son will be charged.

"We will work together to make something better for mothers like Bev and me and other mothers," she said.

Mother represents son at Taser inquiry

November 22, 2010
CBC News

A mother is pressing for answers in the death of her son after Edmonton police used a stun gun while arresting him in 2008 during a drug-fuelled rampage.

The five-day inquiry into the death of Trevor Grimolfson begins in an Edmonton courtroom on Monday.

"This is the only chance I have to get some sort of justice," said Bev Grimolfson, 58.

Grimolfson is representing herself, because she can't afford a lawyer and a provincial court judge turned down her application for funding.

She said that without legal representation, it will be hard to ask the right questions.

"I don't know courtroom etiquette. I don't speak legalese, but I will do my best."

Her son, 38, died on Oct. 29, 2008, after police tried to subdue him with a stun gun.

He was high on drugs, smashing his way through a pawnshop in the west end. He died later in hospital. The cause of death was ruled “excited delirium due to the consequences of multiple drug toxicity.”

Grimolfson’s mother will be joined in the courtroom by the mother of Robert Dziekanski, whose son died after being shocked numerous times by police in the Vancouver airport.

“We are grieving mothers,” Zofia Cisowski wrote in a statement Sunday. “Many good people supported me. I am here to support her.”

Grimolfson said police misled her about the investigation into her son’s death.

“They have never told me anything,” she said. “I feel that I have been lied to right from the beginning; lied about what kind of Tasers they were; lied about how many times he was Tasered; where he was Tasered.

“It's just been a nightmare. And now this is the only chance I have to get some sort of justice.”

Alberta Justice won't comment on a pending inquiry, but a spokesperson said the process is designed to ensure an objective hearing.

Last year, the Alberta Serious Incident Repsonse Team, which investigates any death involving police, cleared the officers of any wrongdoing during Grimolfson's arrest.

The judge may make recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths.

Mothers united by Tasers & death

November 22, 2010
iNews 880

The mother of a city man, who died after he was Tasered by Edmonton police two years ago, will be joined at his fatality inquiry this week by the mother of the man Tasered at Vancouver International Airport.

Zofia Cisowski says she'll be at the inquiry into the death of Trevor Grimolfson to support his mother, Bev, because: "We are grieving mothers. Many good people supported me. I am here to support her."

Cisowski slams the refusal to provide legal aid to Grimolfson' mother and adds "because I had a lawyer, I was able to fight for the truth and get some justice for my son Robert (Dziekanski)." She goes on to say: "The police tried to blame my son for his death. They were wrong. We cannot put blind trust in the authorities."

Trevor Grimolfson died after he was Tasered by police during a drug-fueled rampage at a pawn shop on Stony Plain Road in late October, 2008. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has ruled officers were justified in their actions.

The fatality inquiry is automatic because Grimolfson died in police custody.

Dziekanski's mother to attend another Taser death inquiry

November 22, 2010
NEWS 1130

EDMONTON (NEWS1130) - The mother of Robert Dziekanski is becoming an advocate for other mothers who've also lost their sons in police Tasering incidents.

Zofia Cisowski is in Edmonton to show her support for Bev Grimolfson, whose son died two years ago. An inquiry into the death of her son Trevor begins in Alberta Provincial Court tomorrow. Grimolfson was Tasered at an Edmonton pawn shop, then went into medical distress and died shortly afterward.

Unlike Cisowski, Bev will have to question witnesses herself, because she can't afford a lawyer.

Zygmunt Riddle with the Canadian Civil Rights Movement says the prospects of getting to the bottom of what happened to her son are bleak. "On one hand you have government lawyers, you have Taser company lawyers, and on another you have just motherly grief without lawyers. So I don't think we'll learn much about the truth [of] what happened."

He says it was important for Cisowski to be at Grimolfson's side. "That is what Zofia was always promising that after her case is closed one way or another, she would support other mothers."

Riddle adds Cisowski vowed to support other mothers of Tasering victims after her own inquiry was concluded earlier this year.

Mom seeks answers in Edmonton Taser death

November 21, 2010
Alexandra Zabjek, Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON — The mother of a man who died after being Tasered by city police two years ago is worried that she won’t get any answers at a fatality inquiry into the incident because she can’t afford a lawyer to represent her.

