Taser International offers Winnipeg police help

July 23, 2008
CHRIS KITCHING, SUN MEDIA
Winnipeg Sun

Says ready to assist in investigation

TASER International says it is prepared to help Winnipeg police with their investigation if asked and is standing by its products. The Scottsdale, Ariz.,-based company made the comments today in a statement released to the Winnipeg Sun but would not comment about yesterday's Taser-related death in Winnipeg.

Sources said the male was pronounced dead in hospital after he was Tasered for refusing to a drop a knife during a confrontation with city police officers in an alley in the 800 block of William Avenue.

"Until all the facts surrounding this tragic incident are known, it is inappropriate to jump to conclusions on the cause of death," TASER International stated in its release.

"Athough no use of force device is risk free, including TASER technology, medical experts and recent independent comprehensive reports from the governments of Canada, United Kingdom and the U.S. have concluded that TASER systems are among the safer use-of-force alternatives to subdue violent individuals who pose a safety risk to an officer, suspect or innocent citizens," the company stated.

TASER International has sold more than 345,000 of its devices to 12,700 law enforcement and U.S. military agencies in more than 44 countries. More than 4,500 agencies are at full deployment, meaning every single patrol officer is carrying a Taser.

TASER International says there have been more than 1 million uses of its products, including an estimated 547,000 actual suspects and an estimated 681,000 volunteers in either training or medical and safety studies.

Winnipeg police confirm taser victim had knife, believed involved in theft

July 23, 2008
The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG — Winnipeg police say it was a youth who died after being shot with a Taser while he was brandishing a knife at officers. Const. Jacqueline Chaput says the 17-year-old refused to comply with repeated requests by the officers to put the knife down and as a result was shot with an electronic stun gun.

She says the victim was believed to be involved in the theft of property from a vehicle and was followed by two citizens who flagged down police.

The teen was taken in critical condition to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Chaput says it is the first time there has been a Taser death involving a member of the Winnipeg Police Service.

Autopsy results are pending and the investigation continues.

Boy, 17, died in taser incident

July 23, 2008
CHRIS KITCHING, SUN MEDIA
Winnipeg Sun

The person who died in a Taser-related incident in Winnipeg's inner-city was a 17-year-old boy who police said stole something from a vehicle moments earlier.

It's still not known what killed the unidentified boy. An autopsy is being performed today to determine the cause of death.

It's the first such fatality in Winnipeg.

Police said two people who watched the theft, which happened in the 1100 block of Notre Dame Avenue, followed the boy up Arlington Street to William Avenue, where they flagged down a passing police car.

The officers approached the boy, who police said was armed with a knife, in the alley behind the 800 block of William Avenue, next to the national microbiology lab.

Police said the boy refused the officers' demands to drop the knife, so one of the officers fired his Taser. Police would not say where the probes struck the boy or if he was zapped more than once.

The boy fell to the ground and was unresponsive, so the officers requested paramedics and tried to revive him. The boy was taken by ambulance to Health Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead shortly after the 4 p.m. incident.

The officers, members of general patrol in downtown Division 11, are on administrative leave.

Police said the homicide unit is investigating, which is standard protocol in an officer-involved shooting or fatality. Once complete, their investigation will be given to an outside police agency for review and then to Manitoba Justice.

A provincial inquest is mandatory in these cases and will be held at some point in the future, a justice official said.

Police use the X26 Taser model.

At this point, the city, province and police service are awaiting the outcome of the police investigation before determining whether reviews of police Taser-use in Winnipeg and Manitoba are necessary.

The head of a city hall committee overseeing police matters says his confidence in Tasers has not wavered in the wake of yesterday's incident.

Coun. Gord Steeves, chair of the protection and community services committee, said Tasers remain a valuable tool for city police officers and alternative to firearms in volatile situations.

"We only hope that at the end of the day it comes out that our people followed protocol and did what was reasonable in the circumstances, and this comes out to be a tragedy but an accidental tragedy," Steeves said today.

Following a Taser-related death at Vancouver's airport last fall, city hall's protection committee had the police service review its Taser policy. The report was released in March and found nothing abnormal or alarming about Taser use or the policy.

Steeves said Taser use by Winnipeg police is consistent with police in other major cities in Canada.

City police deployed their Tasers 173 times last year and, as of June 25, 63 times in 2008.

It's believed there has never been a substantiated allegation of misuse or abuse of force.

Editorial: Dziekanski death more than taser issue

July 23, 2008
Editorial: 100 Mile Nouse Free Press

Death is a private matter.

A person’s last moments are their most personal - time to say goodbye, to make amends and to savour the life flashing before dimming eyes.

Modern media has made what should be reserved for family and loved ones a public event.

Death speaks loudly.

If people need to make a statement, or shock others to action, then showing the reality of human demise is the way to go.

Watching someone die on TV or the Internet can be like looking into a possible future. People ask themselves: could that be how it will end for me?

To stress an issue, to prove a point or to get some answers, broadcast death - it is the ultimate emphasis. One only needs to look at Robert Dziekanski, the Polish immigrant who was tasered at YVR, to see how death can turn incidents into atrocities.

Before the video came out, the public thought of it as just another Tasering incident.

The film showed otherwise, and the strangled last breaths of the dying man revealed even more.

People relate to death because it happens to everyone - to die is human.

But is viewing death humane?

Besides a few cases of extroverted suicides, living creatures don’t usually go somewhere public when they know they are about to die. A family pet will lay in a corner, a terminal patient will attempt to go home - as common as it is, death is still a mysterious thing.

But some living things do not get the dignity of a secluded death.

Dziekanski did not get that luxury.

Neither did Eugene Armstrong, an American whose decapitation was posted on the Internet.

It is hard to choose between respect for the dead and knowledge for the living.

Death finds everyone - it just matters if there is a camera around when it does. With cameras posted everywhere from the street to cell phones, there’s a good chance someone will record your last breath.

Dziekanski has been laid to rest in his homeland; but the controversy surrounding his death lives on.

Winnipeg man dies after being tasered by police

July 22, 2008
JOE FRIESEN, Globe and Mail Update and The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG — A man is dead after being tasered by police in Winnipeg.

Police have confirmed that officers used a taser Tuesday on a man who was then taken to hospital and pronounced dead. A police source said the victim was a male in his 20s, but a name has not been released pending notification of next-of-kin.

Officers were responding to a call for help from a citizen in the 900 block of Arlington St, close to the national virology lab. Witnesses said they saw officers and paramedics pounding on the chest of a man who was lying motionless in an alley. They also administered electric shocks in an effort to revive him.

While CTV Winnipeg reported the man had been wielding a knife, police would not say whether the male who was killed was armed when he was confronted. "I'm not privy to the information surrounding that encounter, however it did result in the deployment of an electronic control device used by one of our officers against the male," said Winnipeg police spokeswoman Jacqueline Chaput. However, the initial confrontation was serious enough that more than five police cars were dispatched, she said.

Constable Chaput did not know how many times or where on his body the man was tasered. She said paramedics were called to the scene by police, who requested a “rush” be put on the ambulance. "The male was initially taken to hospital and there he did succumb to his injuries. At this point the investigation is continuing. Our homicide unit has been dispatched to attend and they will be investigating the matter as is protocol." Constable Chaput says it's the first time in Winnipeg that someone has died after being stunned with a taser. "It is yet to be determined by the investigation whether the electronic control device had a hand in the fatality," she said.

Constable Chaput says the homicide unit is investigating as is protocol in any officer-involved fatality. “It was our executive members' decision to continue with the use of electronic control devices despite some of the controversy that we've seen all over the country,” she said.

Amnesty International Canada renewed a call for a temporary taser moratorium last month after an Ontario man died in custody after being shocked by police. The human-rights group said an independent review of possible risks is needed.\

Calls for bans on the devices have also followed several high-profile deaths. A public inquiry is scheduled for this fall into the death of a Polish immigrant who died shortly after being tasered by RCMP officers at Vancouver's airport last year. Robert Dziekanski had been waiting at the airport for several hours for his mother, and RCMP were called after he became agitated. A video taken by a bystander set off a public outcry and resulted in several inquiries into taser use by police.

The national police force pledged to restrict taser use and give officers clearer direction on how and when to use the weapons following a scathing report by RCMP Public Complaints Commissioner Paul Kennedy.

Earlier this month, Nova Scotia's government issued new restrictions aimed at ensuring stun guns are used appropriately. An earlier study done for the province found officers had become increasingly reliant on the devices.

Ex-cop may be charged in case of man tasered to death

July 22, 2008
Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick, CNN

WINNFIELD, Louisiana (CNN) -- A police officer shocked a handcuffed Baron "Scooter" Pikes nine times with a Taser after arresting him on a cocaine charge.

He stopped twitching after seven, according to a coroner's report. Soon afterward, Pikes was dead.

Now the officer, since fired, could end up facing criminal charges in Pikes' January death after medical examiners ruled it a homicide.

Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner, told CNN the 21-year-old sawmill worker was jolted so many times by the 50,000-volt Taser that he might have been dead before the last two shocks were delivered.

Williams ruled Pikes' death a homicide in June after extensive study.

Winn Parish District Attorney Christopher Nevils said he will decide on any charges against the ex-officer, Scott Nugent, once a Louisiana State Police report on the case is complete.

"It's taken several months for this case to even be properly addressed, so one has to wonder, why did it take so long?" said Carol Powell Lexing, a lawyer for the Pikes family. "Obviously, a wrongful death occurred."

