EDITORIAL: A stimulus for reform

March 24, 2009
The Province

RCMP Cpl. Benjamin "Monty" Robinson was the officer in charge the night Robert Dziekanski was Tasered five times just before his death.

In his initial statement Robinson said Dziekanski was "swinging wildly" with a stapler and that he had to be wrestled to the ground by all four officers. A video shot by bystander Paul Pritchard suggests otherwise.

At the Braidwood inquiry into Taser use and Dziekanski's death, Cpl. Robinson admitted his initial statement was incorrect, but insisted he did not lie.

"I was mistaken, but I was telling the truth," Robinson said to Braidwood lawyer Art Vertlieb.
"Just because I was mistaken doesn't mean I was lying," he also said.

Ah yes, the George W. Bush weapons-of-mass-destruction defence.

It ultimately matters little whether Cpl. Robinson lied in his initial statement, or was mistaken. Either way, this public inquiry is a public relations disaster for the RCMP.

Every day that this inquiry continues, Canadians lose more faith in our national police force. In the end, let's hope Justice Thomas Braidwood's recommendations go beyond the use of Tasers and attempt to make the obviously dysfunctional RCMP a little more functional.

Mountie tells probe he felt threatened by stapler

March 25, 2009
IAN BAILEY, Globe and Mail

VANCOUVER -- RCMP Corporal Benjamin Monty Robinson, who once won a provincial bravery award for helping arrest a man armed with an axe and a bat, yesterday told the inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski he felt threatened by the Polish immigrant's menacing behaviour with a stapler.

"It was a combination of his combative nature in grabbing a stapler and taking a step forward," Cpl. Robinson said, explaining why no taser warning was given before Mr. Dziekanski received the first of five jolts during a confrontation with four Mounties at Vancouver airport on the morning of Oct. 14, 2007.

The officer said he thought Mr. Dziekanski, distraught and unsettled after being lost in the airport for 10 hours, was going to hit him with the office item.

But government lawyer Helen Roberts also asked Cpl. Robinson about another aspect of his past.
She referred to a 2000 incident in which he and two other officers confronted a man armed with an axe and bat at the Adams Lake Indian Band office in Chase, B.C.

Inquiry leader Thomas Braidwood, a former B.C. justice, warned Ms. Roberts about raising the issue. "You're opening the door," he said, but she proceeded. Reasons for raising the matter yesterday were unclear.

Cpl. Robinson has 11 years policing experience, more than the other three officers combined. His mastery of first aid has arisen as an issue in the Dziekanski matter. However, he said yesterday that based on his actions during the incident in Adams Lake, he was "confident" about his ability to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

He also admitted that his first-aid training had been expired for five years on the night that he helped tend to the unconscious Mr. Dziekanski, who died from a heart attack after being tasered and wrestled into handcuffs by the officers.

Cpl. Robinson and two other officers won awards of valour at the Police Honours Night ceremony in Victoria in 2002. The awards are handed out by the provincial solicitor-general.

Ms. Roberts, following a break, said she had rethought the wisdom of raising the Adams Lake incident. Mr. Braidwood later said the matter would not be relevant in his review of the issues before him.

Earlier, Cpl. Robinson described Mr. Dziekanski as one of the strongest suspects he ever had to tackle.

"I would rank him as one of the hardest people I have ever had to arrest, to put the handcuffs on," he testified.

Cpl. Robinson said Mr. Dziekanski had a notable "ability to resist," that was "very extreme."
At one point, he said it took the efforts of himself and one other constable - Gerry Rundell - to get the cuffs on one of Mr. Dziekanski's arms.

The officer, earlier praised tasers as a powerful tool for policing, saying that he had been tasered in training. "All I can tell you is it was discomforting and then it goes away," he said.

He said he had reservations about using his baton. "The safest tool to use at the time was the conducted-energy weapon," he said.

The four officers were at the RCMP's airport detachment when they heard a dispatcher's report about Mr. Dziekanski, who had spent 21 hours flying from Poland to Canada, and another 10 lost in the airport, reportedly throwing furniture around.

They proceeded, each in their own vehicle, to the airport and approached Mr. Dziekanski, who did not speak English, without discussing a game plan for dealing with the situation.

After a few basic attempts to communicate, Cpl. Robinson gave an order to fire the taser, but by then the sole officer carrying a conducted-energy weapon had already deployed it.

The officers have said they felt threatened because Mr. Dziekanski was holding a stapler in what they described as a "combative position."

Cpl. Robinson yesterday rejected a suggestion from Walter Kosteckyj, the lawyer for Mr. Dziekanski's mother, that the officers "went in like a SWAT team instead of being deliberate" in their approach.

Mr. Kostekyj rhymed off the weapons the officer was equipped with: a baton, pepper spray, vest, and a handgun. "Your fellow officers were similarly armed except that one of them, in addition to all that, had a taser." The lawyer wondered why they all had not warned Mr. Dziekanski - implying that even a warning in a foreign language might have made an impression on the exhausted traveller.

"He didn't afford us the opportunity," said Cpl. Robinson.

Lawyer accuses Mounties of "cowboy entrance"

March 24, 2009
Linda Diebel, National Affairs Writer
Toronto Star

VANCOUVER – Four Mounties at the Vancouver airport wearing bulletproof vests and armed with guns, metal batons and, in one case, a Taser, felt threatened by a confused Polish immigrant with a stapler in his hand, the supervising Mountie today told a public inquiry about the death of Robert Dziekanski.

Under tough questioning by the deceased mother's lawyer, Walter Kosteckyj, Cpl. Benjamin "Monty" Robinson appeared unable to show any threatening action against his men on Dziekanski's part while viewing an amateur video of events shown to the court — or that Dziekanski was advancing toward the four Mounties as originally stated.

"There, there's slight movement in the video," insisted Robinson, pointing to what Kosteckyj described as merely a slight swaying.

"I thought he was going to hit me with the stapler," said Robinson.

Dziekanski died on October 14, 2007, around 1:30 a.m. in the international arrivals section of the airport, after receiving five jolts from a Taser administered by Const. Kwesi Millington, some after he was already lying on the ground, writhing and screaming in pain.

"You're assuming he was screaming in pain," said Robinson.

Robinson, whose Taser certification was expired at the time, also testified today his first aid training certification had expired in March, 2002.

Although he said Dziekanski's ears had turned blue, it could have been the result of "bruising." He declined to remove his handcuffs, even after emergency medical crews arrived and asked Robinson, the commanding officer, that it be done.

Kosteckyj, a former RCMP officer, accused Robinson and his squad of three other Mounties of making a "cowboy entrance" and failing to either assess the scene, discuss a course of action or even apply a reasonable standard of first aid by monitoring him properly once he was down.

In yesterday's testimony, Robinson said "there was no plan". But today, he refused to admit his squad acted too quickly. Dziekanski was Tasered a few seconds after all four Mounties arrived in the secure arrivals area of the airport and encountered Dziekanski, who was unable to speak English.

This morning, Robinson contradicted testimony he gave to an internal RCMP investigator shortly after the incident.

"As I said before, I failed to articulate well," said Robinson, of his earlier statement. "I wasn't specific and I didn't articulate well at the time."

Robinson also reiterated he gave the order for Millington to fire the Taser, although Millington earlier said he received no orders from Robinson.

Today, Robinson testified he said, "Kwesi, hit him with it." Asked why he didn't specify Millington should use his Taser, Robinson said there was no time.

The Braidwood Commission inquiry continues.

Police Call Teen's Death 'Tragic'

This little tidbit of information is sure to give my readers a warm fuzzy feeling all over: "Taser International will be in town this week to INVESTIGATE THE TASER that was used on the teen. The group is working with the Michigan State Police, which is leading the investigation." Well, taser me in the chest - how gosh-darn comforting it is to know that Taser International will be right in there like a dirty shirt "investigating the taser" that killed a child?!?! If this was MY investigation, I wouldn't let them anywhere NEAR the taser in question. I'm choking on the "conflict of interest"

If we have learned nothing else in Canada, we have learned that neither Taser International nor the police are in a credible position to make a finding on the taser in question. This taser needs to be tested "independently."

March 24, 2009
WNEM.com

BAY CITY, Mich. -- Police in Bay City held a four-minute news conference Tuesday afternoon to address the death of 15-year-old Brett Elder, who was possibly killed by a Taser.

During the conference, Bay City Police Chief Michael J. Cecchini addressed the media by reading a prepared written statement.

Uncut: Uncut: Bay City Police Chief Holds News Conference In Taser Incident

Cecchini said officers acted properly and denied an allegation that officers used the Taser gun after the teen was in handcuffs.

“A Taser electronic control device was deployed for one five-second cycle to subdue Brett,” Cecchini said.

“He was subsequently handcuffed without incident. Upon taking Brett into custody, officers recognized signs of a possible medical problem and immediately rendered aid and summoned medical personal to the scene.”

The teen was taken to the hospital and later died.

Elder’s family said the use of the Taser was unjustifiable and plans to file a lawsuit.

Police were originally dispatched to break up a fight at the home in the 200 block of Catherine Street early Sunday morning.

Police said when officers arrived they found two men fighting.

“Brett became unruly and took a fight stance against the officers,” Cecchini said. That's when Cecchini said officers used the Taser.

"He was flopping around and looked like a fish out of water," said Elder’s aunt Cindy Hernden. "That’s the only way to explain it -- his whole body was bent over."

Eugene E. Elder Sr. admitted his son had been drinking alcohol before the incident but claims officers used the Taser gun after Brett had been placed in handcuffs.

The officer who used the Taser is on administrative leave, standard procedure used by Bay City police in situations like these.

Cecchini said members of the Bay City Police Department have been armed with Taser Guns since February 2008 and currently have nine of the electronic control devices.

Taser International will be in town this week to investigate the Taser that was used on the teen. The group is working with the Michigan State Police, which is leading the investigation.

A fund has been set up to help with funeral costs for the Bay City teen. It’s called the Brett Elder Funeral Fund and donations can be made at any National City Bank branch.

An autopsy was performed on Elder’s body Monday, but results are pending a toxicology test.

Elder would have turned 16 Tuesday.