Beverly Grimolfson, who is raising her son Trevor’s three children in Dauphin, Man., plans to attend the inquiry which is scheduled to begin Monday in Edmonton. Without a lawyer to speak on her behalf, she is determined to question witnesses herself.

It won’t be an easy process.

“There are far too many questions for me to have answered, for me not to have a lawyer there,” she said. “I feel the victim’s family should have representation in order for it to be a fair inquiry.”

Trevor Grimolfson died on Oct. 29, 2008, after a drug-fuelled rampage through a west-end pawnshop.

Police were called and confronted him in the shop, a 10-minute ordeal in which he was Tasered several times. After he was arrested, he went into medical distress and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

His cause of death was listed as “excited delirium due to the consequences of multiple drug toxicity.”

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which investigates any death that may have been caused by a police officer, last year ruled officers were justified in their actions. No criminal charges were laid.

However, a fatality inquiry was automatically called since Trevor Grimolfson died while in police custody. The inquiry is scheduled for five days, and the presiding judge must report on the circumstances, causes, and manner of the death. The judge may present recommendations on how to prevent similar deaths in the future.

A fatality inquiry is not a trial and the judge cannot assign blame for an incident. Family members of those who have died are automatically granted standing to speak and ask questions at an inquiry, but provincial legislation does not provide for their legal funding.

Beverly Grimolfson said she was denied Legal Aid in her home province of Manitoba, as well as in Alberta. She applied to Provincial Court Judge F.A. Day, who is presiding over the inquiry, to recommend she receive funding, but he declined to do so.

Day ruled there was no legal authority to mandate funding. He noted that if financial need was a sufficient basis to recommend public funding, then provincial legislation or Legal Aid would have made provisions for that.

Alberta Justice says it is not common for families to bring lawyers to a fatality inquiry.

Julie Siddons, a spokeswoman for the department, said next of kin can speak at an inquiry and bring lawyers if they want.

“It’s a factual inquiry, it’s not a trial, so legal representation is not required,” she said.

Grimolfson’s inquiry comes in the wake of the high-profile and lengthy Braidwood Inquiry in B.C, which examined the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski who died at the Vancouver International Airport in 2007 after he was Tasered multiple times by Mounties. Video of the incident was viewed widely and prompted debate about the use of Tasers by police in Canada.

In his lengthy report released in 2009, former judge Thomas Braidwood said police should continue to use Tasers but warned it is not “helpful” to blame deaths on “excited delirium,” since it avoids having to “examine the underlying medical condition or conditions that actually caused death, let alone examining whether use of the conducted energy weapon and/or subsequent measures to physically restrain the subject contributed to those causes of death.”

Alberta Justice says it expects Dr. Graeme Dowling, Alberta’s chief medical examiner, will discuss the relevance of Braidwood’s findings at the Grimolfson’s inquiry.

When writing in 2009, Braidwood found 25 people had died in Canada since 2003 after a conducted energy weapon was deployed against them.

Beverly Grimolfson said she knows her son was in bad shape when he encountered police two years ago, but insists he was not “a monster.” She said he was a loving father and a generous person.

She thinks it is important the circumstances of her son’s death are investigated completely. She thinks that can’t be done without investigating the use of Tasers by police forces in general.

“We can’t forget any one of (those deaths). Just because there is no video of the other 25, their cases are no less important.”

I repeat - Justice must be SEEN to be done, to be done

A message I received from the mother of Trevor Grimolfson:

I sent you a copy of the media release issued by the Canadian Civil Rights Movement by Zygmut Riddle. As you probably guessed my application for funding was denied for what reason I don't know. It took me awhile to figure it out but my humble opinion is that once the lawyers for the police found out who I had found to take Trevors case, they contacted Taser International, who then requested to be a part of the inquiry. They already knew who Mr. Sundhu is and that he assisted on Robert Dziekanzki's case. In my opinion they didn't want someone of Mr. Sundhu's experience in the courtroom. They would have had quite the battle on their hands as he is an excellent lawyer and humanitarian. Had I asked for funding for a lawyer fresh out of school with no experiences with police officers or Taser International I think I may have received funding.

I have decided to go on to the inquiry and to act as my own lawyer, if this is what Judge Day wants this is what he will get. I do not speak "legalease" and feel I should have an interpreter as it is a foreign language to me. I do not have a clue about how to handle myself in front of a judge or when to ask questions or even what questions to ask.

