Yet Another Step With No Resolve In Dziekanski Death

December 9, 2009
By Ben Meisner, Opinion 250

The report by Paul Kennedy, the Commissioner of Public Complaints Against the RCMP into the death of Robert Dziekanski and surrounding investigation by the RCMP into the matter is a good one; it however will be met in the same manner as the previous investigations.

The RCMP is not compelled to accept any of his findings , so in fact the report has no teeth.

We now will hold an Inquest into the death of the Polish immigrant because the law calls upon the system to do so when a person dies while in the custody of a police force in BC. That inquest will see all of the previous information trotted out again, they will have the four officers again give testimony and then the Jury will sit. Will they find fault in the matter? No, they are not allowed to do that as a Coroner’s jury , so it will be step two in the ongoing meaningless process.
We then will have to wait for the findings of Retired Justice Thomas Braidwood in the inquiry conducted before him. Unless he over steps the bounds, he cannot recommend that charges be laid, he is however the kind of guy that might come close to suggesting that. So that will end step three in the process without anything ever really coming out of it.

Then there is the matter of an RCMP disciplinary hearing, and that won't happen because it is supposed to be held within one year of the event in question. It has been two years since Dziekanski died.

The Crown meantime had the opportunity to lay charges in the matter but told the people of the province that there was, in their mind, insufficient evidence for a conviction. That decision by the way came before the Braidwood Inquiry took place and that file was prepared by the RCMP.

Now we do know that the media spin from the RCMP was such at the beginning that had the Pritchard video not appeared, the matter would have died a very quick death. The public however was exposed to something much different than what was portrayed by the police.

Unless the Provincial Government decides to appoint a special prosecutor and lay charges in the matter, the whole set of circumstances surrounding the death of the Polish immigrant is scheduled for a trip to the garbage can. At the outset the matter should have been put before a judge in a court of law. Let the evidence be presented and let that evidence determine whether a crime was committed or not.

Allowing a Crown Attorney to decide whether there is sufficient evidence is akin to having the four investigating officers determine if there was any wrong doing, and our system supposedly does not allow that, although it is becoming more common place every day.

For those people that like to comment that a police officer's job is difficult, keep this in mind, a police officer swears to uphold the law , not make up laws as he or she deems fit. The moment police officers start making up their own laws, that in any other country of the world is called a police state.

It should be the goal of every honest, honourable, hard working police officer to ensure that the bad are weeded out, protecting those that bend the system does nothing but paint them all with the same brush.

As for the the charge that the media have just sensationalized the issue, lets hope that they continue to talk about the death front and center, because in may be the only court in which Robert Dziekanski will be heard.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

TASER REPORT SLAMS RCMP

December 9, 2009
Brian Hutchinson, National Post

Paul Kennedy wanted more oversight powers. Instead, he's getting pink-slipped. But the chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP seems determined to leave office with a bang, and a bite.

Yesterday, in one of his last major acts as the country's federally appointed RCMP watchdog -- his contract was not renewed and he's out of a job at year's end-- Mr. Kennedy offered a bruising assessment of the way four Mounties handled Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport in 2007.

To no one's surprise, the CPC chairman found fault with the four officers and with the subsequent RCMP investigation of the Dziekanski fatality.

But Mr. Kennedy went much further than expected, using yesterday's news conference in Vancouver to take some well-aimed verbal shots at stagnant RCMP culture, especially its notorious, self-destructive resistance to change. It is a "massively inert" organization, he said, and that must not stand.

He also used the opportunity to castigate RCMP Commissioner William Elliott.

They have not seen eye to eye on several issues, including Mr. Kennedy's previous, bleak assessments of internal police investigations and his request for more oversight powers; that has gone nowhere.

Yesterday, Mr. Kennedy called out Commissioner Elliott for not responding to his Dziekanski report. "It has not impressed me at all," he told reporters. Mr. Elliott's intentional disregard for his work is "bizarre to the extreme."

A slim but detailed executive summary of his 208-page report was made public in Vancouver yesterday. Mr. Elliott received the full document six weeks ago. He was invited to respond to it. He has chosen not to, for reasons that Mr. Kennedy said are unacceptable.

His report describes how Mr. Dziekanski died at the airport immediately after receiving five Taser shots to his body and being wrestled with on the ground by the four officers.

The incident was captured on video by an airport passerby, Paul Pritchard, and its release brought international condemnation and shamed the Mounties.

A subsequent public inquiry into the matter led by retired judge Thomas Braidwood has only sharpened criticism of the RCMP.

Mr. Kennedy reminded reporters yesterday that the CPC took the matter seriously; in fact, he had his own people in Vancouver examining the Dziekanski fatality within 24 hours of the incident.

Based on dispatch information the four officers were given, Mr. Kennedy writes, "the decision to approach Mr. Dziekanski to deal with the complaints was not unreasonable." Unfortunately, just about everything that followed at the airport was. The senior Mountie in charge, Corporal Benjamin "Monty" Robinson, failed to take control of the situation and the result was chaotic, Mr. Kennedy writes.

Each officer who approached Mr. Dziekanski responded to him differently, "because there was no direction," he told reporters yesterday. One officer circled; one flexed his baton; one gave the befuddled Mr. Dziekanski directions by pointing his finger; one, of course, pointed his Taser and fired.

Constable Kwesi Millington should have issued a required warning before deploying his Taser, Mr. Kennedy concluded in his report.

"No significant attempts were made to communicate with Mr. Dziekanski," he said. The multiple cycles of the Taser on Mr. Dziekanski were inappropriate. And the four officers "demonstrated no meaningful attempt to de-escalate the situation, nor did they approach the situation with a measured, coordinated and appropriate response."

The Taser was used too quickly, he concluded.

Furthermore, writes Mr. Kennedy, the handcuffs used on Mr. Dziekanski should have been removed as soon as the officers determined that he had lost consciousness and was in distress.

He rejected the officers' credibility. "I do not accept as accurate any of the versions of events as presented by the involved members because I find considerable and significant discrepancies in the detail and accuracy of the recollections of the members when compared against the otherwise uncontroverted video evidence."

Their notes of the incident were inadequate, he found.

Mr. Kennedy went on to suggest that the RCMP-led fatality investigation was compromised because Cpl. Robinson was allowed to attend an investigators' briefing within hours of Mr. Dziekanski's death. Moreover, the four officers should not have met "alone at the YVR [airport] sub-detachment office following the death of Mr. Dziekanski."

In all, Mr. Kennedy made 23 findings of fact, and 16 recommendations that seem to make sense. He wishes they were acted on, now.

Mr. Kennedy invited the RCMP brass in October to respond to his findings and recommendations; specifically, he asked Commissioner Elliott to share his opinion of the report. He would not.

In a letter written to Mr. Kennedy last week -- which Mr. Kennedy copied and handed to reporters yesterday -- Commissioner Elliott says, "it would not be appropriate, in our view, to provide you with our response prior to receiving the final [Braidwood] report of the inquiry."

Of course, Mr. Braidwood is not expected to deliver his final report until March 2010, at the earliest.

By then, Mr. Kennedy will be long gone from the RCMP Complaints Commission; however, should anyone wish to discuss with him his turbulent four-year run as complaints chairman, he promises to be available. And to be "as outspoken and as candid as possible."

---------

FROM THE REPORT

Selected quotes from Paul Kennedy's report on the death of Robert Dziekanski.

"I do not accept the version of events as presented by the four responding RCMP members. The fact that the members met together prior to providing statements causes me to further question their versions of events."

"I have noted that none of the members stopped to meaningfully obtain details or confirm from witnesses present the information received via police radio with respect to the nature of Mr. Dziekanski's actions (such as the allegation that Mr. Dziekanski had thrown furniture through a window -- which was later found not to be true -- or the degree of violence involved)."

"According to witness statements and the statements of the responding members, prior to the arrival of fire and ambulance personnel, Mr. Dziekanski was turning blue. That Mr. Dziekanski was in distress should have been increasingly obvious to the attending members."

"I noted a number of examples in which the information provided to the media was incorrect, and known to be so by the RCMP. The RCMP, however, decided not to correct those known errors."

Compiled by Phillipa Croome, National Post

More Details of Commissioner of Complaints Report on Dziekanski

December 8, 2009
By 250 News

Vancouver, B.C.- Saying the versions of events given by the RCMP members involved in the Dziekanski case, were not credible, the Commissioner for Complaints against the RCMP has released his final report on the death of Robert Dziekanski. Here are the key findings and recommendations:

"Overall, I found that the conduct of the responding members fell short of that expected of members of the RCMP. The members demonstrated no meaningful attempt to de-escalate the situation, nor did they approach the situation with a measured, coordinated and appropriate response. The failure of the senior member to take control of the scene, communicate with and direct the more junior and inexperienced members negatively manifested itself throughout the interaction with Mr. Dziekanski.

I do not accept the version of events as presented by the four responding RCMP members. The statements provided by the members are sparse in terms of detail of the events and the thought processes of the members as events unfolded. When tracked against the witness video, the recollections of the members fall short of a credible statement of the events as they actually unfolded. The fact that the members met together prior to providing statements causes me to further question their versions of events.

An issue inextricably linked to the incident is the use of a conducted energy weapon (CEW), also known as a TASER®, by an RCMP member during the arrest of Mr. Dziekanski. The CEW is a prohibited firearm pursuant to the regulations under the Criminal Code of Canada.1 Debate pertaining to the overall appropriateness of the use of CEWs by police had been ongoing for some time prior to the YVR incident (and has been previously commented on by the Commission as indicated below), but this particular use of a CEW focused considerable attention and scrutiny on appropriate CEW usage and the nature of the CEW as a weapon.

Overall, while I found that the IHIT investigation was unbiased, I did find a number of issues involved in the IHIT investigative processes. I also found issues with the RCMP's media releases related to this incident. It is essential that the RCMP develop a media and communications strategy specifically for in-custody death investigations that recognizes the need for regular, meaningful and timely updates to the media and to the public. In addition, the media and communications strategy should include a publicly available general investigative outline of the steps to be taken and the anticipated timeline for each step. "


The Commission's Findings and Recommendations:
As a result of my investigation, I made a number of findings and recommendations that I believe will assist the RCMP in enacting/reviewing policies and shape training to ensure that a tragic situation such as this is not repeated.