Amnesty International's London office said Tuesday the death "reinforces the need for greater caution" before Tasers are distributed more widely.

Bay City police, witnesses disagree on what happened after Taser incident

March 24, 2009
by Tom Gilchrist, The Bay City Times

Bay City Police Chief Michael Cecchini said officers "immediately rendered aid" after using a Taser on 15-year-old Brett Elder, who died Sunday after the incident.

With Bay City Mayor Charles M. Brunner and City Manager Robert V. Belleman standing behind him in the Bay City Commission Chambers, Cecchini offered condolences to Elder's family during a press conference this morning.

City police, however, didn't allow relatives of the late teen into the room to hear the police chief read from a prepared written statement.

Cecchini, the mayor, the city manager and Deputy Police Chief Thomas Pletzke immediately walked out a side door after the chief's statement, fielding no questions from the press.

Wendy Elder, 34, the late teenager's sister-in-law, said Cecchini's account of police rendering aid immediately is not accurate.

"I was there, and the police didn't do anything," said Elder, reacting to the account Cecchini gave to the media.

"The police didn't do (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and they didn't let us do CPR," Elder said. "I don't have a CPR certification any more, but I wanted to help him."

Brett Elder died Sunday morning after a Bay City officer used a Taser to subdue him. Wendy Elder said minutes elapsed as police officers kept her away from the teenager as officers waited for medical personnel to come to the scene.

Relatives and friends said Brett Elder had consumed alcohol before police encountered him at 3:40 a.m. inside an apartment at 210 S. Catherine St.

No date and time has been set for Brett Elder's funeral. Ambrose Funeral Home of Bay City will handle arrangements.

Jessica Gregory, 27, of Bay City, a friend of the late Brett Elder, fought off tears after reading a copy of Cecchini's written statement handed to her by the media.

"Brett could have been saved," Gregory said. "This didn't have to happen."

Michigan State Police officers are investigating Brett Elder's death, and Cecchini said his department is "cooperating fully" with state police investigators.

The Bay City Police Department also is investigating whether officers followed department policy in firing the Taser, according to the police chief.

Jessica Gregory criticized city police officers for not allowing friends and relatives of the late Brett Elder to attend Tuesday's press briefing.

About 16 people gathered in a parking lot along Tenth Street near City Hall immediately after the briefing, some expressing anger at being denied entrance to Commission Chambers.

"Haven't we lost enough already?" Gregory said. "They're gonna take this away from us, too? We have a right to be there."

Colby Cosh: Commissioner Elliott drinks the RCMP Kool-Aid

March 24, 2009
Colby Cosh, National Post

When star bureaucrat William Elliott was named the first civilian commissioner of the RCMP in 2006, I was skeptical. The all-but-explicit idea behind the appointment was to bring in someone who was free enough of prejudices, closet skeletons and cronies to be able to whip the force back into shape. Unfortunately, a civilian running a hierarchical, uniformed agency with a history of splendour and renown is likely to be more vulnerable to the romance, not less. How long would it take before Elliott was defending indefensible behaviour on the part of his Mounties to the public, instead of representing the public interest to the force?

Answer: Not too long. In Kandahar on Sunday, while discussing the Taser death of Robert Dziekanski, Elliott pleaded for understanding. Canadians, he said, were mocking the officers’ apparent terror of an office stapler because civilians have "a tendency to want to look at situations as black and white situations [sic]." "I do not believe that most Canadians have an appreciation as to how difficult the situations our officers find themselves in are," he added. "They don’t realize how quickly things happen and they don’t realize how quickly often unfortunately bad things happen … Fortunately we live in a country, unlike [Afghanistan], where most Canadians do not encounter violence or threatening situations up close and personal."

Well, I’ve accidentally stapled my thumb before, and I have to admit, it does hurt like a bastard. But I’d really like Elliott to stand in front of a roomful of taxicab drivers, whose profession traditionally exposes them to a risk of homicide literally an order of magnitude higher than the police, and repeat those words. As it happens, plenty of Canadians are in an equally good position to have gained experience of "threatening situations": truck drivers, private security guards, clerks at liquor stores and gas stations.

The difference is, these people mostly aren’t allowed to protect themselves with handguns, chemical sprays and state-of-the-art body armour. Nor can they carry Tasers — the super-safe miracle weapon that, for some mysterious reason, almost no one in Canada but a peace officer is legally permitted to carry. And if a graveyard-shift 7-Eleven employee should happen to kill or injure someone in self-defence, he is certainly unlikely to have his actions scrutinized with the generosity that B.C. prosecutors exercised in deciding not to charge the Vancouver Four with a crime.

Elliott knows perfectly well — and if he doesn’t, maybe he should be paying closer attention — that retired policemen have participated in criticism of RCMP actions in the Dziekanski case. No one wants to second-guess any first responder, but Elliott is clearly unaware just how unprecedented and disillusioning an exercise the Dziekanski inquiry has been.

He doesn’t want us to judge split-second decisions? How about the decision by the cops not to use their first aid skills on a dying man? Was that some kind of snap judgment deserving our sympathy and deference? How about the positive interference the cops offered to ambulance crews when they finally arrived? Isn’t Richmond, B.C., fire-rescue Captain Kirby Graeme, who described these actions and characterized them as "unprofessional," someone who knows a lot about "how quickly bad things can happen"?

And how does Elliott’s "don’t judge" directive apply to the inaccurate notes made by the officers on the scene before they knew there would be publicly accessible video of the incident? Kwesi Millington, who pulled the electric trigger on Dziekanski five times, wrote that "the male swung the stapler wildly with his arm at the members" and had to be "wrestled to the ground." Bill Bentley wrote, "Subject grabbed stapler and came at members screaming." Gerry Rundel described him as having used "superhuman strength" in fighting off the officers.

All of these misstatements have had to be retracted because of the existence of Paul Pritchard’s footage, which the RCMP, let’s not forget, tried to suppress. (The mysterious destruction of a videotape taken from an RCMP van involved in the Curtis Dagenais shootout suggests that they’ve learned no lessons — or, perhaps, that they’ve learned them only too well.)

One is reluctant to call the Vancouver Four’s fictions "lies," but one also notices the inaccuracies all have a tendency to justify the actions of and exonerate the four. Perhaps exaggerating wildly in official notes on a killing is just another one of those stress-driven decisions we’re not allowed to sit in judgment on, along with the inaccuracies propagated by the RCMP’s publicity arm in the immediate aftermath of the incident. As long as Commissioner Elliott is in Afghanistan, he may wish to ask some of our reconnaissance experts there if they think this really looks like a hill worth dying on — either for him, or the RCMP brand.

Tasers: Death of 15-year-old in USA reinforces need for caution in wider rollout of weapon

March 24, 2009
Amnesty International UK

The death of a 15-year-old boy in Michigan, USA after he was shocked with a Taser gun reinforces the need for greater caution to be applied in the roll out of Tasers to frontline police officers in the UK, said Amnesty International.

The organisation also called for further tests into the safety of the electro-shock weapon.

While few details are available, a police news release stated that the 15-year-old boy - who has not been named - was shocked when he 'attempted to fight' Bay City officers responding to reports of an argument between two males in an apartment. The boy is reported to have been unarmed.

The boy reportedly went into medical distress immediately after being shocked and was pronounced dead in hospital.

Amnesty International UK's Arms Programme Director, Oliver Sprague said:

'Tasers should only be used in life-threatening situations and this doesn't appear to be such an instance. Surely another form of restraint could have been applied in this case.

'The tragic death of this teenager is a grave reminder that extreme caution has to be applied when Tasers are being used. Only a limited number of officers who undergo intensive, ongoing and rigorous training should be given these weapons.'

According to information gathered by Amnesty International, this is the second minor to have died in the USA this year after being shocked with a Taser. In January, an unarmed 17-year-old boy in Virginia died after police, responding to a minor street incident, shocked him in his apartment.

Since June 2001, the total number of deaths after the use of Taser guns in the US has risen to 351.

Amnesty is urging the Home Office to limit the number of police officers who are armed with Tasers.

Oliver Sprague continued:

'Here in the UK, we cannot ignore the history of the Taser in other countries such as the USA and Canada. This is the second minor in the USA who has died after being shocked by a Taser. We do not want to see a repeat of that here in the UK.'

Notes to the Editor

1. Last December, Amnesty International issued a report about the problems attached to the use of stun weapons in law enforcement. The study cited medical data suggesting that their use may trigger a fatal reaction in individuals already compromised by drugs, exertion or ill-health. The report also cited cases in which apparently healthy individuals died after being shocked.

2. In March last year, 17-year-old Darryl Turner died when police used a Taser on him after an argument in the store where he worked in North Carolina. A video-tape showed an officer fire Taser darts into Turner's chest as the unarmed teenager stood with his arms by his side. The coroner ruled his cause of death to be a fatal disturbance of the heart rhythm due to stress and the Taser shocks. His death is one of at least 50 nationwide where coroners have ruled that Tasers were a cause or contributory factor.

Unbelievable testimony; unknowable pain

March 24, 2009
GARY MASON, Globe and Mail

Just days after the head of the RCMP asked the Canadian public to "walk a mile in the shoes" of his officers, the mother of Robert Dziekanski attempted to get a member of the force to do exactly the same thing with her.

The moment occurred yesterday as Corporal Benjamin Robinson was about to enter a hearing room at the inquiry into the death of Mr. Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport in October, 2007. Cpl. Robinson was the supervising officer at the scene where the 40-year-old Polish immigrant died after being tasered five times.

Mr. Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, chased after Cpl. Robinson, who would spend the day testifying.

"Excuse me sir," she said, as she pursued Cpl. Robinson down a hallway. "Excuse me."

But Cpl. Robinson slipped into the hearing room before Mrs. Cisowski had a chance to speak with him.

"I wanted him to see my pain," Mrs. Cisowski said when asked afterwards what she wanted to discuss with the officer. "I wanted him to look at me and see the pain I have been caused. I wanted to ask him where my son was now."

An RCMP official at the inquiry later spoke to Mrs. Cisowski about arranging a meeting with Cpl. Robinson. She wasn't interested. Instead, Mrs. Cisowski contented herself with listening to Cpl. Robinson recall the events leading up to her son's death.