I hope you will post this on TNT as I feel that the world needs to know how one sided this case is. I will fight for my son's human rights. I don't think that Taser International will be involved at the inquiry, now that they have managed to get rid of Mr. Sundhu and his expertise.

I think it is a miscarriage of justice to expect the victim's mother to act as a lawyer, to look at autopsy pictures and to have to question the witnesses. My opinion is that this will be a SHAM OF A WHITEWASH INQUIRY, JUST A BIG COVERUP. Ever since the day the lead investigator PETER DRAGANIUK.... LAUGHED at me, 6 weeks after my son's death, and he didn't even know what kind of tasers were used, I knew this case would not be handled well.

Thank you again Patti for all you do!!!!!! Pray for me to have the strength to make it through this. If you post this on TNT please add my contact info..... It is Bev Grimolfson TREVOR'S MOM, 1-204-638-3319....102 4th Ave. S.W. Dauphin,Manitoba R7N 1T7 E-mail jypsywind@hotmail.com

It's a travesty that families receive no funding for these coroners inquests/fatality inquiries, which are "supposed" to be for the family's benefit. We had the same problem at our inquest in BC and I`ve heard from other families in the exact same boat. I think it`s a nationwide problem but it`s a problem that most Canadians don`t even know exists until it arrives inside the borders of their own world. I guess, as families, we are just expected to sit there and shut up. We don`t even have to BE there and it would likely be preferable if we didn`t even show up. But if we do, we`re expected to just listen to the testimony of the police and the so-called "experts" and the rich lawyers who represent Taser International and hope that the jury stays awake long enough to understand the fine print. We are not encouraged to raise any questions or concerns of our own, unless we`re willing to sell the farm to pay for it.

Justice MUST BE SEEN TO BE DONE, to be done

October 20, 2010

MEDIA RELEASE: CANADIAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT (CCRM) (via www.excited-delirium.com)

Edmonton (Alberta) Fatal Inquiry into Death of Trevor Grimolfson, who died in a confrontation with Edmonton police officers October 29, 2008.

The Canadian Civil Rights Movement (CCRM) has significant concerns about the legitimacy of an Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Trevor Grimolfson who died in confrontation with Edmonton police officers on October 29, 2008.

The matter was investigated by the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) which determined the police officers “actions were justified, when considering all of the circumstances.” No criminal charges were recommended against the police officers involved.

A Fatal Inquiry, under the Alberta Fatal Inquiries Act is scheduled for November 22-26, 2010, in the Provincial Court of Alberta. The police officers statements indicated the officers fired tasors three times, twice in the chest and a third time in the back of the neck, when the two officers involved were allegedly behind Mr. Grimolfson, and attempting to restrain him and had his left hand in handcuffs. Mr. Grimolfson went into medical distress and died shortly thereafter. Subsequent testing on the tasors (X-26 model) indciated they may have been fired five times. One of the tasor applications appears to have been cycled for as long as fifteen seconds.

Government lawyers acting for the Inquiry are relying on the investigation by ASIRT and opinion evidence of the Chief Medical Examiner (CME) for Alberta and a toxicoligist that the cause of death was “Excited Delirium” and multiple drug toxicity. This includes the conclusion of the CME that “there was no evidence to suggest that the conductive energy weapon was the cause of death.” The conclusions relied upon do not accord with the findings and recommendations of the Braidwood Commission into the death of Robert Dziekanski at YVR. Commissioner Braidwood concluded that tasors do pose fatal risks and can cause death. He made numerous recommendations restricting the manner and circumstances in which they ought to be deployed. Commissioner Braidwood also determined that “Excited Delirium” was not scientifically supportable and a “convenient label.” The Braidwood Inquiry Report(s) have been drawn to the attention of government legal counsel for the Inquiry.