CPC Final Report Findings:

1.Finding
The RCMP members involved in the arrest of Mr. Dziekanski were in the lawful execution of their respective duties and were acting under appropriate legal authority.

2.Finding
In light of the information possessed by the RCMP members responding, the decision to approach Mr. Dziekanski to deal with the complaints was not unreasonable. At any point a member of the travelling public or an employee at YVR could have happened upon Mr. Dziekanski. As evidenced by the multiple calls to 911, it was incumbent upon the RCMP members to ensure a safe environment for the public and employees using the airport facility and to halt the disturbance being caused by Mr. Dziekanski.

3.Finding
To ensure a coordinated approach to Mr. Dziekanski, Corporal Robinson should have taken control and directed the other responding members to ensure that each was aware of the intended response and to ensure that each communicated with the others as the events unfolded.

4.Finding
Prior to deploying the CEW, Constable Millington should have issued the required warning/challenge to Mr. Dziekanski as required by RCMP policy, notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Dziekanski appeared not to understand the English language.

5.Finding
Because no significant attempts were made by the RCMP members present to communicate with Mr. Dziekanski, to obtain clarification of information pertaining to Mr. Dziekanski's situation, or to communicate among themselves, deployment of the CEW by Constable Millington was premature and was not appropriate in the circumstances.

6.Finding
Constable Millington cycled the CEW multiple times against Mr. Dziekanski when those subsequent cycles were not known by him to be necessary for the control of Mr. Dziekanski.

7.Finding
The multiple cycles of the CEW against Mr. Dziekanski when no significant effort was made to determine the effect of the CEW on Mr. Dziekanski was an inappropriate use of the CEW.

8.Finding
Corporal Robinson did not adequately monitor Mr. Dziekanski's breathing and heart rate.

9.Finding
Because Corporal Robinson did not know the qualifications of Mr. Enchelmaier, he should not have allowed him to provide first aid or actively monitor Mr. Dziekanski's condition. That task should have been performed by the RCMP members themselves. Corporal Robinson, therefore, failed to provide adequate medical care to Mr. Dziekanski.

10.Finding
The handcuffs should have been removed from Mr. Dziekanski when the members recognized that he was unconscious and in distress and no immediate threat to the members was perceived. At a minimum, they should have been removed immediately upon the initial request of medical personnel.

11.Finding
The failure of Corporal Robinson to take control of the scene, communicate with and direct the more junior and inexperienced members negatively manifested itself throughout the interaction with Mr. Dziekanski.

12.Finding
I do not accept as accurate any of the versions of events as presented by the involved members because I find considerable and significant discrepancies in the detail and accuracy of the recollections of the members when compared against the otherwise uncontroverted video evidence. In their statements, the members indicated in responses to numerous questions that they could not recall the detail of the events as they unfolded. The fact that the members met together and with the SRR prior to providing statements causes me to question further their versions of events.

13.Finding
The conduct of the responding members fell short of that expected of members of the RCMP by the Canadian public and by RCMP policies. The members demonstrated no meaningful attempt to de-escalate the situation, nor did they approach the situation with a measured, coordinated and appropriate response.

14.Finding
The members failed to adequately comply with their training in CAPRA and IM/IM to assess the behaviour of Mr. Dziekanski, and therefore the risk posed by him. As a result, the level of intervention went beyond what was necessary and acceptable, contrary to the RCMP's IM/IM and CAPRA model.

15.Finding
Because the RCMP positions the CEW as an intermediate weapon and trains its members that it is appropriate to use the CEW in response to low levels of threat because it is a relatively less harmful means of controlling a subject, the responding members did not fully appreciate the nature of the CEW as a weapon and it was resorted to too early.

16.Finding
Although IHIT did engage the services of a use of force expert, that expert was not provided with adequate direction in terms of the questions to be considered, the scope of his work or the terms of reference he was to consider.

17.Finding
Corporal Robinson, as an involved member, should not have been allowed to attend the IHIT briefing held at the Richmond Detachment on October 14, 2007. Sergeant Attew failed to ensure that only appropriate RCMP members were present during the briefing.

18.Finding
The responding RCMP members meeting alone at the YVR sub-detachment office following the death of Mr. Dziekanski was inappropriate.

19.Finding
An SRR should not have been permitted to meet alone with Constable Millington prior to the IHIT investigator.

20.Finding
If for no other reason than to be fair to the responding members and give them an opportunity to address the significant and readily apparent discrepancies between their versions of events and the video, it would have been appropriate to provide the responding members with an opportunity to view the Pritchard video prior to taking further statements from them.

21.Finding
The responding members did not keep adequate notes of the incident involving Mr. Dziekanski.

22.Finding
No bias or partiality toward the involved RCMP members was present in the IHIT investigation of the death of Mr. Dziekanski.

23.Finding
The RCMP should have released certain information to the media which would have served to clarify information pertaining to the death of Mr. Dziekanski and correct erroneous information previously provided without compromising the IHIT investigation.

CPC Final Report Recommendations:

1.Recommendation
The RCMP should review the CEW quality assessment program as currently in effect and consider whether it should be enhanced to ensure that a high degree of confidence may be placed in the performance of in-service CEWs.

2.Recommendation
The RCMP should continue to be involved in and stay abreast of current independent research on the use and effects of the CEW.

3.Recommendation
Notwithstanding the fact that the RCMP has (as of January 2009) amended its policy such that the use of the CEW is to be used in response to a threat to officer or public safety as determined by a member's assessment of the totality of the circumstances being encountered, the RCMP should clarify for its members and the public what the appropriate circumstances for using the CEW are and what threat threshold will be utilized to assess the appropriateness of such use.

4.Recommendation
The RCMP should consider a review of its training to ensure that its members are well versed in the potentially dangerous nature of the weapon and to ensure that training provided to members assists them in appropriately assessing the circumstances in which deployment of the CEW is justified, bearing in mind the degree of pain inflicted on the subject during the CEW deployment and the potential outcome of such deployment.

5.Recommendation
The RCMP should consider designing and implementing training for its members in techniques to communicate with persons who cannot meaningfully communicate with them.

6.Recommendation
The RCMP should:

1.Amend its Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) Usage Reporting Form (Form 3996), to require that information concerning a spark test be captured as part of the CEW usage reporting process (or include such requirement in the forthcoming Subject Behaviour/Officer Response data base); and
2.Edit its Operational policy to emphasize the importance of the spark test and clearly indicate that the spark test is mandatory to confirm proper functioning of the CEW.

7.Recommendation
RCMP detachment familiarization procedures should include a detailed review of available medical facilities and equipment.

8.Recommendation
The RCMP should review its processes and criteria with respect to the initiation of an internal investigation into the conduct of its members to ensure consistency of application across the country.

9.Recommendation
I reiterate my recommendation from my report on the Police Investigating Police (August 2009) that all RCMP member investigations involving death, serious injury or sexual assault should be referred to an external police force or provincial criminal investigation body for investigation. There should be no RCMP involvement in the investigation. If, however, the RCMP continues to investigate such matters, then I recommend that the RCMP implement clear policy directives that all investigations in which death or serious bodily injury are involved and which involve RCMP members investigating other police officers will be considered criminal in nature until demonstrated not to be.

10.Recommendation
If the protocol of SRR attendance is to continue, the RCMP should formalize the role of the SRR to provide clear policy and guidance to ensure that the SRR knows the bounds of his or her involvement and the required protocols with respect to such attendance, and that in all such cases the SRR not meet alone with a subject member in advance of being interviewed by an investigator.

11.Recommendation
I reiterate my recommendation in the Ian Bush decision (November 2007) that [t]he RCMP develop a policy that dictates the requirement, timeliness and use of the duty to account that members are obliged to provide.

12.Recommendation
The RCMP should review its operational policies and procedures to ensure that, particularly in serious cases in which members investigate the actions of other members, processes are available to enable investigator awareness of the nature and depth of detail required during interviews.

13.Recommendation
The RCMP should take steps to ensure that members are aware of the importance of note taking, and that supervisors should be encouraged to regularly review the notes taken by their subordinates to ensure the quality of such documentation.

14.Recommendation
Given the proliferation of recording devices, it is anticipated that incidents in which RCMP members will seek to obtain private video or audio recordings will potentially occur more frequently in the future. Whether the police seize a video or audio recording of an event or obtain it on consent from a member of the public, the police must know and advise the public of the authority under which the video or audio recording is obtained. I recommend that the RCMP provide clarification for members with respect to obtaining video or audio recordings of an event.

15.Recommendation
I reiterate my recommendation in the Ian Bush decision that [t]he RCMP develop a media and communications strategy specifically for police-involved shooting investigations that recognizes the need for regular, meaningful and timely updates to the media and to the public. In addition, the media and communications strategy should include a publicly available general investigative outline of the steps to be taken and the anticipated timeline for each step. I also expand my recommendation to cover all in-custody death investigations.

16.Recommendation
The RCMP should immediately conduct a review of its policies and training regimen to ensure that members are adequately trained with respect to recognizing the risks inherent in, and signs of, positional asphyxia and in taking steps to mitigate those risks.

Officers used Taser prematurely at Vancouver airport

December 8, 2009
Petti Fong, Toronto Star

The four RCMP officers involved in the Tasering of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski failed to de-escalate the situation and used the Taser weapon prematurely and inappropriately, the office for public complaints against the force has found.

Following a two-year investigation, Commissioner Paul Kennedy made some harsh criticisms of the RCMP in its handling of the case. Dziekanski was fired upon, within 24 seconds of four RCMP officers arriving at the scene, five times with the Taser weapon. He died minutes later on the floor of the international arrivals area at the Vancouver International Airport Oct. 14, 2007.

The shooting has dodged the RCMP since, especially following the release of a video shot by a bystander which clearly showed that Dziekanski was not combative and no warning was given before the weapon was deployed.

"Overall I found that the conduct of the responding members fell short of that expected of members of the RCMP," wrote Kennedy in his report. Earlier this month, Kennedy's contract as head of the commission, an oversight body, was not renewed.