Cpl. Robinson, 38, was the last of the four RCMP officers called to the airport that night to testify at the inquiry into the incident that former judge Thomas Braidwood is leading.

Cpl. Robinson - who is facing possible charges of impaired driving causing death in an unrelated incident in October, 2008 - said he issued the first order to taser Mr. Dziekanski. That contradicted earlier testimony from Constable Kwesi Millington, who said he fired the weapon unprompted. Constable Millington said he heard Cpl. Robinson order him to taser Mr. Dziekanski only later, after the distraught man had already been zapped twice and was on the ground writhing in pain.

Cpl. Robinson said that actions he took to defuse the situation with Mr. Dziekanski couldn't be seen on the video shot of the incident because they took place during a second or two when the scene of the confrontation was obscured by a post.

Funny that. Constable Millington earlier testified he also took actions to prevent the situation from escalating. But they also couldn't be seen on the video because of that damn post. Wouldn't you know it.

For me, much of Cpl. Robinson's testimony defied belief. Like his statement that he had barely seen the video of the incident in the past 17 months. Right. Nor could Cpl. Robinson remember Constable Millington twice tasering Mr. Dziekanski in the painful push-stun mode - where the taser is applied directly to the body - even though he was virtually beside the officer at the time. (He said he remembered Mr. Dziekanski being tasered only twice in total.)

All the officers - including Cpl. Robinson yesterday - denied talking among themselves before talking to investigators. And yet, each of them told investigators the same story: that Mr. Dziekanski was tasered after he charged the officers with a stapler held high in the air. That Mr. Dziekanski had to be tasered a couple of times because he wouldn't go down. And that he finally had to be tackled to the ground by a couple of the officers.

The problem is that none of this happened. None of it. Yet, all of the officers remembered the same set of incorrect facts.

Asked about the contradiction between his statement and the video evidence, Cpl. Robinson admitted he got it wrong. But added: "Just because I was mistaken doesn't mean I was lying."

All morning I thought about RCMP commissioner William Elliott's weekend plea from Kandahar, where he was visiting RCMP officers: that the public consider the stressful situations constantly facing Mounties, including the ones who encountered Robert Dziekanski.

I've tried to do that as I've attended this inquiry. But I have trouble getting beyond so much of the officers' testimony. Like Cpl. Robinson saying yesterday he wanted to keep handcuffs on Mr. Dziekanski even though ambulance officials attending to the dying man asked the officer to take them off. Why did he want to keep Mr. Dziekanski restrained? Because he still considered him a threat, he said.

An unarmed man who was unconscious and turning blue.

I tried walking in Benjamin Robinson's shoes yesterday. All I could think of was how much tougher it was to be walking in Zofia Cisowski's.

Taser Protocol For Police

WOW - this is pathetic. These guys don't have one clue to rub together. They're a deadly combination.

Mar 23, 2009
Reporter: Tiffany Teasley

Following a deadly Taser incident in Bay City leaving a 15-year-old dead, News 10 examines Taser protocol for law enforcement.

It's a tool you don't want to be a target of -- with just one trigger pull the shock of a Taser confuses the nervous system causing the muscles to contract, but how long is too long?

"You use a Taser until you determine that it's not effective and then you switch to a different tool, or once you see that resistance end then you stop using the Taser," said Michigan State Police Sgt. Jason Williams

Williams gave News 10 a Taster demonstration, he says the voltage and amperage are already preset on the Taser. A typical deployment last about 5 seconds, but officers can continue tasering if the subject is still combative.

"And if after a 5 second deployment, that resistive behavior starts again, then it's very justified to use two or three or four subsequent cycles, as far as particular guidelines, it's really what's reasonable," Williams said.

Most officers use the X 26 Taser, with a peak voltage of about 50,000 but once it hits the body officers say it's only about 1200 volts.

"Tasers don't cause deaths, other factors that are involved in those situations are generally what cause those deaths," Williams said.

Factors like substance abuse combined with high adrenaline can be deadly says Dr. Ran Rhule of Sparrow Hospital.

"Ingestion of an exciting drug, cocaine amphetamines, patients that are heavily narcotized by alcohol," Rhule said.

But even in repetition Rhule says the shock is safe.

"It's safe based on the voltage and the amperage, that's the safe part," Rhule said.

RCMP acknowledges public trust eroded after Dziekanski incident

March 23, 2009
By Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - The RCMP realizes the level of public trust in the force has dropped as a result of evidence emerging at the Braidwood inquiry, which is probing the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport in 2007.

"The public trust is at a level we would rather not see," RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen told reporters during a lunch break at Monday's inquiry, which heard testimony from RCMP Cpl. Monty Robinson, the senior commanding officer in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 2007, when Dziekanski was Tasered five times and died minutes later.

"We're going to work extremely hard to get it back to a level we would like to see," Thiessen said.

A reporter raised the fact that all four officers involved in the fatal in-custody death have admitted their police statements were wrong in describing the events that led to Dziekanski's death.

"Why have these officers not been fired?" a reporter asked.

Thiessen asked the public to be patient and await the results of the Braidwood inquiry, which may address "how things can be rectified" if deficiences are found.

He also said Robinson has offered to meet privately with Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, who is attending the inquiry and said loudly as Robinson walked by, "Nice to meet you."

"He is prepared to meet her," he said. "She said, 'Maybe tomorrow.' "

Thiessen added: "This situation is regretable for everybody. It is a lose-losr situation."

He said Robinson "is extremely saddened by the fact there was a loss of life. This was a situation no one wanted to happen."

Robinson testified today that his police statements were inaccurate because he was mistaken about what happened.

He said in his police statement that Dziekanski didn't fall after he was Tasered but "had to be wrestled to the ground."

Robinson testified: "I was mistaken but I was telling the truth. I sort of blended the whole interaction with him...I was mistaken."

He also admitted he was wrong when he stated in his police statement that Dziekanski was "swinging the stapler" at police.

"You used swinging 12 times in your statement?" Vertlieb asked.

"Yes," Robinson replied.

He said Dziekanski swung the stapler wildly after he was Tasered.

'Excited Delirium' Discussed In Pittsburgh Taser Meeting

March 23, 2009
WPXI.com

PITTSBURGH -- A government meeting Monday morning focused on the use of Tasers by police in Allegheny County.

District Attorney Stephen Zappala assembled the group of professionals from police, law and medical communities, to come up with a standard rule for police use of Tasers in the Pittsburgh area.

In previous meetings, several health professionals and representatives from Taser manufacturers testified that the devices are incapable of killing people.

The investigation was prompted after Andre Thomas, 37, died after Swissvale police used Tasers on him in August.

An autopsy revealed, however, that the Taser did not cause Thomas' death. A medical examiner ruled that he died from a condition called excited delirium. On Monday, a physician testified there is no clear way to tell who has it.

Following the death, Zappala and Allegheny County formed the committee to investigate the physical effects of being stunned by a Taser.

The panel has been meeting at regular intervals since last year. They plan to have a final report for Zappala by late May or June.

Taser Committee Holds Meeting Discussing Importance Of Weapon

March 23, 2009
WTAE TV

PITTSBURGH -- The Taser Working Group -- top representatives from law enforcement and medicine -- appeared inside Pittsburgh City Council's chambers Monday morning with hopes of answering just how important the devices are to law enforcement.

"What are the risks involved? Is it appropriate at all to use these new devices?" said group chairman Justice Ralph Cappy.

Doctors at the hearing said medicine has never proved that a Taser has killed anyone or led to a death.

Instead, they said it's usually a medical condition known as "excited delirium," often brought on by illegal drugs.

"Why do people get tased and then die in this state? Well, I argue again excited delirium is likely part of that, which is separate from the use of force that we're talking about," said Dr. Joe Suyuma of UPMC Presbyterian.

Doctors testified that Tasers are often safer because it's usually less than the amount of force it may take to subdue someone and as a result, less chance of injury.

Monday's hearing was the fourth in a series of five the working group will hear.

They expect to make a recommendation to the district attorney in late spring.

Mountie who ordered airport Tasering wasn't certified

March 23, 2009
Linda Diebel, National Affairs Writer
Toronto Star

VANCOUVER–The supervising Mountie on the morning Robert Dziekanski was Tasered and died at Vancouver's airport didn't have up-to-date training on Taser use.

Cpl. Benjamin (Monty) Robinson told the Braidwood inquiry this morning his Taser training had expired in March 2006 – 19 months before Dziekanski, 41, received five Taser jolts by an RCMP constable under Robinson's command. The Polish immigrant died at the scene.

Robinson told the inquiry he gave the command to Const. Kwesi Millington to deploy the Taser. Robinson's testimony contradicts Millington's own evidence to the inquiry that he fired on his own.

Robinson gave no explanation for the expiry of his certification, but noted he was bought up to date a month after Dziekanski's death. His lack of current training meant "you don't carry one."

However, he supervised a team of three other Mounties from the airport detachment who arrived at about 1 a.m., after receiving a call that an "intoxicated person was throwing luggage" at the terminal. He was incorrectly described as non-white.

A video shot by amateur Paul Pritchard shows the order to Taser Dziekanski was given within 30 seconds of the Mounties arriving at the secure international arrivals section of the airport. The video, portions of which were shown several times today, showed Dziekanski writhing on the ground after the first shot.

Robinson expressed concern the Polish immigrant – who the officers thought was Russian – was lunging for his luggage. He also noticed Dziekanski was carrying a stapler.

Robinson, 38, said he wasn't aware the first firing lasted six seconds.

"At that point, I gave the command to deploy again . . . because it didn't have (an) instant effect," said Robinson, testifying Dziekanski hadn't fallen.

The inquiry yesterday played a section of Pritchard's video to show Dzieskanski was on his way to the ground within five seconds of the first Tasering and the full shot lasted about six seconds.

Under questioning from commission lawyer Art Vertlieb, Robinson insisted he didn't think Dziekanski was on the ground when he gave a second command very quickly after the first command to use the weapon.

"I used the words to the effect, 'Hit him again,'" he said.

Later, he admitted he might have given another command to, "Hit him again," and Dzieskanski might have been on the ground by that time.

Throughout the video, Dziekanski can be heard moaning and crying out.