The CCRM is concerned that there has been a consistent theme of blaming the victim and that the Inquiry will be a whitewash. The government has appointed counsel at the Inquiry, the Edmonton Police Services has retained legal counsel and so has Taser International. No provision is made for legal funding to assist the family of the deceased and no member of his family has been invited to testify. Mr. Grimolfson is survived by three children (ages 19, 16 & 13) and one grandchild. His children are being cared for by his mother, Bev Broadhead, of Dauphin, Manitoba. Ms. Broadhead is a single grand-parent. Mr. Grimolfson and his family are Metis. The family has sought the legal assistance of William Sundhu, a lawyer in Kamloops, British Columbia ... who was involved in assisting Zofia Cisowski, the mother of Robert Dziekanski. Mr. Grimolfson’s family is unable to afford legal counsel and Mr. Sundhu has been assisting them pro-bono. An application is pending before the Judge assigned to the Inquiry seeking a judicial recommendation that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for Alberta make reasonable funding for the legal representation of the family to properly participate in the Inquiry. Previous government decisions indicate an unwillingness to provide funding to assist the families of deceased victims. The judge may only make a recommendation and it is then up to government to decide if it will honour the judicial recommendation or not.

The CCRM is concerned about the ASIRT investigation and that the evidence the government intends to present to the Inquiry is flawed and biased. The purpose of the Inquiry is to look into the circumstances surrounding the death and to make recommendations to prevent future deaths. The CCRM does not have confidence that the judicial Inquiry will be able to make appropriate findings and recommendations without the family being represented by legal counsel acting on their behalf and asking important questions and presenting proper evidence.

The CCRM believes that the current direction of the Inquiry raises serious questions about fairness and balance.

Zygmunt Riddle
CCRM – Vancouver, B.C.
+1 (604) 868-7070

Police in Taser case cleared in fatal Edmonton arrest

October 28, 2009
CBC News

Two Edmonton police officers who used a Taser in an altercation with an agitated man who later died will not face criminal charges, the civilian agency that investigates serious police incidents announced Wednesday.

"In my determination, their actions were justified when considering all of the circumstances," said Clifton Purvis, executive director of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT).

"In this incident, I must defer to the office of the chief medical examiner and I conclude that in this incident, the use of the Taser did not cause or contribute to the death of Trevor Grimolfson."

Grimolfson, 38, a tattoo artist originally from Selkirk, Man., died in hospital after police responded to reports about a man assaulting someone at a tattoo parlour on Stony Plain Road.

Although a Taser was used on Grimolfson three times during the arrest, the medical examiner found he died from "excited delirium" that was brought on by the amount of drugs he had taken.

According to Purvis, Grimolfson had taken a potentially lethal combination of ecstasy and ketamine, an animal tranquillizer better known by its street name of special K.

Grimolfson agitated on police arrival
When the police arrived at the scene, they found Grimolfson smashing articles at a pawn shop next door to the tattoo parlour. Officers could detect the strong scent of bear spray in the air. Grimolfson had assaulted the 70-year-old owner of the store, Purvis said, and bear spray had been used on Grimolfson in an unsuccessful attempt to subdue him.

Grimolfson was highly agitated, covered in blood, was breathing heavily and had clenched teeth, Purvis said.

The officers used the Taser on Grimolfson when he didn't obey a command to get on the ground and stop his rampage. Instead, the stun gun appeared to have no effect. Grimolfson continued moving towards the officers, prompting them to use the Taser a second time.

When that didn't work, they both tried to bring him to the ground and got him in handcuffs after a long struggle. That's when officers used the Taser a third time, this time in stun mode, Purvis said.

Grimolfson had been spitting, so officers had placed a spit mask on his face. The officers then noticed he was having problems breathing, Purvis said. Both the mask and the handcuffs were removed, and paramedics took Grimolfson to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

During the 11-month investigation, 50 civilian witnesses were interviewed, including seven who witnessed the use of the Taser or portions of it, Purvis said. A number of police witnesses were also interviewed.

No criminal charges against Edmonton officers in taser incident

October 28, 2009
The Canadian Press

There will be no criminal charges against two Edmonton policemen in the death of a man who was hit with a stun gun as he rampaged through a pawn shop.

The executive director of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says an 11-month investigation showed the constables were justified in their actions.

Thirty-eight-year-old Trevor Grimolfson died last October after police used a taser twice to restrain him.

They had responded to a call of a violent agitated man, who they say did not respond to their verbal commands to calm down.

The chief medical examiner determined Mr. Grimolfson was on drugs and died of excited delirium.

The U.S. company that makes Tasers points out that it has never been proven that the stun guns have directly caused a death in Canada.

Police Taser probe launched after Brooks man dies

May 8, 2009
By Stephane Massinon, Calgary Herald

CALGARY - In his final moments, Grant William Prentice ran down a quiet Brooks street, banged on doors and demanded he be let in. And when police tried to arrest him, the 40-year-old Brooks man was Tasered and later died in hospital.