"The members demonstrated no meaningful attempt to de-escalate the situation, nor did they approach the situation with a measured, coordinated and appropriate response," he wrote.

The failure of the senior member to take control of the scene and communicate with the junior members negatively manifested itself, according to the commission's findings.

In total, the commission made 23 findings and 16 recommendations. Among those findings were that the RCMP members involved had "considerable and significant discrepancies in the detail and accuracy of the recollection of the event." One recommendation by the commission was a broad review of the effectiveness of the conducted-energy weapon's quality assessment.

In a written response, RCMP commissioner William Elliott said that the RCMP have already taken "concrete action in relation to the death of Mr. Dziekanski and the events leading up to and following that terrible event."

Those improvements, wrote Elliott, included changing the RCMP's policies and training in relation to the use of the Tasers.

An RCMP investigation into the action of the four members led to a report to the provincial crown counsel, which had considered charges of manslaughter and assault. But the crown decided not to charge the RCMP officers because convictions were unlikely.

The senior officer in charge that night Dziekanski died made his own court appearance in a Vancouver suburb Tuesday morning after he was charged last week in an unrelated car accident, which led to the death of a motorcyclist. Corporal Monty Robinson was charged with obstructing justice after a decision was made there was not evidence to charge him with impaired driving causing death.

Police hedge on Taser use after new rules

December 7, 2009
CBC News

Police officers are rethinking their use of stun guns, after Taser International advised them to stop aiming at the chest because of a slight risk of cardiac arrest when the electrified darts hit there.

The company has advised the police to instead aim for the belly or the back of the legs.

Taser International has always assured police officers that the stun gun can never cause problems with the heart, no matter how many times it is used on someone.

Now the company says, just to be safe — from a liability point of view — police should avoid firing at the chest.

"The entire playing field has been altered," said Tony Simioni, president of the Edmonton Police Association.

He said that even before this recent policy, some police officers had begun leaving their Taser in their locker "based on the level of scrutiny, just the overall perception that this Taser may be more trouble than it is worth."

"Now there's an increasing tendency not to use the Taser at all because the deployment instructions are unrealistic, in their view," Simioni said.

Mike Sutherland, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, said the directive now puts his members at risk if they fire the stun gun and it hits the chest.

"I think there's a possibility that we may see an increase — especially given the controversy surrounding the Taser — that our members dragged into court cases where liability will become an issue," Sutherland said.

Dziekanski inquiry could spur criminal charges, officer's lawyer tells court

December 4, 2009
By James Keller (CP)

VANCOUVER, B.C. — If a public inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski finds the RCMP officers who stunned him with a Taser used too much force and then lied about it, criminal charges are sure to follow, one of the officers' lawyers told the B.C. Court of Appeal on Friday as he sought to take that option off the table.

Three of the four officers are asking the province's highest court to prevent inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood from making findings of misconduct against them.

They argue that a provincial public inquiry can't make such findings against officers of the national police force, and doing so would amount to alleging criminal conduct.

The Crown decided in December 2008 not to charge any of the Mounties, but Braidwood has sent notices to the officers warning he's considering allegations made at the inquiry that they used excessive force and then tried to cover up what happened.

David Butcher, who represents Const. Bill Bentley, said those are effectively criminal allegations - assault, perjury and obstruction of justice - that are outside the scope of a public inquiry.

"It would seem to me that it would be highly likely that if this particular commissioner made findings of criminal conduct, there would be criminal charges," Butcher told the three-member appeal panel.

Butcher pointed to comments by the B.C. attorney general that the case could be reopened if new evidence arises, although one of the appeal judges questioned Butcher's conclusion.

"That doesn't speak highly of the independence of the Crown, does it?" said Justice Harvey Groberman. "Surely the Crown is expected to approach these matters with an independence that isn't unduly influenced by things like inquiry reports."

Butcher declined to elaborate for the court.

Bentley, Const. Kwesi Millington, Const. Gerry Rundell and Cpl. Benjamin Robinson asked the B.C. Supreme Court earlier this year to prevent the inquiry from findings of misconduct.

Their case was dismissed and three of the officers, with the exception of Robinson, are now appealing.

"The notices suggest that the commissioner is going to assess wrongdoing by measuring the conduct of federal actors against federal standards - something which we say is not constitutionally permissible (by a provincial inquiry)," said Butcher.

The officers' lawyers are also arguing that the notices they received about potential misconduct allegations didn't include enough detail and should be tossed out.

A spokesman for the province's Criminal Justice Branch declined to comment on Butcher's suggestion that prosecutors would act on the inquiry's findings.

Both the branch and the attorney general have said the case could be reopened if prosecutors receive new evidence, but they have been careful not to say whether anything uncovered at the inquiry would fit that criteria. They have also noted that testimony at the inquiry would be inadmissible in court.

Braidwood is expected to issue his final report into Dziekanski's death early next year.

The inquiry is one of several investigations launched in the wake of Dziekanski's death.

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP will release its own report on Tuesday, evaluating the actions of the officers, the subsequent homicide investigation and any RCMP policies that are relevant to what happened.

There are other cases before the courts, as well.

Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski of Kamloops, B.C., is suing the RCMP, the airport and the federal and provincial governments; Taser International is challenging findings from an earlier report from Braidwood that concluded the weapons can kill; and one of the officers is suing the CBC for libel.

Stop Taser Torture - Blogging for Justice on December 4, 2009

Please click here to join the December 4th Blogging for Justice Day - Stop taser Torture.

As much as I admire and believe in this incredible effort, I can only commit to continuing to do what I do best - blogging for justice against TASER TORTURE EVERY day. It`s what I do. (And, I have to work tomorrow!)

EDITORIAL: Taser trouble - stun guns are taking a toll

Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

The autopsy results are in. But, despite the definitive findings the verdict is still out on the weapon that killed Brian Cardall.

Cardall, a promising research scientist and Utah native, died from "ventricular fibrillation following conducted energy weapon deployment ... ." In other words, death by Taser.

Here's what happened. In June, Cardall, 32, was returning to Arizona after visiting Utah when he experienced a manic episode brought on by his bipolar disorder. He pulled his car to the side of the road, got out, removed his clothes, and began flagging down vehicles on State Road 59 outside Hurricane.

Cardall's wife gave him medication, called the police, informed the dispatcher of her husband's psychotic condition and the fact that it would take a while for the medicine to take effect. But Cardall ran out of time.

Just 42 seconds after Hurricane Chief of Police Lynn Excell and officer Ken Thompson arrived at the scene, Thompson claims, a confused Cardall, who refused to get on the ground as ordered, stepped toward the officers. Thompson fired his Taser, striking a naked and unarmed Cardall in the chest over the heart. When the Flagstaff resident attempted to rise, Thompson gave him a second jolt. Within minutes, Cardall was dead, one of about 350 Americans to die after a Taser deployment since 2001.

Had the incident occurred 20 years ago, before Tasers came on the market, Cardall, who weighed just 156 pounds, would have been physically taken to the ground and handcuffed. He may have suffered bumps and bruises, cuts and scrapes. The police officers would have risked same. But nobody would have died.

Cardall's family says the officer used excessive force, a claim rejected by investigators, who determined that Thompson adhered to both his department's use-of-force policy and Utah law. No charges were filed. And, because the policy and not the officer was at fault, none was deserved.

Thompson certainly didn't mean to kill Cardall. In fact, along with officers in 14,200 police, military and corrections agencies in 44 countries, Thompson had been taught that the Taser can prevent physical altercations that cause injury, and negate the need for deadly force. That it saves lives. As a result, Tasers have become the "nonlethal" weapon of choice in law enforcement circles. But that could change.

In the months since Cardall's death, Taser International, which manufactures the stun guns, lost a wrongful-death lawsuit, a first. A California jury determined that the company failed to adequately educate police about the risk of cardiac arrest from using the weapon.

Plus, the Arizona-based company recanted its long-standing advice to aim at center body mass, and advised police not to shoot suspects in the chest.

And, the American Medical Association determined that Tasers can do more harm than good. In a report issued the same month Cardall died, the AMA said "Tasers are used too frequently ... and may contribute to the death of suspects directly or indirectly." The group said more research is needed to determine if Tasers are safe for use on suspects in altered states, like Cardall.

The next move belongs to police departments, which should change their policies regarding Taser use. Tasers should be used sparingly, a weapon of next-to-last resort, until all of the evidence is in.

Colorado boy, 10, 'justifiably tasered'

I`m guessing Capt. Teschner didn`t get the memo from Little Rock, Arkansas two days ago announcing that an officer there was FIRED after he tasered a 10 year old GIRL who 'became unruly'.

December 3, 2009
UPI

PUEBLO, Colo., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Police in Colorado shocked an out-of-control 10-year-old boy with a Taser, but the captain said they were justified in using the device.

The foster child had threatened his foster parent, Daniel Biby of Pueblo West, with a 2-foot-long pipe after destroying property and throwing a stick and landscape timber at him, the Pueblo Chieftain reported Thursday.

"(The officers) followed all policies and procedures. This was appropriate use of the Taser device," said Capt. Jeff Teschner of the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department.

Deputy Randy Mondragon said that when he and Deputy Mark Myers arrived, the child ran from them holding the pipe. The boy ran to a neighbor's yard, where he cornered himself and defied commands to drop the pipe.

The officers deployed the Taser and the boy dropped the pipe. They arrested him, the newspaper said.

"They couldn't get close enough to deploy pepper spray without putting themselves in danger, Teschner said.

"This lad, we have a long history of (him) running away. I don't know what his entire psychological profile is, but obviously he has emotional distress," Teschner said.

The boy was booked on suspicion of menacing with a deadly weapon at the Pueblo Youth Center.

Complaints Commission to release report into RCMP in-custody Death of Robert Dziekanski

See also RCMP watchdog won't be reappointed - CBC News - November 27, 2009

Coincidence? We shall see.

Media Advisory
Complaints Commission to release report into RCMP in-custody Death of Robert Dziekanski
December 3, 2009

Vancouver, B.C. – Paul E. Kennedy, Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) will release his report into Robert Dziekanski's in-custody death Tuesday December 8, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. (Pacific time) at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver.