Nugent's lawyer, Phillip Terrell, said his client followed proper procedure to subdue a man who outweighed him by 100 pounds. But Williams said Pikes was already handcuffed and on the ground when first hit with the Taser, after the 247-pound suspect was slow to follow police orders to get up.

Winnfield, a sleepy lumber town about 100 miles southeast of Shreveport, Louisiana, is best known as the birthplace of legendary Louisiana governors Huey and Earl Long. It's also about 45 miles northwest of Jena, Louisiana, where a racially charged assault case sparked a September 2007 demonstration by an estimated 15,000 people.

One of the teenage defendants in that case, Mychal Bell, is Pikes' first cousin -- and his lawyer was Powell Lexing.

Nugent is white; Pikes was black. His death led to demonstrations that drew several dozen people in Winnfield, where the population of about 15,000 is roughly half African-American.

"The family wants justice," Lexing said. "This is just another example of why it's very important to stay vigilant with these types of cases, on the injustice that's been perpetrated on the disadvantaged."

But Winnfield police Lt. Chuck Curry said race "isn't an issue at all" in the matter.

"This has come down to a police officer that was trying to apprehend a suspect that they had warrants for," he said. "He done what he thought he was trained to do to bring that subject into custody. At some point, something happened with his body that caused him to go into cardiac arrest or whatever." See how Tasers work »

According to police, Pikes was wanted on a charge of possession of cocaine when police tried to arrest him outside a shopping center January 12.

"He would not stop for the officer," Curry said. "At some point in there, he was Tased to bring him under control, and several hours later, died at the emergency room."

Terrell said Pikes was fighting Nugent "on uneven ground" amid obstructions such as concrete blocks and barbed wire.

"He's fighting, wrestling with an individual who weighs 100 pounds more than him," he said. "His partner had just come back to the police department from triple bypass surgery and could not assist Officer Nugent."

Terrell said his client "used every means possible" to take Pikes into custody before pulling out his Taser, a weapon Winnfield police purchased in 2007.

"The only thing he could have done other than to say, 'OK, we're going to let you go' is to beat him or Tase him. He did the right thing," Terrell said.

Williams, who ruled Pikes' death a homicide in June after extensive study, said Nugent fired his Taser at Pikes six times in less than three minutes -- shots recorded by a computer chip in the weapon's handle. Then officers put Pikes in the back of a cruiser and drove him to their police station -- where Nugent fired a seventh shot, directly against Pikes' chest.

"After he was given that drive stun to the chest, he was pulled out of the car onto the concrete, " Williams told CNN. "He was electroshocked two more times, which two officers noted that he had no neuromuscular response to those last two 50,000-volt electroshocks."

Williams said he had two nationally known forensic pathologists, including former New York city medical examiner Michael Baden, review the case before issuing his conclusions. He said it's possible Nugent was shocking a dead man the last two times he pulled the trigger.

"This fellow was talking in the back seat of the car prior to shot number seven," he said. "From that point on, it becomes questionable [if Pikes was still alive]."

Curry said Pikes told officers he suffered from asthma and had been using PCP and crack cocaine. But Williams said he found no sign of drug use in the autopsy, and no record of asthma in Pikes' medical history.

In the year since Winnfield police received Tasers, officers have used them 14 times, according to police records -- with 12 of the instances involving black suspects. Ten of the 14 incidents involved Nugent, who has no public disciplinary record.

Nugent was suspended after Pikes' death, and Winnfield's City Council voted 3-2 to fire him in May. He is appealing his dismissal, and his lawyer says he followed proper procedures in Pikes' case. He was trained in the use of the Taser by a senior police officer who was present during the incident that led to Pikes' death, Terrell said.

Curry said Taser International, the device's manufacturer, indicates that "multiple Tasings do not affect a person." But he said he could not explain why Pikes was shocked so many times, and said whether Nugent followed proper procedure was "yet to be determined."

But a copy of the Winnfield Police Department's Taser training manual, obtained by CNN, says the device "shall only be deployed in circumstances where it is deemed reasonably necessary to control a dangerous or violent subject." And Williams said regulations regarding the use of Tasers were not followed.

"It violated every aspect -- every single aspect -- of the department's policy about its use," the coroner said.

Winnfield has seen a spate of high-profile corruption cases in recent years. One of Nevils' predecessors as district attorney, Terry Reeves, killed himself amid allegations of embezzlement and extortion. The town's current police chief, Johnny Ray Carpenter, is a convicted drug offender who received a pardon from former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards who himself is now serving a federal prison term for racketeering.

And Carpenter's predecessor, Gleason Nugent -- the father of Pikes' arresting officer -- committed suicide in 2005, after allegations of fraud and vote buying in the race for police chief, an elected position in Winnfield.

Now Nevils is awaiting the state police report on Pikes' death, which will be presented to a grand jury for possible charges against Nugent -- a possibility Curry said would be a blow to the department.

"It's one of these no-win situations," he said. "No matter the outcome, nobody's going to win in this case."

RCMP actions in taser case 'appalling'

July 22, 2008
Ted Chernecki, Canwest News Service

GLIWICE, Poland -- A woman interviewed by RCMP officers investigating the death of Robert Dziekanski described her experience as an "ordeal."

RCMP investigators went to Poland in April to talk to people close to Dziekanski. The trip to Gliwice was planned soon after Dziekanski, who was immigrating to Canada, died after RCMP shocked him with a Taser at Vancouver International Airport last October.

Ivona Kosowska said the questions the team was asking about Dziekanski struck her as odd.

"What kind of person was he? Was he a drinker, drug user? Was he aggressive?" said Kosowska through a translator. "Most questions were to expose him as not a nice human being -- not to find out what kind of person he really was."

Dziekanski was Tasered early on Oct. 14, 2007, after he began behaving erratically in a secure area of the airport, pacing and throwing items against a glass wall.

By then, he had been at the airport for about 10 hours waiting for his mother, Zofia Cisowski of Kamloops, to pick him up. She was waiting for him outside the international arrivals section, but they never connected despite her requests to airport officials to find him.

His death, captured on video, created international headlines. The police probe concluded in June. To date, no charges have been laid.

Kosowska said two RCMP officers questioned her for more than three hours at the city prosecutor's office. She was exhausted by the end of the interview, which left her with a very low opinion of the RCMP.

"I told them exactly how I felt that after a three-hour interrogation in front of a camera . . . I have very negative feelings toward the Canadian police," she said. "I'm appalled by everything . . . including the fact the policeman was not able to look me straight in the eye."

Ujjal Dosanjh, the federal Liberal critic for public safety, has been highly critical of the RCMP's handling of the Dziekanski case -- from the day the Polish man died at the airport to recent internal e-mails suggesting senior staff offered their support to the four officers involved in the Tasering. He said reports of the interviews in Poland only added to his suspicions.

"This raises very alarming questions about the modus operandi of the RCMP," said Dosanjh. "They're supposed to be protecting people, and they go there [to Poland], spend taxpayers' money, to undermine the criticism that's been levelled at them. It doesn't make sense to me."

Repeated calls to the RCMP in Ottawa late yesterday were not returned.

Polish town remembers man who died in taser incident at Canadian airport

July 19, 2008
The Canadian Press

WARSAW, Poland — Residents of a small Polish town gathered on Saturday to remember the 42-year-old townsman who died last year at a Canadian airport shortly after being hit with stunned with Taser guns by police.

A memorial Mass for Robert Dziekanski was held in a Roman Catholic church in Pieszyce, a small town in southwestern Poland.

An urn holding half of his remains was to be buried in the family grave at the town cemetery. Another urn remained in Kamloops, British Columbia, where his mother lives.

Dziekanski died last October at Vancouver International Airport, where he arrived after taking his first-ever flight to visit his mother, Zofia Cisowski, who lives in Canada. Cisowski also attended Saturday's service.

Dziekanski, who spoke only Polish, began acting erratically at the airport when he could not find his mother. He was pronounced dead shortly after being struck twice with Tasers by RCMP officers.

His death brought international attention and intense scrutiny of police use of Tasers.

Taser death ignites racial tensions

July 19, 2008
By Howard Witt, Chicago Tribune

WINNFIELD, La. — At 1:28 p.m. last Jan. 17, Baron "Scooter" Pikes was a healthy 21-year-old man. By 2:07 p.m., he was dead.

What happened in the 39 minutes in between — during which Pikes was handcuffed by local police and shocked nine times with a Taser, while reportedly pleading for mercy —is now spawning fears of a political coverup in this backwoods Louisiana lumber town infamous for backroom dealings.

Even more ominously, because Pikes was black and the officer who repeatedly Tasered him is white, racial tensions over the case are mounting in a place that's just 40 miles from Jena, La.---site of the racially explosive prosecution of six black teenagers charged with beating a white youth that last year triggered one of the largest American civil rights demonstrations in decades. And in a bizarre coincidence, Pikes turns out to have been a first cousin of Mychal Bell, the lead defendant in the Jena 6 case.

No novelist could have invented Winnfield, a place so steeped in corruption that they built a local museum to try to sanitize it all.

Here in the birthplace of two of Louisiana's most colorful and notorious governors — Huey and Earl Long—the police chief committed suicide three years ago after losing a close election marred by allegations of fraud and vote-buying.