It now falls to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the provincial body that oversees investigations into use of force by police, to piece together Prentice's final hours, why the son of town councillor Bill Prentice, who sits on the Brooks Policing Committee, died and what role the controversial stun gun may have played in his sudden death.

At 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Prentice was seen running down Lake Bevan Place in the Alberta city 185 kilometres east of Calgary. His behaviour startled the residents on the quiet residential street.

"Some guy came knocking on my door; he tried to convince my kids to let him in the house. They locked the doors and he went running down the street. He seemed like he was running from something,"said a resident who said she did not want to be identified.

She said she did not recognize Prentice and said he had scratches on his face. Prentice asked the woman's 10-year-old daughter repeatedly to let him in, but the girl locked the door and a neighbour called RCMP, she said.

The resident said she did not witness the Tasering, but saw Prentice being placed in the ambulance.A day later, she's still glad her daughter locked the door.

"It's unfortunate the way it ended, but the police protected my family. That's all I care about," she said.

Prentice's family said they did not wish to make any public statements. The grieving family gathered at Bill's house to console each other after the sudden death.

Prentice's cousin, Shirly Prentice, said he worked in construction, but she was not very close to him.

She was stunned to get the phone call telling her Prentice had died.

"He would give the shirt off his back to help you out," said Shirly.

What is known so far from the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is that two RCMP members arrived to the call and were later joined by two more officers, but Prentice, who was known to police, resisted arrest. He had previously been charged with causing a disturbance in 2001.

"A struggle ensued and one officer attempted to subdue the male with his conducted energy device. At this point, it's unclear whether the device was successfully deployed," said director Clifton Purvis.

"The Taser was deployed once, I don't know if he was struck," added Purvis.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Patrick Webb said the police force was limited in what it could say since ASIRT was leading the investigation.The national police force has said it willco-operate fully with the investigation.

"RCMP regrets the outcome of this tragic incident, and is currently notifying the family of the deceased. The RCMP offers its condolences and support to the family as they deal with their loss."

Mayor Martin Shields said the family, and his council colleague, are hurting. "When a citizen dies suddenly, it's of a great sadness,"said Shields. The town is "feeling shock and dismay," he said.

Shields said the Prentice family has lived in Brooks since the'60s; it is Bill Prentice's first term on council.

This is the third incident involving a Taser that ASIRT has been called in to investigate. On Nov. 2, 2008, Cranbrook resident Gordon Walker Bowe died in police custody in Calgary after a Taser was used, though it may not have made contact with him. Less than a week before that, Trevor Grimolfson, 38, died in Edmonton after he was Tasered twice following a disturbance at a pawnshop.

On Aug. 10, 2006, Jason Doan, 28, of Red Deer was jolted three times by a Taser as RCMP officers tried to subdue him. He died three weeks later in hospital after going into cardiac arrest following the Taser deployments.

Across Canada, more than 25 people have died after they were Tasered.

Webb said he did not know if it is the same model of Taser that was recently found to be malfunctioning in independent tests of the stun guns. AlbertaX-26 model Tasers were recently found to malfunction 12 per cent of the time and the province's solicitor general has ordered tests of all Alberta Tasers.

Shields said the continued use of the stun gun is not a decision for him and his council to make, but one for the RCMP.

An autopsy will be conducted on Prentice in Calgary today.

Death due to excited delirium

March 27, 2009
By MICHELLE THOMPSON, SUN MEDIA

Excited delirium killed an Edmonton tattoo shop owner who died after being shot with a stun gun, an autopsy determined.

"Excited delirium is a state of extreme excitation that can be fatal - it can lead to a state of exhaustion where the heart stops," said Alberta Justice spokesman David Dear.

"Alberta's Fatality Review Board will review this case to determine whether to recommend a fatality inquiry be held."

Trevor Grimolfson, 38, died Oct. 29 after police deployed a stun gun in an attempt to subdue him.

Before police brought him under control, Grimolfson had been rampaging through a west-end pawn shop near his tattoo shop and even attacked a man, witnesses said.

Multiple witnesses said police reacted appropriately when they used the weapon.

Dear said the cause of Grimolfson's death was brought on by drug use, but could not say which narcotics Grimolfson had taken before becoming erratic.

On the social networking site Facebook, some expressed skepticism about the autopsy's findings.