Robinson testified he had tried to calm Dziekanski. Earlier, he said, he heard another Mountie ask Dzieskanski, "How ya doing, bud? How ya doing, sir?"

Vertlieb showed sections of the Pritchard video several times, asking Robinson to indicate the exact point where he is shown trying to calm Dzieskansi and where the Polish man is shown stepping forward, or lunging for his luggage. However, it couldn't be found.

Robinson replied it was impossible to see because of the angle and the distortion created when Pritchard shot through glass into the arrivals lounge.

Earlier testimony from Millington showed Dziekanski was Tasered five times.

The inquiry has taken place in two parts, the first on the use of the Taser and the second on how Dziekanski died. Commissioner Thomas Braidwood has not yet released his report on the already-completed first part.

B.C. Mountie has history of disciplinary, Taser problems

March 23, 2009
By Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER — B.C. RCMP Sgt. Russell Hannibal, acquitted last year of excessive force after using his Taser twice in two days, has been disciplined four previous times by the force, The Vancouver Sun has learned.

Hannibal's misconduct ranges from lying to a superior about an expense claim to trying to date a 16-year-old whose phone number he obtained while on duty.

Last year, Hannibal was acquitted of assault with a weapon in connection with his use of a Taser against a handcuffed man.

The judge in the case said that while the evidence left her with reasonable doubt that Hannibal used excessive force, she still "completely rejected a lot of his testimony," adding parts of it were "obviously self-serving" and "after-the-fact rationalizations."

The ruling ended a battle that had been winding its way through the courts for six years.

In February 2002, Hannibal was charged in connection with two separate Taser deployments on Aug. 25 and 26, 2001.

In the first case, at the Foggy Dew pub in Port Coquitlam, Hannibal arrested a man who patted his female partner's behind. Then, after the man was already handcuffed, Hannibal Tasered him six times with the weapon in hand-held mode.

The next day, Hannibal used his Taser again, this time against a suicidal man being held down by three other officers.

Hannibal was acquitted of the second case in 2003, but the first took years to work its way through the courts because of legal arguments over delays in the case getting to trial.

Despite Hannibal's acquittal, the RCMP still pursued a disciplinary case against him in a hearing last September.

A copy of that hearing's decision, released in response to a request from the Sun, shows Hannibal received a formal reprimand, not for deploying his Taser, but for using "vulgar, inflammatory" language during his arrest at the pub.

Hannibal also was reprimanded for a separate incident a month earlier in which he told a fellow officer "your ass is mine."

The panel of three senior Mounties hearing Hannibal's case decided to give him a formal reprimand for both incidents.

In coming to its decision, the panel listed Hannibal's four prior disciplinary cases, including:

- Uttering a verbal threat during a confrontation with a member of the public in 1993.

- Using "tactless and oppressive" language during an interaction with a member of the public in 1993.

- Lying to a superior officer in order to get an expense claim approved in 1994.

- Attempting to date a 16-year-old in 2000 whose address and telephone number he obtained during the course of his duties.

Aside from the expense-claim issue — for which Hannibal was formally disciplined and docked three days' pay — the other cases were dealt with informally by the RCMP and did not go to a public hearing.

And in the case of Hannibal's attempt to date a teenager, his only penalty was a reprimand.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Tim Shields said, because of privacy concerns, he could not provide any details about Hannibal's attempt to date the teen.

Shields also refused to say why the force decided to deal with the matter informally, other than to say Hannibal's commanding officer would have reviewed all the facts in the case before deciding against a formal hearing.

When reached by phone, Hannibal, who is now working in an administrative position at "E" Division headquarters, refused to answer any questions.

'Everything happened really quick,' final officer tells Taser inquiry

March 23, 2009
By Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - The fourth and final Mountie involved in the fatal incident at Vancouver's airport in 2007 is now testifying at the Braidwood Inquiry.

RCMP Cpl. Monty Robinson was the senior commanding officer in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 2007, when Polish traveller Robert Dziekanski was Tasered five times and died minutes later.

Robinson testified Monday he spent a few seconds putting on his leather gloves before dealing with Dziekanski.

He recalled an airport security guard said the man was "freaking out" and another person suggested the man only spoke Russian.

Robinson said the three other officers interacted first with the man.

One of the officers, he recalled, asked Dziekanski: "How's it goin', bud?"

By the time he moved forward to Dziekanski, he was moving toward his luggage, which Robinson thought was potentially dangerous, so he used hand signals to get Dziekanski to step away from his luggage and put his hands on the counter.

"I told him to stop and told him to calm down," Robinson told inquiry Commissioner Thomas Braidwood.

"At that point, he threw up his hands and moved back," the officer said.

"He turned around quickly and I noticed something in his hand....in a clenched fist."

Robinson recalled he saw a couple of staples come out and realized the man was holding a stapler.

The officer said he pulled out his police baton. When Dziekanski stepped foward with the stapler in his hand, Robinson ordered Const. Kwesi Millington to deploy the Taser, he said.

"It didn't have any effect," he recalled of the first Taser shot. "Dziekanski still had the stapler in his hand and he didn't go down."

Robinson said he instructed Millington to deploy the Taser again.

Inquiry counsel Art Vertlieb played a video taken at the airport by a passenger, which showed Dziekanski drop the stapler and fall to the floor after the first Taser shot.

"Everything happened really quick," Robinson said. "Everything happened in a split second."

Millington testified earlier that he fired his Taser on his own, without any instruction.

Robinson said he wasn't aware of Millington's version of events..

Robinson testified he told Millington "Hit him again," when Dziekanski didn't fall the first time.

A video of the incident was played in court, which showed two officers holding Dziekanski down with their knees on his back once the man was on the floor. "Hit him again," Robinson was heard saying on the video.

He testified that may have been his third command.

Robinson recalled making the command because Dziekanski was still struggling, trying to push himself up.

Robinson said it never occurred to him that Dziekanski may have had trouble breathing or was in pain from being Tasered while on the ground.

He testified he only recently learned that the Taser was deployed five times. He thought it was only fired twice.

Robinson recalled Dziekanski later was turning blue.

"He was breathing, so I assumed it was bruising," he told the inquiry.

"Did you personally check Mr. Dziekanski's breathing?" Vertlieb asked.

"He was continuously monitored until EHS arrived," Robinson said.

He noticed Dziekanski went unconscious and seemed to be snoring.

Robinson said he touched Dziekanski to make sure he was breathing and had a pulse.

The first responders who arrived on the scene - members of the Richmond fire department - asked police to remove the handcuffs so they could properly assess the patient, but police refused.

"I was reluctant to take them off, but I didn't refuse," Robinson testified.

"It took four of us to get him handcuffed, so I was reluctant to take them off."

When the ambulance paramedics arrived seconds later, they also asked for the handcuffs to be removed, he said.

"I asked if they could work with them on - I thought he still posed a risk," Robinson recalled.

"They told me they wanted them (handcuffs) off, so I agreed to take them off," he added.

"He was breathing until he was turned over to the ambulance (crew). I took a step back and let them work on him."

By that time, Dziekanski was in cardiac arrest.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

He later told his three officers at the scene that they would have to give statements to investigators with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), which took place after 5 a.m.

Robinson said in his first IHIT statement that Dziekanski was "swinging the stapler up high...in an attempt to hit us."

The officer testified that he thought Dziekanski was trying to harm police.

He said he never considered whether the man was weary from travelling.

Dziekanski, 40, had left his home in Poland more to come to Canada to live with his mother, who lived in Kamloops.

Robinson, now 38, joined the force in 1996 and was first posted to Chase for seven years, to Merritt for two years, then transferred to Richmond in 2005.

He transferred to the detachment at Vancouver International Airport in April 2005.

Robinson transferred in November 2007 to the Vancouver 2010 security unit.

He was suspended with pay after he was involved in a fatal car accident that killed a 21-year-old motorcyclist, Orion Hutchinson. He has not been charged with the accident, although he had his driver's licence suspended for 90 days after admitting at the scene that he had been drinking. Robinson, who was off-duty, faces charges of impaired driving causing death and exceeding the legal limit.

Autopsy completed on Brett Elder, 15

By Rebecca Trylch
ABC News

BAY CITY (WJRT) -- Bay City police expect to release more information sometime today about what killed a 15-year-old boy after police used a Taser on him.

Family members tell us the victim's name is Brett Elder, although his friends called him "Dewey."

Bay City's deputy police chief did not want to speak on camera about Elder's death, but does say, despite reports from witnesses, Elder was not handcuffed when he was Tased.

Here is the timeline of what happened.

At 3:40 Sunday morning a 911 call was made. Witnesses said there was a fight in progress that included Elder.

According to police, at 3:44 the first units arrived, and officers tried to break up the fight.

Shortly thereafter, Elder went after other people in the house and police in a threatening manner.

At 3:53 an officer deployed his Taser. Elder was struck once in the chest.

Elder had a reaction at the same time, which included vomiting.

Police say an ambulance was called, and Elder was turned on his side to prevent choking.

Medical aid was then given when paramedics arrived.

Elder was then taken to Bay Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy was completed today, but the results have not been released just yet.
Bay City police tell us the officer involved is on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

Michigan State Police are handling the investigation into Elder's death.

Final officer now testifying at Taser inquiry

VANCOUVER - The fourth and final Mountie involved in the fatal incident at Vancouver's airport in 2007 is now testifying at the Braidwood Inquiry.

RCMP Cpl. Monty Robinson, now 38, joined the force in 1996 and was first posted to Chase for seven years, to Merritt for two years, then transferred to Richmond in 2005.

He transferred to the detachment at Vancouver International Airport in April 2005.

He was promoted to Corporal in 2004, making him the senior commanding officer in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 2007, when Polish traveller Robert Dziekanski was Tasered five times and died minutes later.

Robinson transferred in November 2007 to the Vancouver 2010 security unit.

He was suspended with pay after he was involved in a fatal car accident that killed a 21-year-old motorcyclist, Orion Hutchinson. He has not been charged with the accident, although he had his driver's licence suspended for 90 days after admitting at the scene that he had been drinking. Robinson, who was off-duty, faces charges of impaired driving causing death and exceeding the legal limit.