Four months later, the district attorney killed himself after allegedly skimming $200,000 from his office budget and extorting payments from criminal defendants to make their cases go away.

The current police chief is a convicted drug offender who got a pardon from Edwin Edwards, the former Louisiana governor who is serving time in federal prison for corruption convictions.

All of that tangled history is now wrapped up in the Pikes case, because Scott Nugent, the officer who Tasered him, is the well-connected son of the former police chief who killed himself—and the protege of the current chief, who hired him onto the force.

"A lot happens in this town, and it just gets swept under the rug," said Kayshon Collins, Pikes' stepmother, who has participated in several local protests over the case. "What the police did to Scooter just isn't right. They would never have Tasered a white kid like that."

The official police version of what happened to Pikes on that brisk January afternoon reads like a sad but familiar story in Winnfield's local newspaper.

Nugent spotted Pikes walking along the street and attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for drug possession, according to Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter. Pikes took off running, but another officer cornered him outside a nearby grocery store. Pikes resisted arrest and Nugent subdued him with a shock from a Taser.

Then on the way to the police station, Carpenter told the newspaper, Pikes fell ill and told the officers he suffered from asthma and was high on crack cocaine and PCP. The officers called for an ambulance, but Pikes later died at the hospital.

Six months later, the Winnfield police are standing by that story. Meanwhile, the Louisiana State Police are investigating the case, and no charges have been filed against Nugent or two other Winnfield police officers who assisted him in arresting Pikes, although the City Council did decide to fire Nugent from the force in May.

Winn Parish District Atty. Chris Nevils says he expects to present the case to a grand jury after he receives the results of the state police investigation.

Evidence contradicts report
But there is already abundant evidence contradicting the official police version of the incident.

An autopsy determined there were no drugs in Pikes' system and that he did not have asthma, according to Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner.

Moreover, Pikes did not resist arrest, and he was handcuffed while lying on the ground, according to Nugent's police report of the incident. It was only after Pikes refused Nugent's command to stand up that the officer applied the first Taser shock in the middle of his back, Nugent wrote.

Several more Taser shocks followed quickly, Nugent stated, because Pikes kept falling down and refusing to get back up. Grocery shoppers who witnessed the incident later told Pikes' family that he had pleaded with Nugent: "Please, you all got me. Please don't Tase me again."

Williams said police records showed Nugent administered nine Taser shocks to Pikes over a 14-minute period. The last two jolts, delivered as police pulled Pikes from a patrol car at the police station, elicited no reaction because the suspect was unconscious, Williams said.

After consulting about the case with Dr. Michael Baden, a nationally prominent forensic pathologist, Williams ruled last month that Pikes' death was a homicide. On the death certificate, he listed the cause of death as "cardiac arrest following nine 50,000-volt electroshock applications from a conductive electrical weapon."

"God did not just call this young man home," said Williams, who has served as parish coroner for the past 33 years. "If somebody can tell me anything else that killed this otherwise perfectly healthy young man ... I'd like to know it."

Williams is no stranger to controversy in Winnfield. Back in 2004, his garage was firebombed, and he says he's been shot at 19 times by people upset with the independence of his investigations. He wears a gun holstered at his waist.

"This case may be the most unnecessary death I have ever had to investigate," Williams said. "[Pikes] put up no fuss, no fighting, no physical aggression. ... He just didn't respond quickly enough to the officer's commands."

Nugent, 21, declined to be interviewed for this story. But his attorney, Phillip Terrell, said that Nugent acted according to his training—an opinion seconded by police spokesman Lt. Charles Curry.

Taser safety guidelines
Yet the official Winnfield Police Department Taser policy appears to prohibit the weapon's use against a non-violent, handcuffed suspect.

"The Taser shall only be deployed in circumstances where it is deemed reasonably necessary to control a dangerous or violent subject," the policy states. It also requires that a suspect who has been Tasered should immediately be checked out at a hospital.

What's more, safety guidelines issued by Taser International Inc., the manufacturer of the device that is now used by more than 12,700 law-enforcement and military agencies worldwide, warn officers to "minimize repeated, continuous, and/or simultaneous exposures."

Company officials, citing dozens of medical studies, insist Tasers are safe when used properly. But few of those studies examined the effect of multiple Taser applications over a short period of time. The U.S. Department of Justice, in a study released in June, concluded that "the medical risks of repeated or continuous [Taser] exposure are unknown."

In less than two years on Winnfield's 20-officer police force, police records show, Nugent ranked as the department's most aggressive Taser user. Among the recipients were a 15-year-old African-American runaway who was not charged with any crime and Pikes' father, currently serving a prison sentence for a drug offense, who was Tasered by Nugent last year, according to Kayshon Collins.

Coroner rules on man's death after police chase

July 19, 2008
Carol Robinson, Birmingham News

A man who died last month after being subdued with a Taser by Birmingham police died from heart complications, the Jefferson County Coroner's office has ruled. The fact that 43-year-old Willie Maye fled police, fought with them, and was subsequently subdued with spray and a stun gun, contributed to his death, according to a report released by the cororner today. The Jefferson County Coroner's office classified the manner of Maye's death as a homicide.

"He had a bad heart, but the adrenalin from fleeing from the police first, the scuffle, the bruises he sustained, the physical exertion, the Taser and the Mace -- all the ingredients together resulted in his death," said chief Deputy Coroner Pat Curry.

Editorial: tragic lesson on tasers

July 19, 2008
Editorial
News-Record, Greensboro, North Carolina

http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/07/18/article/tragic_lesson_on_tasers

"One young life = one five-day vacation"

That's how one blogger [YOURS TRULY!!] described the punishment meted out to Jerry Dawson, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer involved in the Taser-related death of a teenage grocery store worker on March 20.

Darryl Turner, 17, died after being Tasered twice by Dawson. One Taser discharge Dawson gave Turner lasted 37 seconds. A standard discharge lasts about five. An autopsy determined that Turner died from heart irregularities.

A police department review commission determined that using force to subdue the unruly clerk was appropriate, but the amount of force used wasn't. The CMPD banned lengthy Taser discharges in 2005, after studies pointed out their problems.

Dawson was suspended for five days without pay and has been ordered to receive more Taser training - a punishment that is little more than a wrist slap. Letting police review boards determine disciplinary action for officers is problematic. At the least, it causes the public to question the fairness of such procedures.

The Dawson case also highlights the need for all law-enforcement agencies to ensure that their officers are well-trained in using Tasers before they begin carrying them.

Tasers are a good tool for law enforcement. They enable the police to subdue people without the use of deadly force and, when used correctly, they are a more humane alternative to such things as nightsticks or pepper spray.

A Taser's effects usually end when the discharge ends. When used as intended, in a short, five-second discharge, few, if any, problems result. Complications arise, as a study by the National Institute of Justice says, through the devices' "continuous or repeated discharge."

Research has found that prolonged Taser use can cause heart and respiratory problems. In one study, researchers used Tasers on 11 pigs for 40 seconds each: Two of the pigs died and the survivors were left with heart irregularities.

With High Point officers beginning to use Tasers next month, most Guilford law-enforcement agencies will be using these devices. The agencies' Taser training needs to include information on times when Taser use went bad.

Officers need to learn about the Florida man who died after being Tasered 12 times and the South Carolina man who died after being Tasered for two minutes and 49 seconds. They need to learn about 17-year-old Darryl Turner, killed at his grocery store job after being Tasered twice for 42 seconds. Arming officers with the facts should mean fewer such tragedies.

Florida teens charged in stun-gun attack and rape

July 18, 2008
The Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — A 13- and 15-year-old were arrested after they broke into a woman's home, jolted her with a stun gun and raped her while her baby was sleeping nearby, police said Thursday.

The teens confessed and were charged with armed sexual battery, armed burglary, kidnapping, and armed robbery, Miami Police said.

Police said the 21-year-old woman heard a knock on her front door on May 23, but ignored it. She later noticed the door was ajar and when she turned, she was hit in the back with a Taser. The teens took her into one of the bedrooms, covered her face with a shirt, and raped her, police said.

The victim begged for her life and the life of her child who was in a nearby bedroom. The infant was not harmed, according to a statement from police.

The home was also ransacked and cash and other items were stolen.

The Associated Press is not naming the suspects because of their age. The State Attorney's Office has not yet determined whether they will be charged as adults.

Another suspect was involved in the crime, but detectives have not charged him, police said.

Questions raised about RCMP support of officers who used taser on Dziekanski

July 17, 2008
CBC News, with files from Kurt Petrovich

Documents obtained by CBC News cast doubt on the RCMP's sincerity to get to the bottom of the Taser-related death of Robert Dziekanski, a case that ignited international debate and put the force under intense scrutiny.

From the day the Polish immigrant died at the Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14, minutes after RCMP officers zapped him with a stun gun, RCMP e-mail exchanges obtained by access to information suggest the force moved quickly to create a strategy.

The strategy involved all answers being vetted in Ottawa, including ones described by RCMP Commissioner William Elliott as "tough or dirty questions" from the media.

But the e-mail exchanges between the RCMP in British Columbia and headquarters in Ottawa also have critics raising questions about whether the force acted appropriately behind the scenes. In one e-mail the day after the video was released, making international headlines, Elliott tells the RCMP senior officer in B.C. that he called the four officers involved in the Taser incident. He doesn't say what he told the men, but a response from Gary Bass, the RCMP deputy commissioner for the Pacific region, indicated the commissioner's calls were a "big hit" around the Richmond detachment where the officers work.