"It was announced today that Trevor died from excited delirium - a dubious condition at best and one that only ever shows up when Tasers are involved," writes Patti Gillman Nee Bagnell on a memorial page for Grimolfson. "It's meant to take the blame off of police and put it onto the victim.

"With current developments, I'm blown away by the Alberta government's use of that as a cause of death."

'Excited delirium' killed Tasered man

March 27, 2009
By Ben Gelinas, with files from Laura Drake
The Edmonton Journal

A crazed man brought down by a police Taser last October died from what the medical examiner calls excited delirium caused by drugs.

Trevor Grimolfson, 38, was hit twice by the Taser after he attacked a man who came into his Stony Plain Road tattoo parlour and then smashed up a nearby pawnshop. Witnesses said Grimolfson was combative, violent and couldn't be calmed. After he was hit with the Taser, police handcuffed him. He soon lost consciousness and was declared dead in hospital.

"The cause of death was excited delirium brought on by drugs he'd taken," Alberta Justice spokesman David Dear said.

No further details on the ruling were released.

A representative from the medical examiner's office could not be reached for comment.

Asked about excited delirium, Michael Webster, a police psychologist who gave testimony at the inquiry into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport, said that "it's a fantasy.

"Police and medical examiners have taken something that was initially descriptive and have made it into something prescriptive. And that's where the controversy comes from, because it's just not a diagnosis, nor is it a cause of death."

Webster said the vast majority of physicians, psychologists and psychiatrists do not recognize that excited delirium exists.

"I would challenge your medical examiner to show me excited delirium in that corpse."

It is Webster's opinion that the continuing diagnosis of excited delirium as a legitimate cause of death further drives a wedge between law enforcement and the majority of the medical community.

Alberta's chief medical examiner has been outspoken in his belief that excited delirium is a legitimate condition. Someone in the state could die without being touched or even when alone. It seems to have nothing to do with the method of restraint, Dr. Graeme Dowling told the Canadian National Committee for Police in November.

"They may die in spite of what we do."

Dowling said that it wouldn't be uncommon to need six to eight police officers to restrain someone in an excited delirium, as it is characterized by abnormal strength.

Following Grimolfson's death, the use of a Taser promptly became the public focus.

The medical examiner's ruling "once again shows that when these arrest-related deaths occur, jumping to conclusions is the wrong way to go," Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle said. "We have seen this time and time again repeatedly, and it has sadly affected public opinion."

The Arizona company has been under intense public scrutiny in Canada since Dziekanski's death was captured on amateur video.

Tuttle said that incident ignited something that borders on hysteria in this country.

"We call it a crisis in Canada."

A fatality review board will determine whether a fatality inquiry will be recommended in Grimolfson's case.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team which looks into deaths involving police is still investigating.

Alberta Solicitor General spokesman Andy Weiler said no one from the response team will comment on the medical examiner's report until the investigation is complete.

"Excited delirium" strikes again

TODAY'S QUESTION, IN HONOUR OF TREVOR GRIMOLFSON (and because his family and friends DESERVE to know) IS:

How did we get from HERE:

From the Toronto Star
February 13, 2009
"...The RCMP has admitted that firing a Taser poses a risk of death" ... "have also dropped the term "excited delirium" - a phrase that had no medical foundation, and was criticized earlier by the Commons committee, the RCMP's public complaints commissioner, independent consultants and civil liberty groups."

To HERE just over a month later:

By THE CANADIAN PRESS
March 26, 2009

Edmonton man who died after Taser shock was killed by excited delirium: Report

Alberta Justice says a man who was Tasered by Edmonton police in October died from a condition called excited delirium — not from the effects of being hit by the electronic stun gun.

Trevor Grimolfson, 38, died on Oct. 29 after going on a rampage in a pawn shop.

The provincial medical examiner said the cause of death was excited delirium brought on by multiple drug toxicity.

Officers on the scene said Grimolfson could not be controlled after just one Taser use, so a second electronic jolt was needed.

More than 25 people have died in Canada after being stunned by Tasers.

The U.S. company that makes the devices points out that they have never been directly proven to have caused a death in Canada.

The RCMP yesterday announced they'd loosened a restriction on multiple Taser shocks amid growing evidence that repeated stun gun jolts increase risk of death.