Ottawa police use of force ‘softer’: report

March 23, 2009
By Neco Cockburn, The Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA — The city's police used batons and “hard” physical control techniques such as punching or kicking much less often last year than in 2007, statistics show, and the overall crime rate dropped 7.5 per cent.

The statistics are contained in the 2008 use-of-force annual report and a 2008 activity report, which will be presented at an Ottawa Police Services Board meeting Monday, along with the results of a public survey on policing.

According the use-of-force report, officers used batons 16 times last year, compared to 66 times in 2007, while hard techniques were used seven times in 2008, down from 37 the year before.

Use of Tasers and “soft” physical techniques, such as restraining manoeuvres and joint locks, increased among officers last year.

Tasers were used 27 times in 2008, up from 12 times in 2007. Soft techniques were used 37 times in 2008, compared to eight times the year before.

The use-of-force report states that the rise in Taser use is likely a result of the additional number of officers using the devices since November 2007, when front-line supervisors were authorized to use them. Previously, only tactical officers were allowed to use the stun devices.

A summary of the activity report indicates that the overall crime rate dropped 7.5 per cent between 2007 and 2008, although a breakdown of figures was not immediately available. Ottawa police officers received more than 364,000 calls last year.

Initial statistics show a decrease in reported crimes against people and property. The summary also indicates a slight increase in the number of Highway Traffic Act violations last year, but that traffic fatalities fell from 36 in 2007 to 23 last year.

Despite the more promising numbers, the public survey on policing services found that 43 per cent of 2,508 respondents perceived crime in Ottawa has risen over the past three years, although that was down from 54 per cent in 2006.

Top neighbourhood concerns include:

- speeding cars;
- aggressive driving;
- break and enters;
- thefts from vehicles;
- vandalism; and
- identity theft.

Top concerns at the city level include:

- presence of drugs and drug dealers;
- youth crime and violence;
- speeding;
- aggressive driving;
- robbery; and
- homelessness.

The survey also found that 86 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the quality of police service, while 68 per cent said police are doing a good or very good job.

As for use of force, 482 incidents involving force were reported last year, down from 511 in 2007. The decrease could be partially due to an overall decrease in calls for service in 2008, the report says.

Police officers are required to submit a report when they draw a gun in public, discharge a gun or use an intermediate weapon such as pepper spray, or if any physical force they use results in an injury.

Police used pepper spray 59 times last year, up from 54 times in 2007.

Officers drew guns 151 times and pointed guns at people 214 times last year (guns without holsters, such as tactical weapons, are not considered to be drawn). In 2007, officers drew guns 157 times and pointed them at people 212 times.

Officers fired their guns 62 times last year, all but once to kill dangerous or injured animals. At the end of December, an officer injured two people with one bullet when confronted by a knife-wielding woman in a Pinecrest Road apartment. The officer was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the province’s Special Investigations Unit.

Michigan 15-year-old dies after police Taser him

Brett Elder, 15, unarmed, tasered in the chest, apparently already in handcuffs - the youngest ever victim of a taser.

I just received the following comment: "what they aren't telling you is that the cop continued to tase him because he was drunk and would not be quiet...He wasn't trying to physically fight them, he was just running his mouth....The cop tased him over and over..."

March 22, 2009
The Associated Press

BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) — Police in Michigan say a 15-year-old boy has died after being Tasered by officers who were trying to break up a fight.

Police didn't release his name and say state police are investigating.

A Bay City police news release says officers answered a report of an early morning fight on Sunday. The statement says two males were arguing in an apartment, and one of them "attempted to fight the officers."

Police say officers Tasered him, and his reaction led them to immediately call for emergency medical help. He was pronounced dead at Bay Regional Medical Center.

Deputy Chief Thomas Pletzke tells WNEM-TV police placed one officer on administrative leave.

Officer in charge when Dziekanski stunned with Taser to testify at inquiry

March 22, 2009
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Robert Dziekanski had already been stunned twice when one of the four RCMP officers who confronted him at Vancouver's airport called for another jolt of the Taser.

"Hit him again! Hit him again!" Cpl. Benjamin Monty Robinson can be heard shouting on a bystander's video of the fatal confrontation.

Robinson, the officer in charge in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 2007, is scheduled to testify Monday at the inquiry into Dziekanski's death.

He is the last of the four officers to appear at the inquiry to explain why the would-be Polish immigrant was stunned multiple times with a Taser.

In particular, Robinson will be asked to recall what orders, if any, he gave the three other officers; why he asked for another Taser shock even though Dziekanski was already on the floor; and what he was doing to ensure Dziekanski was still alive before firefighters arrived.

As well, Robinson will likely be asked about inconsistencies between the other officers' testimony, what they initially told police and what was captured on the video.

The officers' dinner break at the RCMP's airport detachment was interrupted by a radio dispatch about a man throwing furniture in the international terminal.

Three of the officers have already testified they never said a word to each other and were given no orders from Robinson in the several minutes it took them to drive to the airport and walk to Dziekanski, who had been at the airport for nearly 10 hours and didn't speak English.

The other officers have said that, after a brief interaction, Dziekanski became difficult when he tossed his hands in the air and took a few steps away.

When he turned back toward the officers, Dziekanski was holding a stapler, which the officers have said made them feel threatened.

That's when Const. Kwesi Millington delivered the first Taser shock.

The weapon was used five times in all, although it's not clear how many of those connected with the man.

As Dziekanski lay unconscious on the floor, his hands cuffed behind his back, the other officers have testified that none of them were performing proper pulse and breathing checks.

An airport security guard said he checked Dziekanski's pulse only after he saw Robinson trying to find a heartbeat while wearing leather gloves.

When firefighters arrived, the fire captain on duty that night has said it didn't appear as if anyone had been monitoring Dziekanski, who by then had no pulse, wasn't breathing and, according to fire Capt. Kirby Graeme, was likely already dead.

And Graeme said the officers initially refused to remove Dziekanski's handcuffs.

The inquiry has also focused on inconsistencies in what the officers initially told police, and the accuracy of Robinson's initial statements is sure to be scrutinized.

The other officers admitted making several mistakes in their police notebooks, statements to homicide investigators and internal reports about what happened.

For example, the officers have said it took several Taser shocks before Dziekanski fell to the ground, even though he collapsed seconds after the first deployment.

They also incorrectly said Dziekanski had to be wrestled to the ground. One even claimed Dziekanski kept walking toward the officers with a stapler raised above his head after he was stunned.

The officers have insisted their early accounts represented their best recollections of a stressful, fast-paced event.

Millington was accused by the lawyer for the Polish government of lying about what happened to justify his actions - an accusation the officer flatly denied.

Crown prosecutors decided last December that Robinson, Millington, Const. Bill Bentley and Const. Gerry Rundel wouldn't face criminal charges, although the inquiry's final report could include findings of misconduct.

Don't rush to judge officers who used taser, says RCMP chief

March 22, 2009
GLORIA GALLOWAY, Globe and Mail

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The Commissioner of the RCMP said the angry outcry that followed the tasering of a Polish man who died in the Vancouver airport comes from people who do not understand the pressures faced by his officers.

Most Canadians don't experience danger on a daily basis and don't know how difficult it is to deal with situations in which they feel threatened, William Elliott said Sunday during a visit to southern Afghanistan to observe police mentoring teams.

“I do not believe that most Canadians have an appreciation as to how difficult the situations our officers find themselves in are,” said Mr. Elliott. “They don't realize how quickly things happen and they don't realize how ... often unfortunately bad things happen.”

The Braidwood inquiry into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski resumes Monday, after a two-week hiatus, with the testimony of Cpl. Benjamin Robinson, one of the RCMP officers involved in the incident that preceded his death.


RCMP officers approach Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport, where he was tasered repeatedly after brandishing a stapler in October 2007.

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Mr. Dziekanski was tasered repeatedly by the police after brandishing a stapler in October of 2007. His death, witnessed by Canadians on television and on the Internet, caused a torrent of criticism that the RCMP used undue force.

"The whole notion of looking at a video in slow motion or frame by frame is completely contrary to how a real human being perceives things when they are in the midst of a situation,” Mr. Elliott said.

His biggest concern, he said, “relates to the public's perception of the RCMP, the public's confidence in the RCMP. And I think that I and the organization are certainly very much concerned about, and aware of the fact, that our credibility has certainly taken some blows.”

More than 60 per cent of Canadians surveyed recently by Harris-Decima for the Canadian Press said they felt the officers used excessive force when they confronted Mr. Dziekanski and stunned him several times with a taser. About half of those surveyed said the death and the inquiry hasn't changed their confidence in the Mounties, but 36 per cent said their confidence decreased.

Mr. Elliott said he would ask Canadians to reflect for a minute before they jump to conclusions.

“I think there is a real danger in us making judgments, particularly the judgments about the character of people or organizations, based on our own limited experience,” he said. “Even in situations where people make mistakes or don't act appropriately, I think there is a requirement do a sober sound examination of the facts or the circumstances and I think the expression 'walk a mile in my shoes' comes to mind.”

Mr. Elliott said last month, that given the “high risk of death” in some cases, RCMP officers have been required since last June to limit their use of tasers to individuals who pose a clear threat to the public or police. Prior to that policy change, the Mounties were permitted to use of tasers in dealing with people merely because they were “actively resistant.”

There have been more than a dozen deaths related to the use of tasers in Canada. But Mr. Elliott has insisted that, even though they “hurt like hell,” they are much safer than firearms and are not lethal per se.

Walk in our shoes, RCMP boss says of Taser use

March 22, 2009
canada.com

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Halfway around the world, RCMP Commissioner Bill Elliott found himself dogged Sunday by questions surrounding the fatal Taser incident involving a Polish man last year in Vancouver.

While visiting Canadian troops and RCMP officers in Afghanistan, reporters asked about an ongoing inquiry into the death of Polish tourist Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport. Dziekanski had been zapped by a Taser electric stun device after apparently threatening several RCMP officers with a stapler.

Elliott said that he thought that there had been "a tendency to look at this as a black and white situation . . . The whole notion of looking at a whole notion of looking at a video in slow motion or frame-by-frame is completely contrary to how a real human being perceives things when they are in the midst of a situation."