Also, after the B.C. government called a public inquiry, Bass bumped into Premier Gordon Campbell at the airport and later wrote that the premier expressed support for the officers in the chance encounter. According to Bass's e-mail, Campbell supported the continued use of Tasers and offered reassurances that the inquiry wouldn't be a negative attack on force.

Contacted on Wednesday, Campbell said his offer of support was out of compassion for the officers, not a signal that he sided with them. "I would be, you know, it would be nice to offer them personal support. It had nothing to do with whether we were getting to the bottom of the situation. That's why we were having the inquiry," Campbell said.

As for his support for Tasers, Campbell said if the inquiry recommends the weapons be abandoned, it's something his government will consider.

But the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and a lawyer representing Dziekanski's mother are calling the statements into question, saying they are a troubling indication that the RCMP's public vow for transparent accountability in the case are now in doubt.

Both said the premier's private comments and the RCMP commissioner's private calls to the officers under investigation were at the very least inappropriate.

'Ongoing support': RCMP commissioner

Police were called to help deal with Dziekanski after he apparently became agitated from spending 10 hours at the airport.

Dziekanski's death sparked a number of probes into the use of stun guns by police forces, including an inquiry called by the B.C. government, an internal investigation by the RCMP and an investigation by the RCMP public complaints commissioner.

The e-mails obtained by CBC suggest that a number of senior RCMP officers were worried about being crucified in the media but felt the four officers at the airport had acted properly.

The day after the release of a witness's video of the events immediately preceding Dziekanski's death, the commissioner of the RCMP called the four officers involved. Elliott sent an e-mail dated Dec. 4 to Gary Bass, the RCMP deputy commissioner for the Pacific region, assuring his "ongoing support" and discussing his phone calls to the officers. "I have just now placed calls to all four members. I spoke to three of the four," Elliott wrote in an e-mail to Bass. "I know this is tough on you and all our folks in E Division. Please be assured of my ongoing support," Elliott wrote.

Bass responded the next day, saying the commissioner's calls "were a big hit" and they were "the buzz" around the Richmond detachment where the four officers work. Parts of the e-mails were blacked out before they were given to the CBC.

Walter Kostecky, the Dziekanski family's lawyer, said Wednesday that given multiple investigations into the officers' actions, the commissioner should not have picked up the phone "if the purpose of that call was to reassure the members that as far as the commissioner was concerned, they were on safe ground."

Robert Holmes, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said Elliott's personal calls to the four RCMP officers were inappropriate. "I don't know how many other people in this country who were under investigation for the use of force that they applied in whatever the circumstance might be, get a phone call from the head of the RCMP, giving them a pat on the back," Holmes said Wednesday.

The RCMP did not respond to questions from CBC News on Wednesday about the e-mails.

B.C. 'complimentary' of police force: e-mail

Another e-mail written by Bass indicates that Campbell was "complimentary" of the police force despite the fact Dziekanski's death was still under investigation. The e-mail, dated Dec. 4, was addressed to Elliott and Bill Sweeney, an RCMP deputy commissioner and special adviser to the commissioner. "I just ran into our premier at the airport and we had a great 20-minute discussion on this issue generally.… He was highly complimentary of the force, disappointed over the degree of criticism and wants to support the members involved somehow," Bass wrote. "He [Campbell] asked me to think about what he could do in this regard.… He supports the continued use of Taser and any other tools which support and protect our members. He said the inquiry will not be a negative attack on the force but a focused examination of all the issues," Bass wrote.

The B.C. Taser inquiry, headed by retired B.C. Court of Appeal justice Thomas Braidwood, was called after Dziekanski's death. This first phase of the inquiry, which ended in May, focused on Taser use, as well as deaths and injuries associated with the weapon. Numerous medical experts expressed concerns about the risks, while police officers testified Tasers save lives. The second phase of the inquiry, which will begin in October, will focus on Dziekanski's death. Crown prosecutors have not made a decision about whether charges will be laid in the incident at the Vancouver airport.

Holmes said the premier's private comments are troubling because they are at odds with his public condolences to the Dziekanski family. "In the background we have him talking with someone inside the RCMP in a fashion that would suggest it's all a masquerade," Holmes said.

Kostecky said Campbell's conversation with Bass raises questions about his objectivity as the premier. "I would have serious questions about those comments in those circumstances," Kostecky said.

One young life = one five-day vacation

Darryl Turner - a BOY - UNARMED - only 17 years old forchristssake - TASERED FOR FORTY-TWO (42!!) SECONDS for the CRIME of walking toward a 15 year veteran of the Charlotte, North Carolina police force - drops dead BECAUSE OF THE TASER - officer found to be justified in using the taser - just should-a, would-a, could-a SHORTENED the zapfest a wee bit and maybe needs more training - officer gets a five-day vacation. Darryl Turner remains dead for all time.

July 16, 2008
wsoctv.com

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/16902404/detail.html

CMPD Officer Suspended After Probe Into taser Use That Killed Teen

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer that used a Taser on a north Charlotte teenager, leading to his death, has been suspended for five days.

Darryl Turner, 16, died in March after Officer Jerry Dawson used the Taser on him in the Food Lion grocery store on Prosperity Church Road. Turner’s autopsy report said the stress of the situation and the Taser caused his heart to stop.

The store manager had called police when Turner became disruptive. Surveillance tape shows Turner knocking over displays and yelling at the manager. Dawson fired the Taser when Turner turned away from the manager and began walking toward him. Dawson reported he told the teen to stop but he did not comply.

In a hearing Tuesday, the police department’s review board found Dawson was justified in his use of the Taser, but his prolonged use of the weapon was not.

Authorities said the officer held the trigger of the Taser continuously for about 37 seconds, during which Turner continued to walk, and grabbed a small rack and threw it across the floor before falling to the floor. Dawson shocked Turner a second time, for about five seconds, when he did not comply with commands to put his hands behind his back.

The district attorney decided earlier this month not to file any criminal charges against Dawson.

The department is now reviewing its policy concerning the use of Tasers. Dawson will also receive additional Taser training.

Dawson, 39, has been on the force for 15 years and is assigned to the University City Division.

Truck stops (in Amerika) to offer personal taser weapons

It's official - they're nuts down there. It's already been widely reported that citizens in the United States can buy "personal" taser weapons at Tupperware-type parties. They're sold by the manufacturer in a stunning array of designer colours and patterns. They even come equipped with mp3 players.

And now, truck stops in the US will offer personal taser weapons for sale to Joe Public. Even as police grapple with what to with citizens who would turn these personal protection devices upon each other. The only way these weapons could ever be considered personal protection devices is when *everyone* owns one. And the winner will be he who can zap the fastest. (Former Jeopardy contestants will have a definite edge.) I'm sure this is what Taser International intended - a taser for every man, woman and child in the madhouse known as the US of A.

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania police are investigating two cases where the victims were first Tasered by the suspect, then robbed.

Over in Manchester, New Hampshire, three teenagers have been charged in connection with a robbery in which another teenager said he was shot with a stun gun.

And down in Lubbock, Texas, investigators are working to identify the person that, on two different occasions, pulled a taser gun on his victim and tried to rape them.

Truck stops to offer personal taser weapons
July 16, 2008
By JON CHAVEZ, Ohio Blade

Very soon, truckers and motorists will be able to buy a jolter with their jolt of java at TravelCenters of America Inc. truck stops, 11 of which dot Ohio's roadways.

TravelCenters, based in Westlake, Ohio, said last week it had reached a deal with Taser International Inc. to begin selling Taser weapons at its truck stops starting this month.

A clerk at the TravelCenter truck stop in Stony Ridge, where I-280 connects to the Ohio Turnpike, said the gift shop there had not received any shipments of Taser stun weapons.

However, Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for Taser International, said the company began shipping the devices to TravelCenters the last week of June.

The pairing between Taser and a chain of truck stops is the first in which the defense technology company will sell its products in a retail setting other than sporting-goods stores or licensed firearms dealers.

"We were approached by them, but it fits with our vision of getting our products into more mainstream stores," Mr. Tuttle said.

"Anybody's that's traveling does have concerns about personal safety. For the trucker away from his family, he might want one or think that his wife could use that while he's gone, or his daughter at college could use one," Mr. Tuttle said. "So this was something that's a pretty good fit for us."

TravelCenters will sell the devices at its TA and Petro truck stops. Officials from TravelCenters did not return calls seeking comment.

Tasers shoot barbed probes that deliver an incapacitating electric current or can be used as contact stun devices. The C2 Taser model, designed for personal use, sells for about $300 without frills, or $350 for one with a laser sight that pinpoints where the barbs will go.

"They're nonlethal and they're really catching on," said Theresa Cleland, owner of Cleland's Outdoor World on Airport Highway.

"We only sell them with laser sights. That way, you know where it's going. Some come without lasers but I don't sell them because a miss with a Taser doesn't do you any good," she said.

Customers who buy Tasers at TravelCenters shouldn't expect to be able to use them immediately. Taser requires that buyers pass a $10 background check before giving them a code to activate the weapon.

"If it's misused, we have the ability to track that too," the company spokesman said. "It contains 20 to 30 pieces of tiny confetti that match back to that unit. If you use it, it's akin to leaving a business card that is tiny and discreet, but the police know what to look for."