Mr. Kennedy will have a media statement and be available to answer questions starting at 10:30 a.m. Participating media will be provided with an embargoed copy of the Executive Summary at 10:00 a.m.

Mr. Kennedy launched a CPC Chair-initiated complaint into the conduct of RCMP members present at, or engaged in the Vancouver International Airport arrest of Mr. Robert Dziekanski which occurred on October 14, 2007. The complaint was initiated on November 8, 2007.

The CPC first became involved in the case when it deployed an independent observer on October 15, 2007 to monitor the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) criminal investigation which followed Mr. Dziekanski's death.

Accredited media representatives are invited to attend this event in person or via conference call (see instructions below).

When:

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Time:

10 a.m. PST (Media room opens. Embargoed materials will be available for journalists attending the press conference in person or via conference call.)

10:30 a.m. PST (Statement by Mr. Kennedy) Embargo lifted

What:

CPC Report into in-custody death of Mr. Robert DZIEKANSKI, October 14, 2007 at the Vancouver International Airport

Who:

Paul E. Kennedy, Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP

Where:

Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University
580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, B.C.

For information on the Commission's investigation, please visit the CPC website at: www.complaintscommission.ca.

Media representatives who wish to listen to the press conference should contact the Commission representatives listed below for call-in instructions.

For more information, please contact:
Nelson Kalil
Manager, Communications
613-952-2452
nelson.kalil@cpc-cpp.gc.ca

Mountie’s drunk driving case shifts into total absurdity

December 2, 2009
Gary Mason, Globe and Mail

She could tell you about the pain she deals with – the excruciating reminders of her son Orion's too-short life that she confronts virtually every day. But for now, Judith Hutchinson prefers to keep it to herself.

“Nothing can repair our pain or replace our loss,” Ms. Hutchinson said, speaking for herself and daughter, Daria.

“We can only hope and pray that this case plays out in a way that demands some accountability and brings some justice.”

Yes, this case. This increasingly disturbing case.

Ms. Hutchinson's son died on Oct. 25, 2008. Orion, 21, was driving his motorcycle in the Vancouver suburb of Tsawwassen when he was struck by a vehicle driven by one Monty Robinson. And if the name sounds familiar, it should.

He is RCMP Corporal Benjamin Robinson, the officer in charge during a Mountie takedown of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport in October, 2007, that ended in the Polish immigrant's death.

Cpl. Robinson was off duty when he plowed into Mr. Hutchinson. He blew over the limit when police tested him for alcohol consumption less than two hours after the accident.

Delta police handled the investigation. A matter that is often completed in days when it involves a civilian dragged on for seven months. In June, 2009, the municipal police department recommended charges of impaired and dangerous driving causing death.

But that wasn't the end of it.

The police report was turned over to the criminal justice branch of the Attorney-General's Ministry. And it would be months again before a decision on whether to go ahead with charges was reached. On Tuesday, the Crown decided against charging Cpl. Robinson with impaired driving, but recommended pressing forward with the lesser charge of attempting to obstruct justice.

No reasons were given. No justification for what surely is a head-scratcher given that police felt there was evidence to charge Mr. Robinson with driving while under the influence. Not only that, but the Crown decision also ignored a related judgment made in the Supreme Court of B.C. earlier this year.

Mr. Justice Mark McEwan dismissed a petition by Cpl. Robinson to have the suspension of his driver's licence lifted. (Yes, three days after the accident Mr. Robinson appealed the suspension of his license). The judge looked at all the facts and didn't believe the Mountie's story. Oh, yes, the story. We almost forgot.

Mr. Robinson told police he likely blew over the limit because he left the scene of the accident for 10 minutes to walk his children home. This before police arrived. At home, he said, he downed two shots of vodka. He maintained he had only two beers at a party before the accident.

But the officers at the scene said Mr. Robinson's eyes were bloodshot, pupils dilated and his speech slurred. The judge didn't believe that could have been the result of two shots of vodka 10 minutes earlier. The judge said there wasn't even any evidence that he'd gone home and couldn't imagine him doing so when a young man was dying on the ground.

Obviously, this is a sensitive case because it involves not only an RCMP officer but one at the centre of the Dziekanski case. If the Crown wanted to overturn the recommendations of a police investigation and disregard the observations of a Supreme Court justice it was certainly within its rights to do so. But it also had an obligation to justify itself.

The Crown handles potentially explosive cases all the time. And when it makes a decision on charges, it usually releases an explanatory report. It didn't in this case, saying the matter is before the courts.

This appears to be complete and utter nonsense.

Releasing the report would not have compromised any trial. But it would have meant the Justice Department would have had to reveal why it bought Mr. Robinson's two-shots-of-vodka story when others didn't.

I'm hoping there is another reason the Crown didn't release its full report. One that it can't talk about now.

When this case gets to court, which could take years at the rate it's been travelling, Mr. Robinson could be found guilty of obstruction of justice. The Crown refuses to say what that charge stems from but it usually implies some effort to interfere with or influence an investigation.

A conviction, however, is unlikely to lead to much more than a fine and probation.

As for the accountability and justice that Judith Hutchinson is looking for, at the moment that appears very much in doubt.

Mountie at centre of taser incident charged with obstruction over fatal crash

See also Prosecutors drag feet on whether to charge cop in biker's death - November 18, 2009 - Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun

December 2, 2009
Josh Wingrove, Globe and Mail

Overruling recommendations by a local police force, B.C.'s Ministry of the Attorney-General won't lay impaired-driving charges after a fatal crash last year involving an RCMP officer who was also at the centre of the Robert Dziekanski case.

The ministry's criminal justice branch announced yesterday it will instead lay a single charge of attempting to obstruct justice against RCMP Corporal Benjamin Montgomery (Monty) Robinson.

The charge stems from an Oct. 25, 2008, crash in Tsawwassen, B.C., in which motorcyclist Orion Hutchinson was struck by a Jeep driven by Cpl. Robinson, who was off duty at the time, the ministry said.

After the crash, Cpl. Robinson gave his driver's licence to a witness and left the scene to carry his two children, who were in the Jeep, to the family's nearby home, defence lawyer Reg Harris said in an interview yesterday. Cpl. Robinson has said he'd consumed two beers earlier that night and, once leaving the crash scene, drank two shots of vodka at his home.

"He had volunteered that he had consumed liquor, yes," Mr. Harris said. Cpl. Robinson then returned to the scene of the crash, at which Mr. Hutchinson was pronounced dead.

The collision was investigated by Delta police, who in June recommended the Crown lay charges of impaired driving causing death and dangerous driving causing death against Cpl. Robinson.

But in a statement yesterday, the government said "available evidence does not establish to the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, that at the time of the collision Cpl. Robinson had a blood alcohol level over the legal limit, that his ability to operate a motor vehicle was impaired by alcohol, or that he was operating his vehicle in a dangerous manner. ..."

Unlike other provinces where police lay charges directly, British Columbia requires the Crown to approve charges suggested by investigators.

Neil MacKenzie, a spokesman for B.C.'s criminal justice branch, was tight-lipped about what the charge of obstructing justice stems from, saying only that it was due to the "alleged actions" of Cpl. Robinson in the hours after the collision.

"I know it's connected to the motor vehicle accident," Mr. Harris added. Cpl. Robinson will plead not guilty to obstructing justice, the lawyer said.

Mr. Hutchinson's sister and mother issued a statement saying they are "relieved that a decision has finally been made to prosecute the individual who caused Orion's death."

The crash came just over a year after Cpl. Robinson gave the order to fire a taser at Mr. Dziekanski, who died shortly after.

Cpl. Robinson has been suspended with pay since the collision, RCMP Sergeant Tim Shields said. The RCMP's commanding officer in B.C. proposed suspending him without pay, but the force's Ottawa-based chief human resources officer decided against it, Sgt. Shields said.

Cpl. Robinson will remain suspended, pending an internal RCMP code of conduct investigation that will take place once his court case is concluded, Sgt. Shields said.

Police rethinking Taser use on mentally ill, inquiry told

December 1, 2009
The Canadian Press/CBC

The Halifax police service is training its officers to better defuse volatile situations involving mentally ill individuals so they don't have to resort to using stun guns, a fatality inquiry was told Tuesday.

Sgt. Dean Stienburg, who trains police on the use of force, said the department is trying to equip officers with the skills to detect signs of mental illness and to de-escalate situations before having to deploy stun guns.

He said the force has changed its policies on mental health training since Howard Hyde, a 45-year-old with a long history of paranoid schizophrenia, died in custody 30 hours after being shocked with a Taser by police.

"What we're focusing on now is when is it appropriate to use this device," he told the inquiry.

"What we're trying to do is raise awareness and how to recognize subtle clues … that the person needs assistance."

The inquiry is looking at how police officers and others in the justice system treated Hyde, who was off his medications and had been acting erratically leading up to his death.

Stienburg said police routinely adapt their training on mental health and the use of stun guns as research yields new information on the best use of the devices.

He said the force will change training guidelines next year to include emphasis on so-called empty-hand controls — or those that don't involve restraint devices — to restrain a person and avoid using a stun gun.

It also plans to train dispatchers to recognize signs of mental health disorders when a 911 call is made and to deploy Emergency Health Services in such cases.

Police not experts on psychological disorders
Stienburg said the force expects to instruct officers that people displaying signs of excited delirium should be treated as medical emergencies in need of immediate attention.

Some signs of the condition are profuse sweating, extreme strength, delusions and being impervious to pain — some of which Hyde displayed at the time.

The revisions by police come two years after Hyde was arrested following a complaint of a domestic assault. He was taken to police headquarters, where he was stunned with a Taser after becoming agitated as officers tried to fingerprint him.

He died the following day at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as excited delirium, linked to schizophrenia.

Stienburg said the force has also been training officers since 2008 in the use of verbal techniques designed to defuse a possibly volatile situation with someone experiencing a mental health crisis.

"We're on the right track with the training we're delivering," he said.

But he cautioned that research around the use of force on people with mental health disorders is an evolving issue and officers are not experts on recognizing psychological disorders.