In one of his strongest statements regarding what has been said and written in Canada after the Dziekanski tragedy, Elliott added, "Even in situations where people make mistakes or don't act appropriately, I think there is a requirement for a sober, sound examination of the facts and circumstances. I think the expression, 'Walk a mile in my shoes,' comes to mind."

"I am optimistic that the inquiry will result in an assessment and recommendations that are based on that and not based on a knee-jerk reaction to what is heard, what is said or seen," Elliot told reporters at Kandahar airfield, where more than a dozen RCMP officers are deployed.

The use of Tasers, or conducted energy weapons, as officials sometimes like to call them, has raised broader issues that "really relate to the public perception of the RCMP and public confidence in the RCMP," the commissioner said.

"I am concerned about and aware that our reputation has taken some blows," he said.

Nevertheless, Elliott still believed that "Canadians support the RCMP phenomenally . . . I would just ask Canadians to reflect for a minute before they jump to conclusions."

RCMP uses Taser to subdue teen

Under the amended policy, an officer is only permitted to use a stun gun if he or she is in physical danger or the public is in danger ... It means Mounties can no longer shock people who are simply "actively resistant" to officers' orders, the commissioner said ... "We've now made it very clear that the only time the use of a Taser can be justified is where there is a threat, either to our officers or members of the public," he told reporters after his appearance before the committee.

March 21, 2009
Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun

RCMP in Port Coquitlam used a Taser early Thursday to restrain a violent and distraught teenager.

Police were called just before 1 a.m. to the area of Cedar Drive and Lincoln Avenue to look into reports of several males shouting and fighting.

A witness reported one of the males making verbal threats; one report said one of them had a knife.

One of the youths told a witness he wanted to commit suicide, police said. A male who was fleeing was arrested without incident, but a second male with blood on his sweater and face shouted at police that he wanted to be killed. Officers ordered the 16-year-old to put his hands up and advised him he was under arrest. "The male continued to shout at officers that he wanted to be killed," RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen said.

"He was told several times to lie down on the ground. However, he continued to ask that the officers kill him, and he refused to obey instructions."

A Taser was used on the teen, who was restrained without further incident. He was examined by ambulance paramedics at the Coquitlam RCMP detachment. Police said the teen, who showed signs of intoxication, was reported missing from a youth home in Burnaby. He was taken to a local hospital for a mental health assessment.

Quote of the day

From a December 2008 Letter to the Editor of The Missourian

"Just as war is too important to leave up to generals, Taser use is too important to leave up to the police and to the for-profit Taser company, which has been running the show."

EDITORIAL: Firing Tasers in Toronto

March 20, 2009

Police say stun guns prevent injuries, sparing the lives of officers and those who are zapped with 50,000 volts of electricity. Amnesty International says 25 Canadians have died after being stunned.

Clearly, we're still in a phase of exploring the benefits and the dangers of these weapons. As such, it's welcome news that Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair has produced a comprehensive accounting of the circumstances of Taser use by his officers.

Last year, Toronto police used Tasers on 312 people (and five dogs) according to the report prepared for next week's Police Services Board meeting. In the vast majority of cases, police deployed the stun guns – defined as everything from unholstering and aiming the weapon to firing the probes – on people who were violent or likely to cause serious bodily harm or death to themselves, an officer or someone else.

Yet, 11 people who displayed no aggression at all but simply refused, verbally or by not moving, to follow police direction were subjected to "demonstrated force." That can include having the Taser pointed at them and electric sparks shown.

Police rules allow for this but given the growing controversy over Tasers, the police board would do well to give this policy a second look. If it's unacceptable for police to threaten passive people by pointing their handgun at them, why allow it with a Taser?

Greater care must be taken to ensure Tasers are used only in cases where the danger is real and immediate, not as a first response.

STU professor backs outright ban on tasers

March 20, 2009
MICHAEL STAPLES, Daily Gleaner

A report released this week says directed energy devices can cause seizures in people if the electric barbs pierce the scalp and shock the brain has renewed calls for police departments to stop using the stun guns.

Michael Boudreau, a criminology professor at St. Thomas University, said an outright ban on tasers is needed.

"When they were first introduced, there were good intentions behind their use - in terms of trying to (respond to a situation) without resorting to a firearm. (But) the taser, it seems, has now become the first go-to weapon, as opposed to other sorts of tactics," he said.

Tasers emit 50,000 volts of electricity.

An article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal this week on the accidental jolting in the back of the head of an Ontario police officer described how the individual collapsed and went into a seizure for about a minute.

Boudreau said the report highlights how dangerous the weapons can be.

"It's fine for the manufacture to say 'don't point it at someone's head,' but, obviously, accidents can happen and this is a clear case of one ... No matter how well they are used, mistakes can be made."

An American organization said it's watching taser-related developments in Canada with great interest.

"Our coalition is not supporting a ban, but working for strict regulations, oversight and good training ... that people do not consistently get here," Mary Hussmann of the Coalition to Control Tasers, based in Columbia, Mo., said in an interview.

The Coalition to Control Tasers is composed of the American Civil Liberties Union, GRO-Grass Roots Organizing, Mid-Missouri Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

"We are very impressed that the people (in Canada) are standing up," Hussmann said.

"(Tasers) should be very rarely used. I think a lot of people in Canada are on the right track. People understand what guns are used for but they don't quite get where these tasers fit in."

Boudreau said he agrees extra training is a good idea, but instruction has to be ongoing.

"I might be prepared to say, 'yeah that's a good thing,' if there was a guarantee this training was going to be extensive and almost something like semi-annual. Without that extensive training, I still remain highly skeptical," he said.

Boudreau said taser usage is more tightly regulated in Canada than in the U.S., but that hasn't prevented incidents from occurring here.

"More public education is needed for the police to tell why they really need these things," he said.

Boudreau said Americans can learn from Canadian mistakes that, despite what the police say, tasers remain contentious weapons and that the time has come for a moratorium.

"Hopefully, they can learn they are not working here either and here we have a much more highly regulated police force," he said.

Taser testing reveals glitch in one Kingston stun gun

March 20, 2009
ROB TRIPP, Kingston Whig-Standard

Kingston Police have sent one of their electric stun guns back to its American manufacturer after tests showed it was not operating according to specifications.

Chief Stephen Tanner said the Taser is one of 19 that was tested at an independent Ottawa laboratory.

The tests showed that all of the weapons are discharging acceptable amounts of electricity. They are designed to deliver 50,000 volts to incapacitate a person.

Kingston's Tasers are supposed to operate with a pulse rate between 16.5 and 20 pulses per second. The faulty gun pulsed at 16.1.

"I'm not sure that's scientifically significant," Tanner said, in an interview.

He's not sure what problem would be caused by the lower pulse rate.

"It was probably delivering less of an impact," Tanner said yesterday, at a meeting of the police services board, the civilian body that oversees the department.

To be certain it doesn't present a problem, Kingston Police are shipping the weapon to Taser International and asking the firm to bring the gun back within specs.

"It probably is not a warranty matter," Tanner said, though he doesn't expect it will be costly fix.

If the gun can't be adjusted, it will be replaced.

Kingston Police have 34 Tasers. All are undergoing independent tests to satisfy public concern about the weapons after an investigative report broadcast last December by CBC television found that some older model Tasers emitted much larger shocks than the American manufacturer said was possible.

The finding fuelled public controversy about the weapons and prompted many police agencies to pull the weapons out of use until they could be tested.

Kingston Police did not stop using their Tasers.

CBC sent 44 Tasers to an independent lab in the U.S. for analysis.

All of Kingston's Tasers are the older model that was part of the CBC testing.

Tanner said the department's remaining Tasers should be tested within the next week or two.

Braidwood Inquiry

Scheduled Witnesses (Subject To Change)

Week of Monday, March 23, 2009

Cpl. Benjamin Robinson (RCMP)
Cpl. Nycki Basra (RCMP) – tentative
Allan Maciak BC Ambulance Services
Mike Egli BC Ambulance Services
Miles Randell BC Ambulance Services
Ron Van Houten BC Ambulance Services

Boys, 15, Tasered by Toronto police, stats show

March 20, 2009
JONATHAN HAYWARD/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Toronto Star

A 71-year-old man and two 15-year-old boys were among the people Tasered by Toronto police last year, new figures indicate.

While a police report says 122 people were Tasered in 2008, it fails to reveal where and when each incident took place and more explicit details of the events leading up to the confrontations.

Police are refusing to comment on the contents of the 21-page report until it is presented at a March 30 Toronto Police Services Board meeting.

Despite the lack of detail, board chair Alok Mukherjee called it one of the most comprehensive Taser reports ever created in the country. Nevertheless, he admitted there could be a need for the release of more information in the future.

In the last year, the issue of Taser transparency has come up at several board meetings, leading police to provide more information about incidents involving the conducted energy weapon.

"I won't be surprised if we have a similar discussion again after board members review this report and have issues that they want probed further," Mukherjee said. "I won't be surprised if the chief has to consider (more) improvements."

The current report entitled Use of Conducted Energy Weapons provides at least three times the information contained in the 2007 document. Whereas the previous report indicated only brief reasons for using the controversial weapon and the type of deployment chosen – showing the current, pressing it against a subject or shooting the darts – the new document reveals better description of the incidents and subjects by age, condition, behaviour and the threat officers believe they posed.

It also includes information about whether another type of force, such as a gun or baton, was used before officers decided to deploy a Taser. Whether training issues may have factored into an officer's decision and if an injury resulted from the interaction, are also contained in the report.

Last year, the report shows, Emergency Task Force officers shot the weapon's darts into the 71-year-old man after responding to a weapons call. They had deemed the man an emotionally distressed person in danger of doing harm to himself or others – grounds, according to the police Use of Force Model, to use lethal force, even a gun.

In two other instances, front line supervisors stunned two teenagers. One 15-year-old boy was deemed suicidal. The other was armed with a knife. On yet another occasion, to quell a 12-year-old boy who police perceived was in danger of causing bodily harm to himself or others, the report shows officers pulled out their Tasers and displayed its threatening blue current.