Taser use-of-force details crucial to setting standards: experts

July 15, 2008
Neco Cockburn, Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA - An Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services working group that is reviewing Tasers has identified use-of-force reporting forms "as an issue," a spokesman said Tuesday.

The group's review is expected to be completed in the winter, said ministry spokesman Tony Brown.

According to some police procedure experts, details missing from the current provincially regulated forms - which are used for training purposes and to compile information about Taser use by police departments - are crucial to understanding when, how and why police officers use the controversial devices, which deliver a pulsating electrical current that overpowers a target's nervous system.

The province's use-of-force forms have not been updated since they were introduced in 1990 and lack mandatory spaces for details such as the number of times a person was Tasered or whether the device was deployed in probe mode or "push-stun" mode, when the device is pressed against the body as more of a pain compliance tool.

"The reports feed directly into policy making," said Michael Lyman, a criminal justice professor at Columbia College of Missouri.

"We want to know who specifically is using the weapon and how often and under what circumstances," said Mr. Lyman, who is not a member of the working group.

Donald Van Blaricom, a former police chief in Bellevue, Washington, said agencies have been tightening up policies to try to eliminate misuse of the Taser.

"Of course, if you're going to tighten up your policy, you have to have detailed information on what's being done," said Mr. Van Blaricom, adding that a computer chip contained in each Taser records details about its use.

"That should be downloaded on each one of these use-of-force reports," he said.

Mr. Van Blaricom, who is often retained as a police practices expert, said he once dealt with a case in which a police officer in Mississippi used a Taser in push-stun mode on a woman 18 times, but only reported using the device twice.

"The more detailed the reporting form is, the better it can be reviewed."

Meanwhile, Frank Addario, president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, which has called for a moratorium on the use of Tasers pending further study, characterized the device as "a contact weapon that has the potential to be deadly.

"Therefore, the circumstances under which it is being used and the justification for its use as opposed to some other manner of controlling the threat needs to be set out and there need to be standards," he said Tuesday.

Last month, the Citizen received 115 Taser-related use-of-force reports from Ottawa police under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The reports show that more than half the people involved in such incidents in the city are suicidal, mentally ill or emotionally disturbed.

Lorne Zon, chief executive officer of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario, said Tuesday that the findings highlight the need for police forces to have training in responding to mental health situations and knowledge of crisis teams that can be available when a mental health issue is identified.

Mr. Zon also said that "more uniform collection of information and public reporting of the findings" would help set standards and help the public and police to assess Taser use.

Since October, Ottawa police have used an extra form to capture additional details regarding Taser use, such as how many times it was deployed and under what circumstances. However, those forms are not provincially regulated.

Man tasered by police granted new trial

July 15, 2008
The Canadian Press/The Globe and Mail

A man who says he was pummelled by four RCMP officers and hit with a taser more than a dozen times is getting a new trial. Kevin Delong was convicted of assault and willful obstruction of a peace officer after a confrontation with police in May, 2002. Pictures after his arrest show Mr. Delong with two black eyes, a bloodied nose, facial cuts and numerous burn marks from a police taser. Madam Justice Janice Dillon of B.C. Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for Mr. Delong, saying the lower court judge failed to address the conflicting evidence from police and photo evidence of Mr. Delong's beating.

Ontario has no mandatory section for police to explain stun-gun incidents

July 15, 2008
Neco Cockburn, The Ottawa Citizen

Several details about Taser use are missing from provincially regulated reports used to collect information about the use of force by police departments.

The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services' use-of-force forms have not changed since being introduced in 1990 and do not contain mandatory areas for officers to explain how and why a Taser was used.

According to staff at the ministry, which provided an e-mail response to a written question about oversight of Taser use, the forms are used for training and analysis purposes and can be used to compile information about the devices, which were introduced in the province after a pilot project in 2000.

However, many of 115 use-of-force reports involving Taser use by Ottawa police officers obtained by the Citizen under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act contain little information that helps to give context to each use of the device, which delivers a pulsating electrical current that overpowers the target's nervous system.

The reports, one of the few policing forms that remain on paper rather than being electronic, contain areas where officers can check off various descriptions of the circumstances surrounding an incident, such as location, weather conditions, weapon carried by subject, number of officers involved and distance between the officer and subject at the time the decision was made to use force.

They have not been updated to include Tasers among the use-of-force options. Instead, officers must write the device into a category marked "other" on the form.

An officer could indicate the number of times a person was Tasered or whether the device was used in probe mode or "push stun" mode, when the device is pressed against the body, in a section marked "narrative."

However, the narrative section is not required to be filled out if an occurrence report has been filed as part of the police investigation. And it can be difficult to track down the detailed occurrence report from a use-of-force report, which contains no personal information.

"If the province wanted to come in and look at any type of stats, we would be able to give them certain numbers," said Const. Greg Borger, use of force analyst with Ottawa police.

But if officials wanted to determine how many times a device was used and whether it was effective, for example, "they'd have to literally go and pull the hard copies and review and take a look at them," Const. Borger said.

Since many of the narrative sections are not required to be filled out -- and are not entered into a database -- officials would have to go back to the occurrence reports for contextual details and "that might be very difficult to do," said Const. Borger.

Some narratives on reports completed by Ottawa police contain only sparse descriptions such as "tactical team dealing with EDP (emotionally disturbed person)" or "male Tasered to effect arrest," without detailing or explaining the events that occurred leading up to the decision to use the device.

One of the biggest controversies Ottawa has seen over police use of the device happened in 2003, when Ottawa police and RCMP Tasered several Algerians during a sit-in at the immigration minister's office. Five threatened to sue, but no officers were disciplined.

At that protest, Ottawa police also used a Taser on Paul Smith, a self-described expert in civil disobedience, while struggling to get him into a cruiser. Mr. Smith, who was handcuffed at the time and had "gone limp," was Tasered twice in the leg by Const. Paulo Batista, who was cleared in an internal investigation, but later found guilty of misconduct by the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services.

Two use-of-force reports in 2003 refer to a protest; both involve the same number of subjects and ended at the same time. All that is written into the narrative on one report is that a "tactical unit attended protest to effect arrests. Twelve protesters arrested. Several were uncooperative. Officer used Taser to effect arrest."

The other report simply says, "extracting protesters from a room after they were asked to leave. Arrested for mischief."

Other narratives contain similarly sparse details:

? About five years ago, officers used a Taser three times when a man reportedly resisted arrest. The narrative only states that "patrol requested tactical unit attend and assist with the arrest of a subject who was resisting arrest -- Taser was used three times and was effective."

? In 2004, the tactical unit searched an apartment while executing a drug warrant. "One officer implemented the Taser on an uncooperative occupant resisting being handcuffed," is all the narrative states.

In an e-mail response to a question about oversight of the Taser in Ontario, ministry staff wrote that police services are not required to submit use-of-force reports to the ministry, but the minister can ask for a report at any time.

"It is in this manner that information on Tasers is compiled," the e-mail said.

The ministry also has a guideline that recommends Ontario police services review the reports for training purposes and analyse trends.

But it remains unclear how much useful information can be collected from the forms for oversight purposes. And a section of the form that includes details about the officer involved is destroyed within 30 days.

Among findings released in a report last month, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP urged the force to change its reporting forms to maintain better descriptions of the events that led to the use of the device and better means of analysing what is compiled.

The report found it was often difficult to determine the "situational context" of deployments based on information contained in RCMP reports.

"For oversight and analysis purposes, the narrative portion of (the reporting form) needs to be properly filled out and an effective way of analysing that data must be identified and implemented," the report said.

It recommended that reporting includes "clear and concise" descriptions of the deployment, including the circumstances of use, the subject's behaviour and how that may have changed over the course of interaction, as well as situational factors that led to the officer choosing the Taser over other options.

The report also touched in the necessity to keep better records of how the Taser is deployed.

It found that among RCMP officers, the device is more commonly used in push-stun mode than probe mode. Push-stun mode will generally cause muscular incapacitation and is considered to be a pain-compliance tool, the report said. When deployed in push-stun mode alone, the device was used twice or more in 40 per cent of cases, according to the report.

"Given the propensity for 'usage creep,' the RCMP must have a clearer means of monitoring this type of deployment."

In Ottawa, police contend they use the forms as directed by the ministry, saying they are analysed and maintained for training and statistical purposes. A use-of-force analyst looks at each report and may consult with the officer involved if details are lacking or if clarification is needed, or if additional training is determined to be necessary.

Police Chief Vern White said his department uses the information to ensure appropriate use of the tool, but not oversight.

"We're not trying to justify the use of OC (pepper) spray, baton or Tasers. That's not our goal, to try and justify it," said Chief White, who has also asked to receive an e-mail summary of each Taser incident after the force expanded its use in October to provide supervisors with the device. Previously, only the force's tactical team had used the devices.

"What we're trying to do is make sure that they used the appropriate tool when they had to," Chief White said.

Since his time with the force, the police chief said he has had "no concerns about the use of Tasers in this city."

Ottawa police have also started using an internal form to provide additional details regarding Taser use, such as the number of times the device was used on a person and how it was deployed, since the number of users was expanded. That form, however, is not regulated by the province.

There are no plans to change policies or procedures in Ontario following the RCMP report, but "the ministry, along with our police stakeholders, has begun a review of conducted energy weapons" that is expected to be completed in the winter, ministry staff said in an e-mail.

The ministry will consider the RCMP report's findings and recommendations, staff said.