"This is a health issue," he said. "We're not going to be able to fix this problem. … We're thrust into it."

Taser training evolves with research: officer

December 1, 2009
The Canadian Press/CBC

A Halifax police officer in charge of training says the force changes its policies on the use of Tasers as new information becomes available.

Sgt. Dean Stienburg said the force is constantly adapting its practices with the weapons as scientific research dictates. He was testifying Tuesday at an inquiry into the case of Howard Hyde, a paranoid schizophrenic who died 30 hours after being shocked with a police Taser in 2007.

Stienburg said the force now trains officers to recognize subtle clues that may indicate someone is having a mental health crisis.

When they do, he said they should immediately involve Emergency Health Services to help prevent the person in crisis from hurting themselves or others.

The inquiry is looking at how police officers and others in the justice system treated Hyde, who was off his medications and had been acting erratically leading up to his death.

Vancouver airport denies any responsibility in Dziekanski's death

December 1, 2009
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Vancouver International Airport has denied any responsibility for the death of Robert Dziekanski in a statement of defence to a lawsuit filed by his mother.

Dziekanski died at the airport in October 2007 after four RCMP officers stunned him with a Taser, and his mother is now suing the officers, the airport and the federal and provincial governments.

Zofia Cisowski alleges airport staff failed Dziekanski by not helping him when he became agitated in the international arrivals area, not calling a translator and not calling in airport firefighters after he was stunned.

In a statement of defence filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the airport denies any responsibility and insists its staff used good judgment and followed their training in dealing with the Polish immigrant.

The document says the airport could not have foreseen what happened.

The airport faced intense criticism after Dziekanski's death and has made numerous changes in the aftermath, including improved translation services, more signs in different languages and increased patrols to find passengers who are lost or in distress.

Cop fired after 10-year-old girl tasered

November 30, 2009
Boston Herald

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The small-town cop who zapped an unruly 10-year-old girl with his stun gun has been fired for violating department policy - not for using the Taser itself but for failing to use the camera attached to it.

Officer Dustion Bradshaw was called to the home Nov. 11 after the girl’s mom couldn’t get her to shower. He reported the girl was “verbally combative” and kicked him.

“The policy that Officer Bradshaw failed to obey is failure to have his camera placed on his Taser,” Chief Jim Noggle wrote.

Question of 'police investigating police' discussed in Vancouver conference

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Investigations into police conduct is being debated this morning in Vancouver, as the province moves away from the practice of 'police investigating police'. The question many people ask is: Can police be trusted to investigate themselves in serious incidents? And money could be a factor in what kind of investigative system B.C. adopts.

B.C. Solicitor General Kash Heed says he wants investigations into claims of police wrong-doing to be accountable, transparent and effective. "That is why were are here today, to bring all interested parties together, to discuss ideas and solutions." Ontario's civilian-supervised Special Investigations Unit has a mix of civilian, ex-police and police investigators. In England, all complaints about police are handled by an all-civilian organization.

Today's conference at SFU's downtown campus is bringing together criminologists, and heads of police investigation organizations outside B.C. SFU criminologist David McAllister says one drawback to purely civilian is that they are much more expensive to run, than organizations combining police and civilians. For instance, England's all-civilian organization costs approximately 35 million pounds to run.

Heed was asked if cost will be a determining factor. "Well, we're always cognizant of costs and will continue to be cognizant of costs, but at the end of the day, I'm working on the principle of the most accountable and transparent police service in British Columbia." Heed also set no deadline for his decision on when B.C.'s eventual police complaints commission will be brought into force. He says things like the Braidwood Taser Inquiry have to wrap up before he makes any conclusions.

Willey tape could become public

November 29, 2009
Rodney Venis, Prince George Citizen

The Willey family is waiting until a Dec. 11 meeting with RCMP to decide whether or not to release to the general public a video depicting the Tasering and dragging of a suspect at the Prince George detachment, their lawyer said Wednesday.

The video is currently in the middle of a string of recent developments related to the 2003 death of Clayton Willey, which includes the expansion of a police watchdog probe into allegations video evidence was tampered with and a National Post report that one of the officers involved, Corporal John Graham, had a history of violent confrontations with suspects (see related story.)

"We expect to see the video tape in total there," said Simon Wagstaffe, the Willey family's lawyer. "The family wish to see all the RCMP have before they decide on the question of general release."

In the meantime, the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP (CPC) continues to examine whether a surveillance video showing parts of the in-custody treatment of Willey was edited when it was screened for members of the media, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association after a freelance journalist submitted a freedom of information act request.

The groups claim the version they watched showed: an RCMP SUV arriving in the detachment garage; Willey being dragged down a hallway, hog-tied, with his hands bound behind his back and tethered to his feet; Willey’s head hitting the entrance to an elevator; a Taser targeting Willey’s back; Willey being dragged out of an elevator, into a booking area, where he’s Tasered at least twice more.

Willey had been arrested for causing a public disturbance at the Parkwood Place mall and died later in hospital. The coroner's inquest found he died of a cocaine overdose and officers testified Willey was in an violent, drug-induced haze.

But there was concern from David Eby of the BCCLA that there were no date or time codes on the video he was shown. Both he and Willey’s family also claimed there are missing incidents in the one screened recently, particularly a moment when Willey is dragged from the SUV by a ‘hobble’ - the rope of the hog tie - and his head hits a part of the vehicle and then the garage floor.

Eby saw a version of the tape after the FOI request this year; the Willey family viewed another version of tape before the coroner’s inquest in 2004.

The inquest jury and Crown counsel at the time also saw the so-called raw footage of the Willey incident at the time; joining that group is Solicitor General Kash Heed, whose letter to CPC chair Paul Kennedy on Nov. 20 prompted the expanded probe.
"It's incumbent upon me to let Commissioner Kennedy do his work on his investigation," said Heed. "I'm not going to comment on the video because I've asked Mr. Kennedy to look at the aspect and determine what the course of action should be."

The CPC investigation was already examining the Willey case as part of wider look at all Taser-related in-custody deaths in Canada. On Monday, it was expanded to look at the video issue and whether subsequent RCMP investigation into Willey's death was adequate and free of actual or perceived conflict of interest.

B.C. RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Tim Shields, who's seen both versions of the Willey tape, said the Force welcomed an external, third-party look at the allegations of evidence tampering. "Nothing was removed from the tapes and they were not tampered with and, to insure that, full and complete disclosure was made to the coroner's inquest, Crown counsel and the Willey family."

A forensic video analyst will examine the Willey footage.

RCMP defends officer with violent history

November 29, 2009
Rodney Venis, Prince George Citizen

A Prince George officer profiled in the National Post as a "rogue cowboy Mountie" with a "propensity for violence" did not Taser a hog-tied suspect and was not present during the in-custody incident prior to the suspect's death.

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Tim Shield said Corporal John Graham was with another member at Prince George Regional Hospital as Clayton Willey was being Tasered and dragged through the Prince George detachment in July 2003.

Graham's role in the arrest, which started with Willey confronting RCMP at the Parkwood Place mall in a violent, drug-induced haze and culiminated with the 33-year-old man dying of a cocaine overdose, was limited to binding Willey's feet and hands behind his back. Hogtying suspects, according to the Post, had been banned two months prior to the incident, but Cpl. Graham was reportedly unaware of the change in policy.

"Willey was kicking violently and it was the only way to restrain his legs to prevent him from continuing to kick," said Shields. "In the Willey incident there was no finding against Graham, in fact, he was not present at the time Mr. Willey was Tasered and there was no finding of wrongdoing regarding the arrest."

The policy was changed because hogtying could lead to positional asphyxia, which was potentially fatal.

According to the Post, Graham is currently a supervisor in the North District traffic services integrated road safety unit, based in Prince George.

Shields said the incidents that chequer Graham's career - which include a fatal shooting in Newfoundland, an assault conviction in 2002, the Willey arrest and an altercation with a suspect only known as JAL - must each be judged on its own.

According to the National Post, then Constable Graham's career took a troubled turn in Aug. 2000 in Little Catalina, Newfoundland when he shot and killed Norman Reid. Reid, 43, was a schizophrenic with a history of disturbing behaviour; residents reported that day Reid had threatened some local children "in a violent way", according to an inquiry report.

When RCMP responded, Reid came at Cpl. Graham with an axe, screaming "I'm going to kill you." Graham shot Reid five times.

"The shooting in Newfoundland was the subject of numerous investigations and inquests and was deemed to be a justified use of force," said Shield.

The inquiry, by Judge Donald Luther, did rule Graham behaved appropriately; nevertheless, court documents revealed he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the incident.

It was not the only incident from his time in Newfoundland. Robert Buckingham, a lawyer for a man in that province suing Cpl. Graham over an unrelated, allegedly wrongful arrest, called the officer a "rogue Cowboy Mountie."

Graham was transferred soon after the Reid shooting to B.C.

In 2002, a year before the death of Willey, he pled guilty to assault causing bodily harm after - according to a B.C. provincial court judgment - an altercation with "a Mr. MacDonald." Cpl. Graham admitted he "overreacted" when he kicked Mr. MacDonald in the torso and head, leaving the latter with broken bones in the face and missing teeth.

The officer was fined, received 18 months probation, was ordered to perform community work and was not disciplined by the RCMP.

"If there is an allegation of excessive force, then an internal code of conduct investigation is launched and, after the court proceeding, there was an internal disciplinary hearing where a board of three very senior officers conduct a trial and call witnesses and make a decision on the appropriate sanctions that can range up to, and including, dismissal from the RCMP," said Shields. "So in this case, this process was followed, there was an internal code of conduct investigation and, after hearing all the facts, the board decided on a sanction that did not include dismissal."

The National Post also reported that Cpl. Graham and another Prince George officer, Const. Glenn Caston, were both involved in Willey's death in 2003 and an incident involving a suspect known as JAL.

Const. Caston told the Willey inquest that he and another officer pulled the suspect by the rope that tied his feet together to get him out of the back of an SUV parked in the Prince George detachment. Willey "may" have bumped his head and shoulder on the frame of the vehicle and the floor of the concrete vehicle bay.