A new statistical analysis by Montreal biomedical engineer Pierre Savard suggests the chances of someone dying after being hit with a police Taser increase the more times they are stunned.

That research comes as a public inquiry examines the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who got five shocks from an RCMP Taser in October 2007 at the Vancouver airport. An amateur video of Dziekanski writhing on the floor was beamed around the world, sparking new questions about stun gun safety.

Savard carried out the study using a database of over 3,200 RCMP Taser incidents from 2002 to 2007 compiled by The Canadian Press and the CBC/Radio-Canada. He also looked at an Amnesty International study of Taser cases involving more than 300 deaths in the United States.

During the six-year period, nine people died in Canada after being Tasered by the RCMP. In at least seven of the nine deaths, accounts indicate the person was jolted multiple times.

And here it is again, from the Edmonton Journal:

Taser didn’t kill man who smashed pawnshop: medical examiner
By Journal Staff, edmontonjournal.com
March 26, 2009 5:01 PM

EDMONTON — Trevor Grimolfson did not die from the Taser strike he received from city police last October after he busted up a Stony Plain Road pawnshop, according to the medical examiner's office. "The cause of death was excited delirium brought on by drugs he'd taken," said Alberta Justice spokesman David Dear. Grimolfson, 38, was Tasered twice by Edmonton police after he attacked a man at his tattoo parlour and went on to smash windows and destroy a nearby pawnshop. He died shortly afterwards. A fatality review board will determine whether or not a fatality inquiry will be recommended. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is still investigating to determine whether or not the police officers involved will press criminal charges. Alberta Solicitor General spokesman Andy Weiler said no one from ASIRT will comment on the medical examiner's report until the investigation is complete.

Is Alberta Justice (like BC Justice) just having one big long nap until this nasty anti-taser business blows over?? Seems they haven't been keeping up with what's new in news ... they're not getting with the program.

Alberta sends tasers for testing

January 27, 2009
Melissa Dominelli, ctvedmonton.ca

Alberta has started testing older model Tasers used by Alberta police services before January 2006 to make sure they are not delivering shocks that are too powerful.

The units will be tested by an engineering firm, MPB, in Ontario.

Solicitor General, Fred Lindsey said about 100 Tasers have been sent to Ontario, where a testing protocol has been developed.

The decision comes after initial testing, not done by the province, found that some of the older model Tasers in Alberta were producing voltage levels higher than the 50,000 volt shock they're designed for.

"If we have any instrument that's used in law enforcement that's not meeting the manufacturer's specifications, we want to make sure that we test it and ensure that it is and if it isn't, we will take it out of service," said Lindsey.

Lindsey hopes to have all 400 of the older Tasers, known as x-26 models, tested by the end of March and eventually he said testing of all Tasers will be done on a regular basis using facilities in Alberta.

Some critics of Taser usage think the Taser testing a step in the right direction, but say it doesn't go far enough.

Back in October, Trevor Grimolfson was Tasered by police, after he allegedly went on a rampage, breaking objects and attacking people in a city pawn shop.

Grimolfson later died and his close friend, who asked not to be identified, can't help but wonder if the Taser played a role in his death.

"I would rather not see a Taser on any police officer at all," he said.

While the first tests are underway, the solicitor general said all of the province's Tasers will remain in service.

The Edmonton Police Association is happy to hear that other Tasers won't be pulled from service while testing begins.

"It would be irresponsible to take them out of services because they do a lot of good as an intermediate weapon and it stops us from using lethal force," said Tony Simon with Edmonton Police.

And while Trevor Grimolfson's friend is glad the province is taking a second look at Tasers, he wishes it had been done sooner.

"Why couldn't they be testing these Tasers every two months before they go out into the street?"

Effective immediately, any Taser used in an arrest where the suspect is injured will automatically be pulled from service and tested.

Edmonton taser testing much more extensive

December 13, 2008
By RICHARD LIEBRECHT, Edmonton Sun

City cops set to have 161 stun guns checked

Edmonton police admitted yesterday that they grossly underestimated the number of pre-2006 Tasers they need to test. Earlier this week, an EPS spokesman told Sun Media that the force would have to conduct special tests on 33 Tasers. However, the results of a full inventory showed that there are actually 161 Tasers that need to be tested.

The number quoted Wednesday referred to devices bought before 2005, but Alberta's Solicitor General has called for all Taser X26 models dating back to Jan. 1, 2006, to be tested to see if they are working properly.