Last August, the Citizen filed a request with Ottawa police for information regarding Taser use.

The use-of-force reports were only released last month. The force's freedom-of-information office said for months that it was too difficult to find the requested information.

Digby (Nova Scotia) protesters take aim at cops' 'racial profiling'

July 14, 2008
By BRIAN MEDEL, Nova Scotia News

DIGBY — Placard-carrying protesters sang civil rights songs during their five-minute march from Bethel Temple to Digby's RCMP detachment Monday where Rev. Michael Alden Fells stressed what he's said many times in the past week.

“We will no longer sit idly by and ignore injustices.” He said black youth across the province but particularly in Digby have been treated unfairly by police. “We've experienced racial profiling ... from the RCMP,” he said. “It becomes alarming when police can be in civilian clothing; when they can use the most degrading of racial slurs to bring humiliation and embarrassment to our youth. It's an alarming thing when the RCMP can come to the aid of the perpetrators and not the aid of the victims.”

William Drummond, 20, said someone in a parked van, now known to be owned by Halifax Regional Police, shouted out an offensive name as he and a friend, Nathaniel Fells, walked past during the early hours of June 22. A side door slid open and some men jumped out of the vehicle. One of them threw a punch, Mr. Drummond said. The man missed and Mr. Drummond punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Halifax Regional Police have confirmed that one of their off-duty members was hurt in Digby and had to be taken to the hospital during the early hours of June 22.

Mr. Drummond has not been charged with any offence.

Mr. Drummond said he was backing away from the group of angry, off-duty cops when he was jolted by Digby Mounties with a Taser.

RCMP are probing the incident.

Mr. Fells has asked for an independent investigation.

RCMP Cpl. Joe Taplin said RCMP major crime officers who have nothing to do with the Digby detachment are conducting the probe. That's what the RCMP consider an independent probe, he said.

California man dies

Deshoun Keyon Torrence, 18, Long Beach, California

... Authorities are still trying to determine how Deshoun Keyon Torrence of Lake Elsinore died ... The teen struggled with police and residents of the apartment complex but was alert and coherent when paramedics treated him at the scene for a laceration to the head, said Long Beach Police Cmdr. Laura Farinella ... Long Beach Fire Department Capt. Mike Duree said paramedics were dispatched at about 9:40 p.m. in response to reports of a man with lacerations on his hands. DuRee said Torrence was treated at the scene for injuries and remained in police custody ... But shortly after paramedics left, police discovered Torrence was not breathing in the back of the police car. Paramedics returned and determined him to be dead at the scene ... "It's always a concern when someone dies in our custody," the commander said. "There was no indication that in five minutes this kid was going to die. We're just as baffled and concerned as anybody as to why he died."

Residents at the 16-unit complex, including the manager, who lives on site and asked not to be identified, said police used a Taser on the suspect several times.

Editorial: Moratorium still needed

July 14, 2008
The Chronicle Herald - Halifax, Nova Scotia

LET’S consider what the ministerial review panel on police Taser use in Nova Scotia – which last week advised the government against a moratorium on the stun guns – says it didn’t know.

The review panel agreed the science on the health impact of the devices is "still evolving." They acknowledged not enough is known about the agitated mental and physical state known as excited delirium and its possible role in Taser-related deaths. Finally, they admitted they could not study just how Tasers have been used by police officers in Nova Scotia because no such database exists.

Because of that deficiency, "it was not possible for the panel to conclude whether or not overall CED (conducted energy device) use in Nova Scotia is appropriate," the final report stated. Nor was it possible to say what proportion of police use of Tasers was inappropriate.

Those are remarkable statements from a report that defends Tasers’ continued use.

Because the hodgepodge of training and policy associated with the Taser varies so much between police forces, the panel sensibly recommended a new provincial standard be implemented. Unfortunately, the panel said, such a standard should only be set after reviewing the usage data, which has yet to be collected. In the interim, the panel advised not a moratorium but a stricter threshold before Tasers are used – cases where police face "violent or aggressive resistance or active threat to the law enforcement officer, the subject or the public."

The problem, however, is that this solution gives the public little reason to be less worried about police Taser misuse right now. Police officials have already said the new rules are not that different from what’s now in place, yet the public has been horrified to see incidents, for example, in which a mentally ill individual – who later died – and a teenage girl in her own bedroom have been Tasered. Since the report acknowledges police officers have been trained unevenly (or inadequately, in situations involving excited delirium or mental health), why not holster the weapons until all the needed training and a proper standard usage policy are in place?

The panel’s otherwise sound advice – including establishing civilian oversight of Taser use and having experts monitor the latest research and technology – was wisely accepted by Justice Minister Cecil Clarke.

We still favour a moratorium on police use of Tasers until the devices can be more extensively studied and all officers properly trained. If not holstered, the public at the very least expects police to sharply curtail, if not eliminate, all incidents of inappropriate Taser use.

Texas man dies

July 14, 2008

Marion Wilson Jr., 52, Houston, Texas

... The officer caught up with the man and was struggling with him on the ground when another officer, R.P. Johnson, arrived and used his Taser to stun the suspect, who was described as weighing at least 250 pounds. "The suspect remained combative, rolling around on the ground," Cannon said. Johnson fired another Taser dart at the man and the struggle ended ...

Tallying tasers (in the nation's capital)

The Ottawa Citizen has uncovered a fatality from January 2007 that was never widely reported. The 25 year old man's name was James Barber (thanks Kate!). This brings to 22 the total number of deaths in Canada proximal to taser use.

July 13, 2008
Neco Cockburn, Ottawa Citizen

Reports show more than half of stun-gun incidents in Ottawa involve suicidal, disturbed individuals

OTTAWA - Ottawa police officers arrived at an apartment one night about five years ago to find a suicidal male with four steak knives embedded in his stomach. He did not follow their commands, so officers drew a gun, but used a Taser instead, and took him into custody within about 20 minutes.

The case is indicative of most incidents in which the city's police officers have used their Tasers over the past eight years. More than half the people Tasered by Ottawa police are suicidal, mentally ill or emotionally disturbed, reports obtained by the Citizen show.

Through a request made under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Citizen received use of force reports regarding 115 Taser-related incidents between Oct. 15, 2000, a few months after the Taser was introduced as part of a pilot project, and March of this year.

The reports are regulated by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services and are to be filled out and reviewed by the police service. They do not record personal information, such as the ages of people involved, and often provide only brief narrative descriptions of incidents, but they offer a glimpse into the nature of calls in which Ottawa police have relied on the devices.

The reports show:

. Although most incidents occurred in houses or apartments, at least three people were Tasered in hospitals and four others in police cellblocks. In 2003, a "combative drunk" male allegedly refused to get into his cell, struggled with an officer and grabbed the cell door and would not allow it to be closed. A Taser was used to "touch Tase" the male's hand, forcing him to let go of the door.

. The person involved in a Taser-related incident had a weapon - usually a knife or other edged weapon - in at least 44 cases. The presence of a weapon was "unknown" in at least 25 cases. In one incident, a person allegedly injecting cocaine refused to drop a needle and officers used pepper spray and a Taser. In another incident, a male armed with a Taser was found in a public bathroom and was Tasered by police after allegedly being unco-operative. One male told security guards that he had a gun and pointed a black object at police officers. The object was later found to be a phone.

. Several cases involved people who were allegedly actively resisting arrest or threatening and assaulting police officers or other people at a scene. In 2000, a male threatened to shoot a paramedic crew that arrived at an apartment. Last year, a "very aggressive, very large six-foot-four, 250-pound male" was "not interested in verbal communications" and threatened three officers at the scene with "I'm going to punch your f--king lights out."

. Sixty-five males and 13 females were involved in Taser incidents. Gender was not indicated in 37 reports.

The high-profile deaths of several people in Canada who had been Tasered have made the use of the device highly controversial. Some say the stun-guns should be banned pending futher investigation into their safety, while others argue they save lives.

After 35-year-old David Leclair of Aylmer was shot and killed by a Gatineau police officer at the end of last month, his family said a Taser could have prevented his death. Others say the device is too dangerous, and point to the death of Robert Dziekanski, who died in October after RCMP officers used the device on him at Vancouver International Airport.

Last month, the RCMP's watchdog agency issued a report probing the force's use of Tasers, and recommended that no officer with less than five years' experience be allowed to use the device. The RCMP public complaints commission also recommended that the force instruct its members to immediately seek medical attention for the target of a Taser and make changes to its reporting form in order to include more information.

Ottawa, the first municipality in Ontario to receive Tasers, has largely avoided controversy, and officers here use the device less than those in other Canadian police departments who provide Tasers to all front-line officers.

Until last fall, Tasers were used only by the Ottawa department's 32-member tactical team. But in October, front-line supervisors were issued the devices, which can subdue a person with a pulsating electrical current that overpowers the nervous system.

Since Tasers were introduced, the number of incidents involving Ottawa police has fluctuated between eight and 19 per year. Last year, there were 11 incidents.

In cities such as Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg, where front-line patrol officers are authorized to deploy Tasers, use of the device is considerably more frequent.

Police in Edmonton used Tasers 88 times between January and October of 2007.

Ottawa police, who believe the device is an important tool, say the use of force reports show the range of incidents that have led to Taser use.

"People who are under the influence of alcohol and drugs, emotionally disturbed and (have) mental illness don't respond to pain compliance," said Staff Sgt. Mike Maloney, the head of the force's tactical unit.