Later, in the detachment's cells booking area, according to the inquest report, Const. Caston and another officer, Const. Kevin O'Donnell, reported they Tasered the hog-tied Willey. The officers, according to the report, believed Willey was still combative, though it is noted nowhere how Willey could have broken free from the hogtie.

Sgt. Shields could not say whether the two officers still serve in Prince George.
In the JAL case, Cpl. Graham testified he deployed his Taser twice against the suspect during a struggle. However he did not file a Taser use report, as the RCMP requires, until more than a year later and JAL's doctor pointed out 21 marks on his body that seemed consistent with burns from a conducted energy weapon. JAL also claimed Const. Caston beat him in the P.G. detachment.

Charges that JAL assaulted RCMP officers were stayed after a videotape of JAL's in-custody treatment went missing, prompting Judge Michael Brecknell to write in his judgment, "This was not a 'simple mistake.'" Brecknell also noted concerns had been aired about Graham's "propensity for violence."

"We have requested an independent directed review to examine the RCMP handling, communication and organizational response in the Willey case and the JAL case," said Shields. "This review will be conducted by a municipal polical department from outside of B.C. The name will be released as soon as we have a formalized agreement in place."

RCMP watchdog won't be reappointed

November 27, 2009
CBC News

The federal government will not be reappointing Paul Kennedy as the chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, CBC News has learned.

Kennedy, whose last day on the job will be Dec. 31, reportedly would have accepted another term. He was interested in seeing through anticipated new legislation to bring in a civilian oversight agency for the RCMP.

Kennedy recently completed an investigation into the death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver International Airport and has investigated in-custody deaths, Taser use and how Mounties investigate themselves.

Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said the public interest would be better served if Kennedy remained in his post.

"I believe this government is not interested in anyone with any degree of independence. They want servile public servants," he said.

"Whenever someone is doing a tremendous job in the public interest they want to shut them down. They did this with the military police complaints commissioner, Peter Tinsley."

Tinsley, whose term also expires next month and will not be renewed, also wanted to stay on because of his ongoing inquiry into the treatment of Afghan detainees.

A statement from the office of Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan thanked Kennedy for his "distinguished and professional service," adding he has "provided guidance that will be considered as the RCMP continues to make progress on its transformation agenda."

"The government will be moving to reform oversight of the RCMP in the months ahead to strengthen accountability," the statement said. "It will seek to ensure independent investigation of incidents, so that the force does not lead investigations into itself."

RCMP Complaints Commission Launches Probe into Clay Willey Death

November 24, 2009
By 250 News BC

Ottawa, Ont. – Acting on a request by the Solicitor General of British Columbia, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) is expanding its Chair-initiated complaint and public interest investigation into all Taser-related in-custody deaths and to look specifically into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Clay Alvin Willey in Prince George, B.C.on July 22, 2003.

CPC Chair Paul E. Kennedy initiated a public complaint on 15 January, 2009 into all incidents where individuals in the custody of the RCMP died following the use of a conducted energy weapon (CEW), which incidents have taken place anywhere in Canada between January 1, 2001 and January 1, 2009.

The arrest and subsequent death of Mr. Clay Alvin Willey in Prince George, is one of the incidents referred to in the complaint.

Mr. Willey's death was the subject of a Coroner's inquest conducted by the British Columbia Coroner's Service in October 2004. One of the pieces of evidence considered at the Coroner's inquest was a compilation of video footage from a number of security cameras located throughout the Prince George RCMP Detachment.

The Solicitor General of British Columbia has on behalf of the residents of British Columbia, raised concerns directly with the CPC regarding this incident and in particular with respect to the integrity of the video evidence relating to the arrest and detention of Mr. Willey. In correspondence to the CPC, the Solicitor General commented that members of the media have "raised concerns with the in-custody treatment of Mr. Willey and have expressed concern that the video in question has not been released to the public. Allegations have also been made in the media that further video evidence exists beyond that contained in the compilation video." Consequently, the Solicitor General requested that the CPC "review the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Willey so that British Columbians can have continued confidence in the RCMP."

The original complaint was initiated to examine:

•whether the RCMP officers involved in the aforementioned events, from the moment of initial contact with the individual until the time of each individual's death, complied with all appropriate training, policies, procedures, guidelines and statutory requirements relating to the use of force; and
•whether existing RCMP policies, procedures and guidelines applicable to such incidents are adequate.

Specific to Mr. Willey's death, the CPC will now also examine:

•whether the RCMP members involved in the investigation of Mr. Willey's arrest and subsequent death conducted an investigation that was adequate, and free of actual or perceived conflict of interest; and
•whether any other video evidence (other than the compilation video referred to above) exists and whether any RCMP member concealed, tampered with or otherwise inappropriately modified in any way, any evidence, in particular any video evidence, relating to the arrest of Mr. Willey.

The CPC has retained the services of a former chief of police from a large Ontario municipality to conduct this public interest investigation.

WORLD-WIDE BAN ON THE TASER, anyone?

A guestbook message received here today deserves its own post:

We are the group that placed the 388 crosses in the front yard of the Harlan household, where Stanley Harlan was murdered in front of his home & mother. There is not a day that goes by that he is not thought of and missed.

We are still willing and able to help in the world-wide BAN on the taser!

PLEASE, if there is anyway that all the "groups" that are working in their towns to try to ban these "non lethal weapons", if there is anyway we can all work together and fight Taser International as a bigger group, maybe we would have a better chance!! My thoughts & prayers are with all family, friends of loved ones that have lost their lives to the Taser affects.

Donna
tdfainter@yahoo.com

TASER International's 100th Lawsuit Dismissal Won on Summary Judgment

Comments received on this post as follows:

Notice the case was thrown out, "without prejudice", meaning that it can be re-filed in the future. And it was all "based on available evidence in 2003", a time when the company probably claimed it had no idea that their products could cause death.

The above comment is inaccurate. The case was dismissed with prejudice; summary judgment was granted; it cannot be refiled.

It is important to note that despite Taser's inference to the contrary, the Court said that the ruling was not inconsistent with any of the rulings in the prior Heston case where Taser lost. Specifically, here the Court did not rule against the Plaintiffs based on their theory of how Rosa died, but only as to the knowability of their theory at the time he died.

November 23, 2009
CNN

Landmark Ruling in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the Ninth Circuit

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a leading provider of technology solutions and the market leader in electronic control devices (ECDs), announced that on November 20, 2009, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered an order and judgment for TASER International in the arrest-related-death lawsuit entitled Rosa v. TASER International, et al. granting TASER International's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs were represented in the Rosa case by California attorneys: John C. Burton, Peter M. Williamson, John F. Baker, and Peter T. Cathcart. Plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in 2005, and aggressively litigated their case for 4 years. The medical examiner had determined cause of death was from the methamphetamine Mr. Rosa ingested.

The Court noted that "California courts require that plaintiffs present evidence of 'general recogni[tion] and prevailing best scientific and medical knowledge' to meet the 'known or knowable' element of a strict liability claim." In addition, the court noted that the "evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to raise a triable issue as to 'knowability' of the risk,... [and] insufficient to create a triable issue as to whether TASER should have known of the risk."

The Court also noted that "TASER has developed a comprehensive warning system in which every ECD sold or distributed is accompanied by a training CD/DVD and operating manual to be used by TASER-certified instructors," and that Defendant's expert Dr. Raymond Fish "unequivocally rejects the theory that ECDs on humans decrease respiration and cause dangerous acidosis."

In granting TASER's motion for summary judgment, the Court stated that TASER International's assertions "are well-taken" that there are no genuine issues of material fact with regard to whether, "the alleged propensity of ECDs to cause metabolic acidosis was known or knowable on December 30, 2003, when the ECDs in question were shipped from TASER to its distributor; [and]... TASER's warnings with respect to the dangers posed by application of its ECDs were adequate..."

"It is important to note that this case was brought by the same plaintiff's counsel, using fundamentally the same liability theory as the Heston case in 2008," and "it is ironic that this case is won in the same week as TASER filed its opening appellate brief in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Heston case," said Doug Klint, President and General Counsel of TASER International. "Studies published since the Heston trial have largely disproven the acidosis theory, demonstrating that the exertion effects associated with TASER(R) ECD discharges are lower than several other physical force tactics. We believe the findings from the court in this most recent case is an important landmark for both law enforcement and the Company. TASER International will continue to aggressively defend all litigation filed against the Company and will seek all recoverable costs from plaintiffs."

New Jersey Attorney General set rules to police stun-gun use

November 23, 2009
The Associated Press

Police officers in New Jersey can use stun guns under limited circumstances, according to rules issued by Attorney General Anne Milgram.

Milgram said trained officers can use them on armed, emotionally disturbed persons who refuse to surrender. The prohibit officers from using stun guns to get people to move, get on the ground or exit a vehicle.

Police also can't use the guns on handcuffed suspects or against a person on an elevated surface.

Milgram said it's prudent to have "adequate controls, training and accountability."

The size of the police department will determine the number of officers authorized to carry the weapons.

Taser death raises claims of a 'cowboy Mountie'

November 21, 2009
Brian Hutchinson in Vancouver, National Post

A B.C.-based RCMP officer who figures in a controversial in-custody death involving Tasers had a prior assault conviction from an incident that left his victim with broken facial bones and missing teeth, the National Post has learned.

Subsequent to those two events, Corporal John Graham was accused in B.C. provincial court of striking a Prince George man at least 21 times with a Taser. A judge in that case noted concerns had been raised about Cpl. Graham's "propensity for violence." Reference was made to still another incident, when Cpl. Graham shot and killed a mentally ill man in Newfoundland.

Robert Buckingham, a lawyer for a man in Newfoundland who is suing Cpl. Graham over an unrelated, allegedly wrongful arrest, calls the stocky officer a "rogue cowboy Mountie who is moved from place to place and [who] thinks he can do whatever he wants."

In-custody deaths and the use of Tasers are a particularly sensitive topic in B.C., where Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died following a confrontation with the RCMP in 2007. He was jolted by a Taser five times.

New concerns -- including suggestions of a police cover-up -- arising from an earlier case were raised this week at a news conference convened by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and a former chief medical examiner for two provinces.