Police spokesperson Mark Pugash would not comment on details of the current report, but said it is the behaviour of a subject that influences how an officer reacts and with what type of force – not the subject's age, mental status or motivation. "Age doesn't matter. A 13-year-old is able to pose as great a threat as a 60-year-old," Pugash said. He said the same applies to those deemed EDP, emotionally disturbed persons.

Last year, police used Tasers in one of its three modes 376 times in 329 incidents. It's a slight reduction from 2007, when the conducted energy weapon was used 404 times in 368 incidents.

In 2008, 312 people came into some contact with a police Taser, down from 347 people in 2007.

Of the 2008 incidents, the report indicates officers classified 112 subjects as emotionally disturbed. But, the report says "to conclude (Tasers) are used primarily on those with a mental disorder would be inaccurate" because few of the same subjects were subsequently arrested under the Mental Health Act.

In at least one 2008 incident, police appear to have stunned someone unlawfully, the report shows, by fully deploying the device on a person classified as active resistant. In lay parlance, that means a subject was refusing to cooperate with police by actively pulling away or trying to escape.

Only a handful of highly specialized officers are permitted to holster a Taser and can only shoot its darts if a subject is assaultive – threatens or gestures violence – or is perceived as capable of causing serious bodily harm to self or others.

Toronto police used Tasers 367 times in 2008: statistics

March 19, 2009
CBC News

Toronto police fired Tasers 367 times to subdue people in 2008, more than double the number of times the stun gun was used by frontline officers in 2006, according to the force's statistics.

The statistics, revealed by Toronto police Chief Bill Blair this week in an annual report to the Police Services Board, also show that 34 per cent of last year's 329 different incidents in which Tasers were used involved people officers believed to be emotionally disturbed.

The figure rises to 41 per cent when combined with subjects believed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Blair's report said.

The figure leaves advocates of the mentally ill worried that the use of the stun guns, which use electro-shock to temporarily incapacitate a potential assailant, is still too high.

Linda Carey, who works with Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office, an Ontario mental health advocacy group, said she wonders if police are being too quick to draw on their Tasers.

"If you looked at it and you contained the situation, in other words where you had the person in an area where they not going to hurt another person, or harm themselves, things might actually calm down," Carey told CBC News.

In the report, Blair said officers are using "good judgment under difficult circumstances and making appropriate decisions to use the minimum force necessary" when it comes to using Tasers.

He said that in 65 per cent of the cases, officers "perceived the subject behaviour as assaultive." In some of the other cases, Blair said, the person struck with a Taser "was likely to cause serious bodily harm or death."

Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash told CBC News officers must act quickly to prevent harm to themselves, the subjects and the public.

"It would be silly, for example, to suggest that if somebody is threatening you with a knife, that you were to question them to find out or not they were emotionally disturbed," he said.

The annual report is part of the agenda for the next Police Services Board meeting to be held later this month.

Globe leads National Newspaper Award nominations

TORONTO — The Globe and Mail leads the pack of finalists with 13 nominations in the running for the 2008 National Newspaper Awards to be announced May 22 in Montreal.

...

Investigations: Sue Bailey and Jim Bronskill of The Canadian Press for an investigation, with the CBC, into the increasing use of Taser guns by police forces;

...

Police to get 6,000 extra Tasers

March 19, 2009
BBC News

An extra 6,000 Taser stun guns are to be used by police in England and Wales at a cost of £8m, the Home Office says.

The funding follows a 12-month trial in 10 forces to extend their use to trained frontline officers.

There are already 6,700 firearms officers able to use the weapons, which can temporarily disable a suspect.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith says they are safer for the police and public but human rights body Amnesty International has called them "potentially lethal".

The guns fire needle-tipped darts up to 21ft (6m) to deliver a disabling, 50,000-volt shock.

'Extremely disappointing'

Ms Smith said: "I am proud that we have one of the few police services around the world that does not regularly carry firearms and I want to keep it that way.

"Everyday the police put themselves in danger to protect us, the public... I want to give the police the tools they tell me they need to confront dangerous people."

The Home Office also announced an additional £2.3m to pay for the cartridges. TOP FIVE TASER-USING FORCES
West Midlands Police: 600
British Transport Police: 400
Merseyside Police: 365
West Yorkshire Police: 327
Devon & Cornwall Constabulary: 325
Source: Home Office

When extra funding was made available, police forces submitted bids to the Home Office for the number of Tasers they required, and each was given its total.

Paul McKeever, of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "The investment rightly reflects the professionalism of police officers nationwide and recognises the vital role Taser plays in the fight against crime."

But he said it was "extremely disappointing" the Metropolitan Police had failed to "take advantage" of the funding.

The force has chosen not to sanction extending their use in London because of fears they could "damage public confidence".

Mr McKeever said Tasers provide a less lethal alternative to firearms and gives officers confidence and reassurance when confronted with volatile situations.

A Metropolitan Police Authority spokesman said while the guns add useful flexibility to police armoury, there is a responsibility to reinforce public confidence in the force.

"This could be affected by an uncalled for increase in the deployment of Tasers, which are still widely perceived as oppressive," he said.

He added that a decision on extending the use of Tasers would not be made until the results of a full report into the pilot scheme in May.

Derek Talbot, from the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said he welcomed the roll out following the "successful" 12 month trial.

In 85% of the 661 incidents involving Tasers during the trial, the situation was resolved without the weapon being fired, he said.

The Home Office says this shows they act as a powerful deterrent in preventing any escalation in violence.

Norfolk County : PSB Debates Across-The-Board Tasers

March 19, 2009
CD98.9 FM - Posted by Adam Liefl

The Norfolk County Police Services Board doesn't seem to be completely sold on a Canadian Police Association position of giving every officer on-duty a taser. While the issue has become a contentious one across Canada, it's that much more heated in areas where there occurred deaths in cases involving tasers, like Norfolk. The Board discussed the report yesterday at their monthly meeting but were not all in agreement on either their power level or on just how many officers should be allowed to carry them. Chair Peter Hellyer says unanimous deployment may not be a good thing for relatively young detachments like Norfolk's. The CPA is suggesting that all officers be authorized to carry one, though Hellyer and others on the board think that they should be reserved for senior or supervisory officers. Also debated was the power level of a taser. Inspector Zvonko Horvat agrees with the the CPA stance, that a taser should be labelled an "intermediate weapon" like a baton or pepper spray. Though Hellyer says they're borderline lethal, which would put it a shade below the category of a gun. Cost would also be an issue, as each unit runs for about $1500. Hellyer says the Board will challenge the idea and bring the issue up to the senior OPP ranks and even Attorney General Chris Bentley when he makes a local stop in a couple of weeks.

EDITORIAL: Give Taser cams a chance

March 19, 2009
Chronicle Herald

HALIFAX Regional Police might not be ready to embrace Taser cameras, but the general public certainly is. Police spokesman Const. Jeff Carr says the department has little interest in acquiring the enhanced stun-gun technology, adding there are "too many issues" with it. Other jurisdictions like Vancouver and Calgary have made the same decision.

But the reality is that there are too many issues with Tasers, period. Taser cams, which start making video and audio recordings the moment the stun gun is deployed, could help resolve some of those issues. Better yet, they could help jolt public trust in the use of the weapon back to life.

It’s important to note that Taser cams are not infallible. Departments that have tested the devices have noted some glitches. There have been reports of the camera blanking out on occasion when the trigger is pulled, which, of course, defeats the purpose. A more common difficulty involves officers inadvertently blocking the camera lens in the Taser’s handle when, in stressful situations, they instinctively revert to a two-handed grip, as they have been trained to do when pointing a service pistol.

But camera-equipped stun guns also have their advantages. Some police officers feel the technology gives them an extra measure of protection – from frivolous complaints. The manufacturer, Taser International, likes to quote statistical data collected in a 2006 study for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which suggests that 96 per cent of the time, the recording of a disputed altercation has substantiated the officers’ versions of events.

On the other side of the ledger, the public gains an extra measure of protection from those police officers who are quick to resort to Tasers as an easy compliance tool. Everyone in law enforcement knows that a recording device is a double-edged sword – it will expose their actions as well as the suspect’s – and they are more likely to exercise restraint as a consequence.

Taser International claims citizen complaints are cut down by half in those jurisdictions where Taser cams are in use. Stricter procedures might have something to do with it, though. For example, in Edmonton, where the new technology is now in use, Taserings are three times less common than they were in 2005. But police have also implemented a new policy whereby a senior officer is called to the scene whenever a Taser is discharged in order to review the events and download the data.

In the end, Taser recordings are merely a piece of evidence. They don’t show what happened before or after an incident and they must be taken in their proper context. But more information and corroboration is better than less, and a more accountable police officer is a more effective one.

Funding cut threatens RCMP watchdog

March 18, 2009
KATHERINE O'NEILL, Globe and Mail

The chairman of the RCMP Public Complaints Commission is warning that a looming deep funding cut by the federal government may hamper the agency's ability to properly police the Mounties.

Since late 2007, the independent RCMP watchdog has been receiving an extra $3.5-million on top of its annual base budget of $5.1-million. But that temporary top-up is due to run out on March 31 and no decisions have been made on whether it will be extended.

Paul Kennedy, the commission chairman, said in an interview yesterday that the extra cash was used to build up the agency's public profile across the country and research pressing policy issues, including taser use by the RCMP.

"I would think most Canadians I've come across say that's good work, it's good value work and we are glad you do it," he said.

Mr. Kennedy said this particular work is essential during a time "which is sort of abounding with cynicism in terms of some police activities."

The commission, which has 55-full-time employees, is charged with handling public complaints made against the RCMP, a multibillion organization with thousands of members.

Chris McCluskey, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, confirmed the temporary funding will expire on March 31, but added a "process" is currently under way to consider extending it.

"There is no decision made on that whatsoever," he said.

Mr. McCluskey said the temporary funding boost in 2007 "coincided" with then-public safety minister Stockwell Day's request that the complaints commission conduct a study on RCMP taser use.

The call was made shortly after Robert Dziekanski, a Polish citizen, was killed during a confrontation at Vancouver airport where Mounties used a taser.

The commission's report on taser use by the RCMP, which cost about $100,000 to research, was released last June.

In the meantime, Mr. McCluskey, said the government is currently developing a proposal to revamp and strengthen the RCMP review and complaints body.