Other options, such as pepper spray and batons "are based on pain compliance, where the Taser does not use that. It disrupts the nervous system, which allows us to take somebody into custody," he said.

The use of force reports also indicate:

. The decision to use the Taser was usually made when the officer was within three metres of the subject. In at least 46 cases, the decision was made when the pair were less than two metres apart. Use of force reports do not require officers to specify the number of times a person was been Tasered and whether it was a "push stun," whereby the device is pressed against the body, or whether the device's probes were deployed. The probes are tipped with a short dart that has a small barb that hooks into the body.

. Tasers were deemed to be ineffective in at least nine cases. One male swung a fridge in the way of the probes, while another male fell back into his apartment and the probes were dislodged by the door. Another Taser was rendered useless when its target wore baggy clothes.

. Tasers are often used in addition to other use of force options, such as pointing handguns or pepper spray. Pepper spray was used during an arrest involving a Taser at least 10 times. Amnesty International has raised concerns about the use of pepper spray, which affects respiration, in combination with Tasering. In one case, officers responded to a half-dressed mentally unstable and violent male on a road who was allegedly actively resisting arrest. The officer who used the Taser saw that baton blows and pepper spray were ineffective, the report states. The Taser was used, but a probe dislodged when the male hit the ground. The male allegedly continued to fight and officers tried to use the Taser again in push stun mode, but it did not work. Pepper spray was again ineffective, so officers tackled the man from behind and he was eventually controlled.

. Almost all injuries reported following a Taser incident were deemed to be minor - often caused by the probes hooking a person's skin. One fatal case was recorded. In January 2007, a 25-year-old man stabbed himself in the eye on Merivale Road and was Tasered after he tried to injure himself again. The man later died in hospital and Ottawa police were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in his death by the province's Special Investigations Unit.**

Months and days of incidents were erased from reports given to the Citizen, making mid-year comparisons difficult. Still, the number of Taser cases does not appear destined for a large increase this year as a result of their expanded use.

Police reported that seven Taser incidents have occurred up to last month.

**On February 1, 2007, Chief Vince Bevan wrote a Letter of Commendation to the officers involved the night James Barber died:

Date Received: 01 February 2007

From: Chief Vince Bevan

OPS Members: Cst. Trevor Woods, Cst. Arun Daniels, Cst. Carlos Zapata, Cst. Steve Boucher

Excerpts from Letter:

On January 3, 2007, officers from West Division and Tactical were involved a dramatic and ultimately tragic incident involving Mr. James Barber. On the day in question Mr. Barber became involved in an altercation with another man while in a vehicle on Greenbank Road. Barber produced a knife and slashed the man, almost cutting off one of his fingers. The two ended up in a taxicab. At one point, on Merivale Road at Trenton Avenue, the taxi driver and the other man fled the cab leaving Barber in the rear seat with the knife. As attending officers surrounded the vehicle, Barber stabbed himself in the leg, and then drove the knife through his eyeball inflicting very serious injuries as a result. He was transported to hospital where he underwent surgery. Unfortunately, the injury was too severe and Mr. Barber passed away. I wish to commend Constables Trevor Woods, Arun Daniels and Carlos Zapata for their actions that day, including the textbook use of tactical communication in attempts to get Mr. Barber to drop the knife and surrender. They kept talking to the subject, and showed excellent restraint, despite the fact that Barber was armed and would not comply with commands to drop the weapon. I also want to commend Tactical Constable Steve Boucher who moved in, opened the door of the vehicle, and incapacitated Barber with a Taser gun. Barber was then subdued and transported to the hospital. All the officers involved acted with the utmost professionalism in a very demanding situation, making every reasonable effort to prevent Mr. Barber from harming himself and others. A letter from the Director of the Special Investigations Unit dated January 29th lauds the officers involved for their actions.

Interim taser "restrictions" in Nova Scotia (Canada)

Police in Nova Scotia must only use Tasers when they are threatened with violence or the public is put in danger, provincial Justice Minister Cecil Clarke said Thursday.

Nova Scotia is getting stricter about police Taser use, but the minister stopped short of a moratorium on stun guns.

Mr. Clarke released the second part of a ministerial review on Tasers on Thursday, saying he was restricting the use of the devices to "situations of violent or aggressive resistance or active threat" that could cause injury to police, the public or a suspect.

"I am instructing our law enforcement officials to continue to be prudent when they are making a judgment call about someone before using the conducted-energy device," the minister told a Province House news conference.

The review report, written by a seven-member advisory panel, said the provincial standard for Taser use by municipal police was "unacceptably vague" and said there were concerns about the device being used as a "compliance tool" on people who weren’t actively resisting.

Mr. Clarke said the restrictions will be in place until his department conducts a full policy review. Mr. Clarke said the province will hire a co-ordinator on use of force who will establish new standards for who should use the devices as well as how and when.

"I believe Nova Scotia is poised to be a world leader in the safe and prudent use of these devices," Mr. Clarke said.

Robert Purcell, executive director of the Justice Department’s public safety division, said the interim restrictions make things clearer for police officers. "This is setting the point at which a Taser is to be deployed at the upper range of the active resistance, where there is both the element of aggression or violence," said Mr. Purcell, a former police officer.

Taser use in the province increased 80 per cent in three years, to 182 times in 2007 from 101 times in 2005.

Mr. Clarke, who accepted all 16 of the report’s recommendations, said he is satisfied a moratorium on Tasers is not necessary. In fact, he said, the panel that wrote the report said a Taser ban would increase the risk to both the public and law enforcement.

Both the RCMP and Halifax Regional Police said the wording of the interim restrictions is similar to policies their forces already have in place.

"Not a big change for officers on the street for HRP in relation to when they use the device," said Const. Jeff Carr, regional police spokesman.

RCMP Supt. Blair McKnight, the officer in charge of criminal operations in Nova Scotia, said they are still having a look at the report, but so far "nothing sticks out as problematic."

"We think we can work within those parameters," he said Thursday.

NDP justice critic Bill Estabrooks said he doesn’t think the new restrictions will change much. "It still comes down to the judgment of the officer in that particular incident and the circumstances involved," he said. "Each one is different, I understand, but I had hoped there would be much more direction given to officers when they make that decision that they are going to rely on the Taser."

Mr. Estabrooks said the planned hiring of a co-ordinator on use of force will just add another level of bureaucracy.

Liberal justice critic Michel Samson said he hopes the message will be clear that police should be extremely careful about when they use Tasers. "Tasers should only be used in very limited situations, certainly not at the level we have seen in the past," Mr. Samson said.

Mr. Clarke ordered the report after the death of Howard Hyde, a Dartmouth man who died about 30 hours after he was Tasered by Halifax police. Mr. Hyde, who suffered from schizophrenia, died Nov. 22 after struggling with jail guards and collapsing at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.

Mr. Hyde’s sister, Joanna Blair, said she was encouraged that the report recommends the province establish a panel of experts to address the issue of excited delirium, a state of agitated, exhaustive mania. But she said the report doesn’t answer the family’s main question — why Mr. Hyde, who was in an obvious psychotic state, wasn’t transferred to hospital? She said the family still has not received a report from the medical examiner about the cause of her brother’s death. "I, and my family, have been left in the dark for eight months now," Ms. Blair said. "It’s been very arduous for all of us."

Thursday’s report is the second from the panel. The first report, released in March, said the amount of Taser training differs significantly among law enforcement agencies.

Taking a few days off

I won't be posting anything for a few days - be sure to visit excited-delirium for breaking news and insightful observations.

Police board delays new taser use policy

July 9, 2008
By Jennifer O'Meara, Northumberland News

COBOURG (Ontario) - A police Taser use policy from the Cobourg Police Services Board has been delayed. The board has decided it wants to look at establishing a policy regarding Taser use," said chairman Bryan Baxter. "We've deferred it because there are two or three studies underway."

The police board decided it needs a police policy on Taser use, after an April report on the state of Tasers in Canada from the Canadian Association of Police Boards.

The report recommended police boards work with the service's management staff to make sure training and policies are regularly updated with the latest information; ongoing monitoring is in place so those in charge of policy know how Tasers are being used; and those making the policy are kept up to date on medical research into in-custody deaths.

The board has decided to hold off on forming a Taser policy until several current Canadian studies are completed, especially the Ontario government report due this fall.

"We decided to defer it until we have the benefit of the provincial report," said Mr. Baxter.

Conducted energy devices (CED), or Tasers, are an electro-shock weapon used to stun someone from a distance. According to the report, the device has a great appeal to police because it can incapacitate subjects from a distance, limiting injuries to the officer and suspect. After several high profile deaths of suspects who were shocked, including the man who died immediately after being shocked in Vancouver's International Airport in late-2007, Taser use has become controversial.

Cobourg police senior officers do have a policy for Taser use, said Mr. Baxter. In the local police force, only Cobourg police sergeants and their second-in-command carry Tasers. All Cobourg officers who carry Tasers are retrained every year and have to re-qualify to carry the weapon.

A policy for Taser use and training is expected to come back to the Cobourg Police Service Board later this year.

"We thought it would be prudent to wait," said Mr. Baxter.

Police act as Judge, Jury and Executioner in another taser death of black man

See here.