Cpl. Graham was one of the officers who wrestled with a deranged Clayton Alvin Willey prior to his arrest in Prince George in July 2003, the civil rights group explained. Cpl. Graham bound Mr. Willey's feet and hands behind his back in a "hog-tie," a restraint position that contravened RCMP policy.

Mr. Willey was dragged on his stomach into an RCMP detachment where he was Tasered multiple times by two other officers. He went into cardiac arrest while being transported to hospital, where he died the next morning. His cause of death was determined to be cocaine overdose.

One question raised this week is whether police disclosed a complete set of videotapes showing Mr. Willey in custody at the Prince George detachment.

David Eby, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, claims the tapes were "edited into a narrative" that was helpful to police at a 2004 coroner's inquest into Mr. Willey's death.

"The most important piece [of video] is missing," he said in an interview. Members of Mr. Willey's family claim to have seen video that shows his head smacking the ground as RCMP officers pulled him from a police vehicle inside the Prince George detachment garage.

Sergeant Tim Shields, the RCMP's head of strategic communications in B.C., said this week that as far as he knows, "not one second of the video recorded to tape was withheld" from the Willey inquest. "In order to confirm that total and complete disclosure has been made, the original videotape is presently being examined by a forensic video analyst," he added yesterday.

The video footage might be made public next month, said Sgt. Shields, once Mr. Willey's family has had an opportunity to review it.

RCMP Constable Glenn Caston, one of the arresting officers, testified at the 2004 coroner's inquest that he and another officer "pulled Mr. Willey from the vehicle through the side rear seat door by the rope that had been used to tie Mr. Willey's feet together."

"You weren’t spanking me, you were fighting me" or Parents at their wits' end

November 21, 2009
Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, GA

The part of the story we were privy to ended with a 10-year-old Ozark, Ark., girl being Tasered (with her mother’s permission — if not at the mother’s request) and taken to a juvenile facility in handcuffs.

According to subsequent reports, however, the girl’s father, Anthony Medlock, said his daughter had emotional issues and since she didn’t have a weapon he doesn’t think a stun gun should have been used on his daughter.

Police were reportedly called to the troubled household Nov. 11 after the mother couldn’t get her daughter to take a shower.

According to a copy of his police report on thesmokinggun.com, the girl was curled up on the floor crying and screaming when Officer Dustin Bradshaw arrived.

The girl was violently kicking and verbally combative when Bradshaw tried to take her into custody, according to the report, and she kicked Bradshaw in the groin. He delivered “a very brief drive stun to her back,” he said.

“Her mother told me to Taser her if I needed to,” Bradshaw wrote in the report.

Some family service and juvenile offender workers tell gut-wrenching tales of family situations they have encountered. In such situations, children who frequently have problems behaving have their treatment escalated to levels better suited to adults.

Before the Ozark incident, how many instances of children being Tasered had we heard of?

People who deal with families, including mental health professionals, say stress and frustration play a big role in some parental decisions.

In families where corporal punishment is administered, spankings can turn into fights. When a frustrated parent feels like he or she is at wit’s end, it’s not difficult for a child to be viewed as an enemy.

I remember talking to a mother who said her daughter “didn’t treat me any better than she would treat a stranger. So that’s the way I treated her.”

The two of them had a physical fight. Names were called. Hair was pulled. Faces were slapped.

Their issues were not resolved, but at least for the moment, the mother said she was somewhat relieved — if only for a moment.

In another situation, a parent told of spanking a child for some misdeed. But when the child said “you weren’t spanking me, you were fighting me,” the parent’s head dropped in shame.

God only knows what went on in the Ozark household before police were called. We can only hope the mother — since the parents are divorced and the father doesn’t have custody — finds a way to help her little girl that doesn’t involve the police and stun guns.

Contact Kaffie Sledge at sledgekh@yahoo.com

The Taser Attorney

Woodland Hills, CA: California attorney Peter Williamson is fast becoming Taser International’s worst nightmare. Over the last decade and more, the makers of the controversial handheld electroshock gun have been the target of dozens of lawsuits, ranging from product liability to police misconduct and wrongful death. However, Williamson and his co-counsel John Burton are the first attorneys to obtain a favorable verdict on behalf of a plaintiff.

In a David and Goliath case suit against Taser International this September, a jury ordered to the company to pay $153,000 to the family of Robert Heston. Heston, who was high on methamphetamine at the time, died after police fired at him 25 times with taser-electroshocks in an attempt to subdue him.

The Heston jury found that Taser International failed to warn police about the potential cardiac arrest risks associated with the use of the weapon.

As many as 70 other taser victims have attempted to sue Taser International, but few, if any, even came to trial before the Heston case.

The Taser International legal team frequently employed the Daubert Challenge, which essentially gives a judge the power to determine who may or may not be considered an expert witness. Because there was so little scientific data available regarding tasers, the tactic successfully eliminated the vast majority of potential plaintiff experts.

Attorney Williamson says that Taser International, once apparently immune from civil suits, is beginning to show cracks in its once-impenetrable walls. He spent thousands of hours preparing for the Heston case.

“We are totally attuned to all the research that is coming out,” says Williamson. “I actually have my Google news alert set to ‘taser’. So everyday I get a compendium of stories from all over the country – every death case, every incident of taser firing so we really keep tabs on what is going on.”

Williamson now focuses the largest part of his practice on taser complaints. Since he began working on the Heston case in 2005 he has built a considerable and formidable body of knowledge on everything from ventricular defibrillation to metabolic acidosis. Perhaps most important of all, he has a rolodex full of expert contacts.

“I don’t want to sound immodest, and I really think we are at the forefront of this litigation,” says Williamson. “I know who most of the players are in this country. I know most of the scientists are. I know the medical doctors, I know the experts.”

Taser International called the Heston verdict a fluke and claimed that the jury’s decision was a sympathy vote. “That’s comical,” says Williamson. “This guy was high on methamphetamine and acting crazy. But obviously we didn’t think he should have been tasered 25 times.”

Peter Williamson is a name partner with the firm of Williamson & Krauss in Woodland Hills, California. He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers University and his Juris Doctor from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.

Pennsylvania man dies days after being tasered

Ronald Petruney, 49, Washington County, Pennsylvania

Death linked to 'excited delirium': coroner

November 20, 2009
CBC News

The death of a man who was stunned with a Taser several times during his arrest two year ago in Chilliwack was not the fault of police actions, a coroner's inquest has determined.

In his report, coroner Vincent Stancato concludes that Robert Knipstrom, 36, died from acute ecstasy intoxication and excited delirium.

A coroner's inquest into Knipstrom's death began Monday and the conclusions were released Thursday night.

The jury has recommended police and paramedics change how they handle cases where individuals show symptoms of excited delirium, which can include paranoia, agitation, aggression and extraordinary strength. It was also recommended that police request an advanced life support team when dealing with such patients.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Peter Thiessen welcomed the jury's findings.

"It validates in the officers' minds — it certainly validates in my mind — what was it that they were dealing with in the first instance," Thiessen said.

Rental shop takedown
The incident that led to Knipstrom's arrest took place at a Chilliwack rental shop on Nov. 19, 2007, where he had gone to return a wood chipper. After clipping another car in the parking lot, Knipstrom entered the store and began acting strangely, the inquest heard.

Knipstrom aggressively confronted the police officers who were called in by staff at the shop, located east of Vancouver. The inquest was told that police used pepper spray, a metal baton and finally a Taser to subdue and restrain him.

The only contradictory evidence came from a former store employee who said Knipstrom was backing away from the first police officer at the time of his arrest, while other witnesses said it was the officer who was retreating.

The same witness said he thought the officer struck Knipstrom in the head deliberately with his baton, but the officer testified any blows that hit Knipstrom's head would have glanced off his body first.

Witnesses testified that after Knipstrom was taken down he continued to thrash around on the ground and resist officers. He was eventually loaded into an ambulance face down — a violation of policy — because he refused to turn over.

Knipstrom's heart stopped beating a short time later, and while doctors managed to resuscitate him, he never recovered and died five days later in Surrey Memorial Hospital.

Death blamed on drugs and delirium
It was later determined that Knipstrom had acute levels of the illegal drug ecstasy in his system.

Excited delirium has been blamed for a number of deaths in police custody and critics have dismissed the that conclusion as a way to excuse overly aggressive police actions.

But Dr. Christine Hall, an emergency medicine specialist, said Knipstrom was a textbook example of the condition: high, strong as an ox, and impervious to pain.

Hall said the condition is real and medical understanding of it is evolving.

"The controversy and the evolution has actually occurred in other illnesses — sudden infant death syndrome for example," said Hall.

"For years and years there was a huge debate about does this exist. Is it really a syndrome? What are the symptoms? Why is it only happening that children are dying? And now we know that medical textbooks and lists of diagnoses have evolved to include that," said Hall.

Michigan man dies after he is tasered

November 19, 2009: Jesus Gillard, 61, Bloomfield Township, Michigan

Man Goes Into Cardiac Arrest After Police Use Taser

November 19, 2009
ThePittsburghChannel.com

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- A man is in the hospital after a confrontation with Washington police, who said he had a seizure and became combative, forcing them to use a Taser on him.

Washington city police said 49-year-old Ronald Petruney was walking in the 1000 block of Jefferson Avenue when he had a seizure. A police officer noticed the seizure and stopped and came over to Petruney.

According to police, the officer tried to help Petruney and keep him from moving into the middle of the street. That's when, police say, the man became violent.

"Mr. Petruney actually charged the officer, swinging at him. And at that point the struggle ensued between the officer and Mr. Petruney," said Lt. Dan Stanek of the Washington Police Department. "The officer had requested additional officers and medics to arrive. As they were arriving, the officer was still involved in the struggle on the ground. Mr. Petruney was biting the officer several times. The officer sustained at least three, possibly four bite marks that he received medical attention for. As Mr. Petruney was being subdued, trying to get him under control, the officers employed the tasers."

Police said they used a Taser on Petruney twice -- once in the leg and once in the back. Police said that's when Petruney went into cardiac arrest and was taken to Washington Hospital.

Petruney remains in the hospital. Police said they plan to charge him with resisting arrest and aggravated assault.