Vancouver cops tied for second in Canada in Taser usage

March 16, 2009
Mike Howell, Vancouver Courier

The Vancouver Police Department tied for second with Niagara Regional Police Service for the number of times a Taser was fired in 2007.

Out of eight departments in Canada, including Montreal, officers from Vancouver and Niagara fired the Taser 74 times each. Edmonton topped all departments with 89. Victoria officers fired the Taser 71 times, with Greater Sudbury (55), Halifax (38), Waterloo Regional (33) and Montreal (32) rounding out the eight departments. The report did not include statistics from Toronto, which has one of the largest police departments in Canada.

The statistics are contained in a brief report that goes before the Vancouver Police Board March 18. The report also included statistics for 2008, but only four departments are listed.

The VPD's use of the Taser in 2008 dropped to 27 times from 74 in 2007. Greater Sudbury's force also saw a decrease in 2008, with 23 firings from 55 in 2007. The report lists statistics for two other departments but didn't name them. The report's author, Drazen Manojlovic, said the two unnamed departments haven't publicly released the statistics.

But Manojlovic, who is the VPD's director of planning and research, said the departments-which fired their stun guns 91 and 73 times respectively in 2008-are of comparable size to the VPD.

Manojlovic said it was "unlikely" that the other departments represented in the report had similar decreases to the VPD. He didn't explain the reason for the decrease.

In February, the Courier attempted to determine why the VPD saw such a dramatic decrease in use of the stun gun since 2005. In 2006, the VPD fired the Taser 93 times and 66 in 2005.

Const. Jana McGuinness, a media liaison officer with the department, said the VPD couldn't point to a definitive reason for the decrease. McGuinness also told the Courier in February that there was no directive from Police Chief Jim Chu to curtail the use of the controversial weapon.

Manojlovic noted in his report that his analysis of the statistics "to be blunt, only scratches the surface." Other factors, including how many officers are authorized to use a Taser and departments' policies around Taser use were not included in the report.

"If more comprehensive analysis is required, then the VPD would need to formally canvass comparable police departments later in 2009 to obtain more data, enquire about the factors listed above, and obtain approval to publicly release such information," Manojlovic wrote.

The Canadian Association of Police Boards released a report Feb. 24 on stun guns, or conducted energy weapons. The association agrees in theory that a Taser can be a valuable force option for police.

"However, [the association] would like to see more evidence and discussion to clarify the conditions under which use of [Tasers] does not pose risk of injury or death," the report said.

At last count, the VPD had more than 120 Tasers, which are made in the United States by Taser International. The stun gun resembles a handgun and releases 50,000 volts of electricity through two probes into clothing or skin.

Generalized tonic-clonic seizure after a taser shot to the head

March 17, 2009
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Esther T. Bui, MD, Myra Sourkes, MD and Richard Wennberg, MD
From the Division of Neurology, Krembil Neuroscience Centre, University Health Network, Toronto Western Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.

Correspondence to: Dr. Richard Wennberg, Toronto Western Hospital, Ste. 5W444, 399 Bathurst St., Toronto ON M5T 2S8; fax 416 603-5768; r.wennberg@utoronto.ca

Abstract

During a police chase on foot, a previously well police officer was hit mistakenly by a taser shot meant for the suspect. The taser gun had been fired once, sending 2 barbed darts into his upper back and occiput. Within seconds, the officer collapsed and experienced a generalized tonic-clonic seizure with loss of consciousness and postictal confusion. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging scans of the head and electroencephalograms were normal. The patient has experienced no recurrence of seizure over more than a year of follow-up. This report shows that a taser shot to the head may result in a brain-specific complication such as generalized tonic-clonic seizure. It also suggests that seizure should be considered an adverse event related to taser use.

The taser stun gun, manufactured by Taser International in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a weapon used increasingly among law enforcement personnel to temporarily incapacitate detainees. Questions have arisen in both the scientific literature and the lay press about the device's safety.1–3 In this article, we report the occurrence of a generalized tonic-clonic seizure in a person who received a taser shot to the head.

Case report

The patient was a previously well police officer in his 30s who took part in a police chase involving a suspected robber. He and a colleague cornered the suspect, who initially appeared to surrender but then attempted an escape. The officer had begun to chase the suspect on foot when he experienced a sudden, severe pain in the back of his head. He later described the moment as feeling like he had been "hit by a bat." He recalled letting out a brief gasp before losing consciousness. He had no recollection of falling to the ground on top of the suspect. Police records indicate that the officer's colleague had fired a taser shot meant for the suspect but that the 2 copper darts had instead struck the officer in the occiput and upper back. The officer had been wearing an armoured vest. Immediately after being shot, he was found by his colleague to be unresponsive and foaming at the mouth. His eyes were rolled upward and he had generalized tonic-clonic movements with apnea lasting for about 1 minute. He did not have urinary incontinence. Postictally, he was initially confused and combative. Emergency medical services personnel were able to restrain him. They recorded a Glasgow Coma Score of 9 within 5 minutes after arrival; 5 minutes later, his score was 13.

The patient's next memory was of being in the emergency department. During this period, he felt as if he were in "a bad dream." As he gradually regained orientation over the next few hours, he became aware of thoracic tightness that was aggravated by deep breaths, and a severe headache. He was monitored overnight, then discharged in stable condition.

The patient had no history of febrile or unprovoked seizures, head injuries, headaches, meningitis or encephalitis. He had no family history of seizures or of other neurologic or psychiatric conditions. His developmental history was normal. He was not taking any medications.

The results of a general physical and neurologic examination were normal. Results of routine blood tests were unremarkable except for an elevated leukocyte count of 12.9 (normal 3.6–11.0) x 109/L 30 minutes after the event (decreasing to 11.2 x 109/L 5 hours later) and an elevated serum creatine kinase level of 580 (normal < 232) U/L.

The patient returned to full-time work 5 days after the incident. He experienced persistent headaches, dizziness, back pain and chest tightness. Magnetic resonance imaging scans of the head (1.5 and 3 Tesla) as well as routine and 24-hour ambulatory electroencephalography were performed 1, 2 and 12 months after the seizure. All findings were normal.

A diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury (concussion), in addition to provoked seizure, was considered after a neurologic consultation during assessment of the patient at a rehabilitation centre 6 months after injury. A psychiatric consultation 7 months after injury suggested an Axis I diagnosis of adjustment disorder with depressed and anxious mood. Formal neuropsychological testing performed 9 months after injury showed no definite evidence of cognitive impairment in any domain.

The patient has not had further seizures since the injury more than 1 year ago. His symptoms of anxiety, difficulties concentrating, irritability, nonspecific dizziness and persistent headaches have not completely resolved. Treatment trials have included amitriptyline 50 mg nightly, topiramate 25 mg nightly, escitalopram 10 mg nightly, almotriptan 12.5 mg as needed and ibuprofen 200–400 mg as needed.


Comments

A taser stun gun is a device designed to temporarily immobilize a human target by delivering a direct-current type of shock through 2 barbed copper darts. The shock causes involuntary muscle contraction. Neuromuscular transmission is thought to be affected primarily at the level of the peripheral motor nerve, although studies have shown that stimulation of the spinal cord may occur with dart penetration as far away as the anterior torso.4,5 The muscle contraction induced by tasers is typically tonic, with retained consciousness, no clonic movements and no postictal confusion.4 The manufacturer's website estimates that a single shot lasts about 5 seconds, delivers 19 pulses per second with a typical charge of 100 microcoulombs per pulse, generates an average net current of 2 milliamperes and has an estimated peak voltage of 1300 volts.6

The data are sparse on how this device may affect the central nervous system. A case has been reported involving intracranial penetration by a taser dart with loss of consciousness for 5 minutes.7 The person who had been struck recovered shortly afterward with a mild headache. No details were reported on whether a seizure occurred, although only 1 of the 2 darts struck the patient.7 Another case report describes cranial penetration by a taser dart (with the second dart found in a hair braid) with transient decreased consciousness; no further details were given.5 Other reports of secondary loss of consciousness related to taser shots have involved only cases of severe traumatic head injuries that resulted from falls during neuromuscular incapacitation.5

The description by witnesses of the event involving our patient is most compatible with a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. The loss of consciousness, clonic movements, foaming at the mouth and postictal confusion experienced by our patient differentiate the episode from the usual transient incapacitation induced by tasers. The taser current that passed to his brain from the dart in the occiput probably provoked the seizure directly, with a mechanism akin to that of seizures induced by electroconvulsive therapy. In electroconvulsive therapy, an initial charge of 38–60 millicoulombs is used, according to therapeutic protocol in the United States.8 It is plausible that a copper dart penetrating the scalp and discharging 95 pulses of 100 microcoulombs each could trigger a generalized convulsion.

Given previous case reports of taser-induced cardiac arrhythmias, one could speculate that an initial induced cardiac arrhythmia and a secondary hypoxic seizure, or convulsive syncope, occurred in our case. Convulsive syncope is believed to result from reticular disinhibition in the brainstem resulting from hypoxia-induced cortical dysfunction.9 However, this mechanism seems unlikely in this case, especially given that the points of impact of the taser darts were over the head and upper back and not the heart.

Even less likely is the possibility that the convulsion was induced by a concussion resulting from the direct physical impact of the darts or impact of the patient's head on the ground. Our patient's prolonged period of unresponsiveness and subsequent postictal confusion is not typical of a concussive convulsion, which is usually characterized by immediate onset and a rapid recovery that takes place over a few minutes.10 On the other hand, we believe that his persistent symptoms after injury may be attributable in part to postconcussion syndrome, presumably secondary to mild traumatic brain injury caused by either the impact of the taser dart or the subsequent fall to the ground during the provoked seizure.

Until now, most reports of taser-related adverse events have understandably concentrated on cardiac complications associated with shots to the chest.2 Our report shows that a taser shot to the head may result in brain-specific complications. It also suggests that seizure should be added to the list of taser-related adverse events.

Footnotes

Une version française de ce résumé est disponible à l'adresse www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/180/6/625/DC1

This article has been peer reviewed.

Contributors: All of the authors were involved in the preparation of this manuscript and approved the final version submitted for publication.

Competing interests: None declared.

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