Teen hit by Taser died of cardiac arrest - Doctor finds no pre-existing heart problems in youth who was shocked by police officer at grocery store

HERE COMES THE JUDGE:
TASER INTERNATIONAL VS. DR. THOMAS OWENS, Medical Examiner
Don't believe the taser manufacturer would target a medical examiner? See "Judge rules for taser in cause-of-death decisions"

July 4, 2008
By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Franco Ordoñez
The Charlotte Observer

A 17-year-old shocked with a Taser by police after an altercation at a northern Charlotte grocery store died from cardiac arrest, according to an autopsy released Friday.

Darryl Wayne Turner's heart was pumping so fast and chaotically from the Taser shot and stress of the confrontation that it stopped pumping blood properly. He died of acute ventricular dysrhythmia and ventricular fibrillation, according to the Mecklenburg medical examiner's office.

Turner was the first Taser-related fatality in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's history and the youngest in the Carolinas this decade.

Police confronted an “agitated” Turner on March 20 during an argument with his manager of a Prosperity Church Road grocery store. Police said Turner threw something at a manager, ignored commands and advanced toward Officer Jerry Dawson Jr., who deployed a Taser. The energy weapon struck Turner in the chest, and he fell to the carpeted floor.

“This lethal disturbance in the heart rhythm was precipitated by the agitated state and associated stress as well as the use of the conducted energy weapon (Taser) designed for incapacitation through electro-muscular disruption,” Dr. Thomas Owens wrote in the autopsy.

Owens found no pre-existing heart problems.

Turner worked at the Food Lion store, where he was a cashier and bagged groceries. Documents state he was asked by a manager to leave the store but refused. Police said Officer Jerry Dawson Jr., a 15-year veteran, fired his Taser to get Turner under control after the teen advanced toward him. An attorney representing the family says he talked to a witness who refutes the account.

An April study by the Taser Safety Project found that the improper use of Tasers has contributed to the deaths of at least 11 people in North Carolina over the past four years. The autopsy cites a National Institute of Justice study that concludes that while Tasers devices are not risk-free, there is “no conclusive medical evidence” indicating a high risk of serious injury.

Toronto Transit Commission constables remain unarmed

July 4, 2008
BY EVAN FRENCH, The Etobicoke Guardian

The TTC's decision not to arm their special constables with Tasers or guns was not influenced by the Taser-related death of a man at Vancouver airport last year, said TTC spokesman Brad Ross. He said the decision was made this week, after an outside research firm carried out a study on the possibility of arming the peace officers, costing the city $100,000.

"It's a question of being sensitive to the issue of Tasers right now," said Ross. "We have a risk assessment going on ensuring the special constables have all the tools and training so they can do their job in a safe manner."

Rachel Poku, 22, a student at Humber College, said she feels safe when she rides the rocket to and from school every day but is concerned for the safety of the special constables. "For their safety, I think they should (be armed)," she said while waiting at a bus stop on Humber College Boulevard. "They need the equipment to protect themselves when they're confronting people."

The 95 special constables, in addition to their black pants and blue shirts, are currently equipped with batons, pepper spray and handcuffs, said Ross. "People think they're just security guards but that's not true," he said. "They're very highly trained." Ross confirmed several of the special constables are former police officers. "They're uniformed as well as plainclothes," he said. "When they're on the TTC, they have basically the same powers as police officers."

Although Tasers and pistols won't be filling TTC holsters, one tool which has been approved is the video camera. Ross said all TTC vehicles and stations will be equipped with CCTV surveillance cameras by August of next year. He said the cameras will provide police with evidence and help to solve crimes committed on TTC property.

Teen shocked by taser died from change in heart rhythm

March 7, 2008
WSOCTV

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/16783664/detail.html

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Autopsy results released this week reveal why a 17-year-old who police shot with a Taser died in March.

Darryl Turner was in an altercation with his boss at the Food Lion on Prosperity Church Road in north Charlotte when someone called police. Police said he was highly agitated when an officer shot him with a Taser. Turner was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.

Turner's autopsy says the stress of the situation and the shock from the Taser was too much for his body to handle. It says he died of acute ventricular dysrhythmia and ventricular fibrillation. In other words, his heart was pumping so fast and irregularly that he died.

The report states Turner did not have heart problems and he didn't have drugs in his system except for the medicines emergency workers used trying to save his life.

Turner's grandfather, Donald Fontenot, saw the report and said he's angry.

"Very much so. Why wouldn't I be? You know, you take a 17-year-old child away," he said.

Turner's family has not said whether they plan to sue police. They hired an attorney in March after a witness said Turner was obeying the officer’s commands when he was shocked. Police said Turner had been threatening the officer.

Police are doing their own internal investigation to see if the officer who used the Taser followed the rules. That officer is back on active duty after being put on administrative leave following the incident.

Taser inquiry will go ahead into airport death despite no charge decision

July 3, 2008
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — A public inquiry into the death of a Polish immigrant after being shocked by an RCMP Taser is going ahead even though Crown prosecutors have not made a decision on charges in the incident at Vancouver's airport.

Commissioner Thomas Braidwood announced that his inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski will start Oct. 20, before a coroner's inquest or any decision on possible charges against Mounties connected to the incident.

Inquiry spokesman Chris Freimond says the coroner requested the public inquiry be held before an inquest.

"The second phase of the inquiry was being held back until the RCMP had completed its inquiry into the incident at the airport," Freimond says.

The Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team recently handed its charge-assessment report to the Crown without making a recommendation either for or against charges being laid against any of the officers.

The first phase of the B.C. public inquiry looked into general police use of the stun gun. The second phase, looking specifically at Dziekanski's case, has the potential to find misconduct in connection to his death.

Freimond says Braidwood decided to push ahead with the second phase until they hear about possible charges from the Crown.

"(Braidwood) will then make a decision as to whether or not he will continue with the second phase. It will depend on whether charges are laid and what those are," he says.

Dziekanski died shortly after being shocked by a Taser when he was confronted by four RCMP officers last October in the international arrivals area of the airport.

The would-be immigrant had been waiting at the airport for several hours for his mother. RCMP were summoned by airport security after an agitated Dziekanski smashed an airport computer and vandalized other airport property.

A bystander's videotape of the event was broadcast worldwide on TV and the Internet, and set off a public outcry.

The death also launched several inquiries into Taser use by police, including an investigation by RCMP Public Complaints Commissioner Paul Kennedy and the Commons Public Safety Committee.

After the release of Kennedy's scathing report last month, the RCMP said it would restrict Taser use and give officers clearer direction on how and when to use the weapons.

Braidwood is expected to release recommendations from the first phase of his inquiry by November. No date has been determined for the release of his findings from the second phase.

Friends, family have hard time accepting taser death

July 3, 2008
ASHLEY HOUSE, SUN MEDIA

Friends and family of Jeffrey Marreel say there was so much more to him than his drug addiction and criminal record. He had a heart of gold," said his mother Margaret Marreel.

Delhi native Jeffrey Marreel, 36, collapsed and died after being Tasered by Norfolk OPP during an incident in Fisher's Glen June 23. The province's Special Investigations Unit continues to investigate.

Like most little boys, Marreel was a handful, Margaret said. She used to work in the tobacco fields in Aylmer when Marreel was young. It was the summer that song The Streak was popular," she recalled. And sure enough you'd see Jeff, he was only two years old or so, but he'd be running through the tobacco field naked. I'd find a sock here, a sock there, his shorts over there. He was a handful."

Friends still can't believe he's gone. We've been friends for 20 years," said Ron Mudford, who met Marreel in high school. We did everything together -- camping, concerts, living together. He was a great guy and my best friend. It's like losing a brother."

Those close to him describe him as hard working, compassionate and generous. He'd stay with me for awhile, trying to get away from the drugs," Mudford said, adding Marreel was ashamed of his habit and would be clean for months before something would trigger him to use again. I never had to ask him for grocery money or rent because he just gave it to me."

Margaret remembers her son's generosity following a house fire in Delhi, years ago. "He was right there. The guy came out of the house without any shoes on and Jeff went and gave him a pair of his," she said. "That was Jeff. Anything you needed, he was right there with it. You moving? He was helping."

Scarlet Helmer also knew Jeff well, meeting him through mutual friends six years ago. He was amazing with kids," she said. My kids loved him. He always wanted a family of his own, but it just never happened for him. And he adored his two nieces." Playing tag, hide and seek and baseball were all favourite memories for Helmer's sons Justice, Dustin and Jordan. They were also looking forward to a trip to African Lion Safari this weekend with Marreel.

Though his exterior was a big burly guy, Mudford said his personality was the complete opposite. He was a softy," he said. We'd be watching some TV movie and I'd look over and Jeff would have tears in his eyes. We'd tease him for that but he was the most compassionate guy I knew."

His sensitivity made him an easy guy to talk to. He was the kind of guy you felt good sharing your problems with," Helmer said. He would try to make it better or make you laugh."

His unexpected death last week has his family reeling. SIU have assigned 13 officers to the case. They continue to interview witnesses and friends this week.

Civilian witnesses who have come forward as a result of the appeal of local media, particularly the Simcoe Reformer, have contributed to the investigation," said SIU spokesman John Yoannou. He added the final report will not be complete for weeks.

There are just so many questions," Margaret said. And whatever the outcome, we'll never get him back."

Kentucky man dead after being tasered

July 3, 2008

Isaac Bass, 34, Louisville, Kentucky.

...After the Taser was used, the man appeared to be having a "medical emergency"