The police officer was treated for his bite wounds and released from the hospital.

Excited delirium not Taser killed Gordon Bowe

"It is not helpful to blame resulting deaths on “excited delirium,” since this conveniently avoids having to examine the underlying medical condition or conditions that actually caused death, let alone examining whether use of the conducted energy weapon and/or subsequent measures to physically restrain the subject contributed to those causes of death." - Braidwood Report, July 2009

November 19, 2009
Canwest News

A Castlegar man who died after a fight with Calgary police was high on cocaine and died of excited delirium -- not as the result of a Taser or police actions -- a review has concluded.

Gordon Bowe's common-law wife, however, said Thursday that she's not convinced and is still blaming police officers for the incident in November.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which examines complaints about police use of force, deemed that police actions were justified in the death of Bowe, 30, who travelled to Calgary for work.

Clifton Purvis, head of the response team, said he came to his conclusions after reviewing the investigation, consulting with the medical examiner and considering the prosecution's opinion.

Excited delirium is a controversial term recognized by some medical examiners that has been used to explain deaths of individuals in police custody. Most doctors and psychologists do not acknowledge the condition.

Autopsy links Taser to Cardall's death - Coroner cites being stunned near the heart as a key factor

November 19, 2009
Melinda Rogers, The Salt Lake Tribune

A Taser that twice shocked Brian Cardall contributed to or caused heart irregularities in the 32-year-old man that led to his death on the side of a southern Utah highway in June, the Utah Medical Examiner's Office has ruled.

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Erik Christensen cited "ventricular fibrillation following conducted energy weapon deployment during a manic episode with psychotic features" as Cardall's cause of death.

The Salt Lake Tribune obtained a copy of the autopsy report Thursday from the Cardalls' attorney. The family chose to release it after Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap said he will not prosecute the officer who deployed a Taser on Cardall.

Belnap said Hurricane police Officer Ken Thompson legally used a Taser on Cardall as the man suffered a bipolar manic episode June 9.

The Cardall family disagrees with Belnap's decision, said Karra Porter, who is advising the Cardalls on their legal options.

Christensen's report states that prongs from a Taser a Hurricane police officer deployed struck Cardall over his heart. While Christensen acknowledged other factors could have contributed to Cardall's death, he pointed out factors that indicate a Taser electrocuted a naked, unarmed Cardall.

"While it is generally acknowledged that [Taser] use is safe and represents an extremely low risk due to the electrical activity of the weapon, the circumstances in this case represent a combination of the factors that are believed to increase the risk of a potential electrical death," Christensen's report reads.

"These include the placement of the barbs over the cardiac axis, the penetration of the barbs deeply into a thin chest wall directly over the heart, absence of intervening clothing and more than one cycle of electrical stimulation.

"Additionally, the initial cardiac rhythm of ventricular fibrillation is consistent with findings seen in cases of electrocution."

Christensen's conclusion that the X-26 Taser, made by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International, played a significant role in Cardall's death is bold.

While Taser International has claimed its products are not risk free, it has publicly stated its products do not cause cardiac arrest. It has filed numerous lawsuits against medical examiners who have cited Tasers as a cause of death.

Christensen noted that because Cardall, a graduate student at Northern Arizona University, was in a manic state, he was at risk for a heart attack before the Taser struck him.

Christensen said Cardall did not die from excited delirium, a syndrome often cited as a cause of death when someone is agitated or delirious and then dies after forcefully being taken into custody.

Thompson twice deployed a Taser on Cardall on the side of State Road 59 near Hurricane after Anna Cardall called 911 to report her husband was behaving erratically.

Thompson, one of multiple officers on the scene, waited 42 seconds after arriving before he deployed a Taser on a manic and confused Cardall, according to 911 recordings.

The 156-pound Cardall is heard screaming for about five seconds after Thompson first deploys a Taser on him. After a two-second pause, Thompson deploys the Taser on Cardall again. He says in the recordings Cardall had tried to get up.

Mental health history

Christensen's report details Cardall's struggle with bipolar disorder, which surfaced with depression in high school. Doctors diagnosed him as bipolar in 2005 after a manic episode that required brief hospitalization.

Cardall suffered manic episodes in 2006 and 2007, which he believed was due to a lack of sleep and stress, the report states. Cardall had been on and off medication for his disorder; he had scaled back medication in January.

Christensen wrote that Seroquel, the medication Cardall took for bipolar disorder, likely didn't contribute to his reaction after being shocked. He detected trace amounts of marijuana in Cardall's system, but Cardall tested negative for other illicit drugs.

Cardall's family told Christensen that Cardall occasionally used marijuana, according to the report.

Taser International had not yet seen Christensen's report, company spokesman Steve Tuttle said.

"We have not been provided a copy of the autopsy for our medical advisory board to review the details of this tragic incident. Our hearts continue to go out to the Cardall family during this difficult time," Tuttle told The Tribune .

Peter Stirba, a Salt Lake City attorney representing the Hurricane Police Department, said only that Belnap's decision vindicates Thompson and was correct based on evidence.

Possible lawsuit?

The Cardall family is disappointed Belnap didn't hand off the case to another county, said Porter, of Salt Lake City-based law firm Christensen and Jensen.

"It would be awkward for a county attorney in a relatively rural area to prosecute people he works with every day," she said.

Utah law, however, says county attorneys handle use of force investigations.

Any lawsuit filed by the Cardall family will face fierce contention from Taser International, which has only lost one case in the 97 lawsuits filed against the company since its inception in 1993, Tuttle said.

But the tide is beginning to turn, said California attorney Peter Williamson, who, along with co-counsel John Burton, recently won the first suit against Taser International.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Northern California ordered Taser to pay $1.4 million in attorney fees to Williamson and Burton, who represented the family of Robert Heston, who was killed in 2005 after he was shocked multiple times while high on methamphetamine.

The 40-year-old man's father had called police for help to restrain his combative son. Five officers shocked Heston 25 times.

Judge James Ware ordered the company to pay attorney fees following a decision by a jury to award Heston's family $153,000 in damages. The jury found that Taser International didn't properly educate the police who stunned Heston about cardiac risks associated with the weapon.

In an explanation of why he awarded attorneys fees in the case, Ware wrote: "The notoriety of ... the first-of-its-kind verdict, in some circumstances, has prompted a number of Taser customers and prospective customers to consider the risk of repeated and prolonged Taser electric charges on individuals in an excited or delirious state."

Williamson said the company considers the verdict in the Heston case "a fluke."

"The only way we can get Taser to change its warnings and training is to sue them enough times that they finally capitulate," said Williamson, who believes the Cardalls have a strong case against Taser.

Changing targets

In an Oct. 12 bulletin, Taser told police not to aim a Taser at a suspect's chest. Shooting the device lower will incapacitate a suspect more effectively, it said. The bulletin notes police still can shoot at a chest lacking a better option.

Taser critics say the bulletin is the company's first admission that the weapons pose a cardiac risk --- an allegation the company denies. The company based its decision on best practices research and will help police avoid lawsuits from those who claim the devices cause injuries and other health problems, Taser's Rick Guilbault said in the bulletin.

Taser's bulletin states the risk of cardiac arrest when a Taser is deployed on a suspect is low, but notes reactions can't be predicted, particularly when other underlying medical conditions or drugs are added to the equation.

"We have not stated that Taser causes [cardiac] events in this bulletin, only that the refined target zones avoid any potential controversy on this topic," Tuttle said.

He added changes "specifically had nothing to do with the Cardall incident."

But Williamson is skeptical.

"It's interesting to note within the last 30 days, Taser has issued its [new training bulletin]," Williamson said, adding that in addition to the Cardall case, Taser is dealing with another pending California trial where a man died after being shocked in 2004.

Taser as a cause of death

Medical examiners nationwide have been sued for citing Tasers as a cause of death.

Last year, an Ohio judge ordered a medical examiner to remove Taser's name from three autopsies. The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office "offered no medical, scientific or electrical evidence to justify finding the stun gun was a factor in the deaths of two men in 2005 and another in 2006," The Arizona Republic reported in May 2008. Taser and the City of Akron had sued the medical examiner, claiming the examiners didn't have the proper education to decide whether Tasers contributed to the death.

The county's chief medical examiner contested the ruling, according to The Arizona Republic.

Taser also sued Indiana coroner Roland Kohr, who found the weapon contributed to a man's death in 2004.

Taser International dismisses what it calls misconceptions that the company targets medical examiners who make unflattering reports.

"This is simply not true," Tuttle said. "In the two instances that Taser has brought legal action regarding medical examiners, the lawsuits were to correct scientifically baseless opinions that resulted in very negative consequences to numerous entities and people."

Williamson disagrees. He said Taser intimidates medical examiners who find the stun guns lead to death.

"Very few medical examiners will stick their necks out on the line," he said.

Excited delirium theory nixed

Christensen's finding that Cardall did not die of excited delirium in Cardall is noteworthy. Speculation that the controversial syndrome killed Cardall has been widespread among law enforcement since he died. In a letter to the editor The Tribune published in June, University of Minnesota biomedical engineering professor Mark Kroll suggested excited delirium killed Cardall.

Kroll, a member of Taser's scientific and medical advisory board, wrote that: "Excited delirium is a widely accepted entity in forensic pathology and is cited by medical examiners to explain the sudden in-custody deaths of individuals who are combative and in a highly agitated state."

"The fundamentals of an excited delirium death are not that difficult to understand," Kroll wrote. "Our bodies have limits to exertion... If these limits are sufficiently exceeded, we will die."

Christensen's report states that Cardall displayed some symptoms of excited delirium, but he did not show signs of hyperthermia, a condition where the body produces more heat than it can expend. He wasn't involved in a physical struggle and didn't show "feats of superhuman strength," which is common in excited delirium cases.

"His initial cardiac rhythm is also different from the usual rhythm in cases of [excited delirium]," the report states.

Porter said Christensen's findings support the Cardall family's efforts to expose Brian Cardall's mistreatment. The family may file a lawsuit so that "the full truth emerges regarding Brian's death."

"They also want to feel reassured that steps are being taken to prevent other senseless deaths in the future," she said.