The move follows a CBC report that showed some X26 Tasers were producing higher, and therefore more dangerous, currents than deemed possible by Taser International Inc., the manufacturer of the devices.

Police Chief Mike Boyd said that the EPS will continue to use Tasers, and yesterday police said in a statement they are satisfied with the training of officers using Tasers. They further said that of the four Taser-related fatalities in Edmonton, only one incident - the death of Trevor Grimolfson - involved pre-2006 Tasers.

DIED OCT. 29

Grimolfson, the 38-year-old owner of a tattoo shop, died Oct. 29, after police jolted him in an attempt to end a violent rampage near 153 Street and Stony Plain Road.

Also yesterday, a spokesman for Amnesty International in Edmonton says older Tasers should all be tested to make sure that they're not giving higher jolts of electricity than the manufacturer specifies. Erica Bullwinkle says her group is calling for a public inquiry into the safety of stun guns.

Meanwhile, one of the latest citizens to get zapped with a Taser has been identified. Glenn Justin Ironchild, 28, was charged with possession of stolen property under $5,000, criminal flight from police, possession of an offensive weapon dangerous to the public and two breaches of probation. He was zapped Thursday night after he held a knife to his neck while he was pulled over near 153 Avenue and Castle Downs Road for allegedly driving drunk. Cops also allege the vehicle was stolen. Charges are pending in relation to suspected impaired driving.

EDITORIAL: Time to zap the Taser

November 10, 2008
The Province

Canada all but abolished the death penalty in 1976. It still exists for special cases in the military, though it is never used.

The last legal execution in this country was 1962 in Toronto's Don Jail, when two men, shall we say, dropped into history. Between 1867 and 1962, 710 people were executed in Canada.

It is a point of pride for millions of Canadians that we no longer hang our citizens.

Well, if you are one of those millions of Canadians, feel some shame that we continue to allow our police forces to Taser citizens to death.

Worse still, when we had executions, a prisoner could only be hanged for murder, rape or treason. Today, we let the police Taser people to death for mental illness, drug addiction or making a fuss at an airport.

Since 2001, Canadian police officers have killed at least 20 people with Tasers. That number could be as high as 25.

The poster corpse for Tasering gone wrong is Robert Dziekanski, 40, who died more than a year ago at Vancouver International Airport.

The world has watched the video of four RCMP officers casually approaching the frustrated man, then Tasering him to his eventual demise.

Let's look at some other lesser-known victims:

- Jason Dean, 28, in Red Deer, Alta., while running from police in August 2006;

- Roman Andreichikov, 25, high on cocaine and being restrained by Vancouver police in May 2004.

- Perry Ronald, 28, while being restrained by Edmonton police after jumping from a window in March 2004;

- Clark Whitehouse, 34, while running from the Whitehorse RCMP after being stopped in traffic in September 2003.

It is likely police had no cause to shoot any of these alleged criminals with a gun, yet they had the legal cause to blast 50,000 volts of electricity into them.

Sadly, the results would have been the same had they shot them in the head.

Death without trial.

On May 23, 2007, Amnesty International completed the report Canada: Inappropriate and Excessive Use of Tasers.

Here is the opening two sentences of that report:

"Children continue to be the victims of abusive use of Tasers by Canadian police officers. There have also been a disturbing number of cases where police officers have used Tasers inappropriately when there was no serious risk either to themselves or others present."

Just last week, Tasers were involved in two Alberta deaths:

- Gordon Walker Bowe, 30, was Tasered when police were called to investigate a suspicious person and a break-in;

- Four days earlier in Edmonton, Trevor Grimolfson, 38, died after police twice used a Taser following a struggle near a city pawnshop.

In light of these two deaths, Alberta Solicitor-General Fred Lindsay said he doesn't see any need to revisit the Taser guidelines.

Well, we disagree.

We don't think there should be any guidelines because we don't think the police should be allowed to use Tasers.

A death count of 20 to 25 as a result of Tasers is more than enough tragedy to call for a ban.

These people did not murder, rape or commit treason, yet they ended up in the same place as those two men in the Don Jail in 1962.

As the world saw in the Robert Dziekanski video, Tasering isn't police work. It's too easy. It's certainly a lot easier on the conscience than pulling out a gun and shooting the suspect.

But sadly, too often, the result is the same.