Canada 'brainwashed' by taser manufacturer, says police expert

May 13, 2008
By Suzanne Fournier, The Province

A police psychologist who has trained Vancouver police, RCMP and the FBI to defuse crises like hostage-takings for over 30 years says Canada has been "brainwashed" into buying the Taser and being trained by the manufacturer.

[Dr. Michael] Webster told the Braidwood Inquiry into Tasers Tuesday morning that "the police, in an attempt to justify their use of the weapon in many cases, have taken to citing the hypothetical disorder... excited delirium."

Both Webster and the first witness Tuesday, Vancouver psychiatrist Dr. Lu Shaohua, said the controversial phenomenon does not exist nor does it appear in any medical textbooks as a legitimate diagnosis.

Yet Webster noted Taser actively bombards medical examiners with pamphlets about "excited delirium" to cite as both a provocation for Taser use and even cause of death.

"Canadian law enforcement, and its American brothers and sisters, have been 'brainwashed' by companies like Taser International," said Webster.

Taser sales experts "have created a virtual world replete with avatars that wander about with the potential to manifest a horrific condition characterized by profuse sweating, superhuman strength and a penchant for smashing glass that appeals to well-meaning but psychologically unsophisticated police personnel," said Webster.

Webster noted Taser "has successfully defended itself against at least eight lawsuits in which it was alleged that the victims died of Taser shocks. The company argued that the cause of death was "excited delirium" and not the Taser.

Webster said he was "shocked" and "embarassed" to see the video of the RCMP Tasering Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport last Oct. 14, after the man had wandered around for eight hours without food or drink, lost, suffering from a language barrier and likely from the dehydrating effects of a long-haul flight.

"It is neither humane nor logical to inflict crippling pain on someone who has lost his mental balance," said Webster.

Webster, who trains police services all over the world, including Vancouver police in a one-week crisis management course, said that the safety of the Taser is still not resolved and it is crucial to give Canadian police more thorough training on crisis management skills before they resort to the Taser.

"If the Taser proves to be safe, its use in Canada (should) be restricted to only those situations involving a significant risk of death or grievous bodily harm; and that Canadian law enforcement be provided with crisis intervention skills during their basic training."

Police psychologist at taser Inquiry is highly critical of way Tasers are used, promoted

May 13, 2008
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — A police psychologist who has worked with police services around the world harshly criticized Taser International on Monday and also slammed police for the way they use the weapon.

Mike Webster, who once trained as an RCMP officer and now teaches police how to manage crises, gave a presentation at a provincial inquiry into the use of Tasers.

Webster later told reporters outside the inquiry that he's embarrassed by the way the Taser has been used.

He mentioned a recent incident involving an 82-year-old man who was jolted with the weapon as he lay in his hospital bed in Kamloops, B.C.

"I am embarrassed to be associated with an organization that Tasers sick old men in the hospital," he said.

"Some Taser incidents are embarrassing," he earlier told the inquiry. "This is not how we would like our police services to behave."

Webster said Taser International has done a brilliant marketing job and created a lucrative business based on selling Tasers as a necessary tool for police confronted by people with a disorder called excited delirium.

He said excited delirium as a medical condition is not recognized in a generally accepted manual of mental disorders - an opinion that a psychiatrist has already shared at the inquiry.

Webster said he was not "anti police" and conceded there was a use for Tasers.

"There is a place for Tasers and that is the last thing before you have to shoot somebody."

Tasers should be LAST RESORT, police psychologist testifies

May 13, 2008
Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - Canadian police have been "brainwashed" by Taser International to justify the use of the electronic weapon, a police psychologist told a Taser inquiry today.

"I'm not anti police," Mike Webster explained. "I've worked with police for over 30 years."

But he accused the company that makes the Taser of convincing police in Canada that when officers encounter a person suffering from a condition that Taser refers to as "excited delirium" they have few options other than jolting the person with a Taser.

"When you think the only tool you have is a hammer, the whole world ends up looking like a nail," Webster told the inquiry.

He said police are well-meaning but blamed the training the officers get.

He suggested Tasers should only be used as the last resort before lethal force.

He said he has been shocked and embarrassed by recent examples of Taser use being applied in low-risk situations, especially againt people who are mentally imbalanced.

Webster said more non-threatening communications skills need to be used to defuse crisis situations.

He teaches crisis management skills and communications techniques to Vancouver police and consults with police forces in Europe, South America and Australia.

Taser head a born salesman who needs dose of compassion

May 14, 2008
Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun

Tom Smith made a great presentation, but seemed indifferent to victims

Tom Smith, chairman of Taser International, rode through Vancouver this week like the proverbial western sheriff come to rid the city of outlaws.

In appearances at the provincial Braidwood inquiry into Taser use and on various media outlets, the American maverick gunned down what he considered the various myths and lies people have been spreading about his cherished conducted energy weapon.

It was an impressive performance by the entrepreneur from Scottsdale, Ariz.

I thought his best prop was the tiny rechargeable lithium battery from a digital camera.

He held it up and told former B.C. Court of Appeal justice Thomas Braidwood that the same battery powered the Taser.

Nothing more.

You can get a static shock from a doorknob that will measure between 35,000 and 50,000 volts, he said: The same as a Taser's 50,000 volt output.

Go to the Science Centre and you can put your hand on a generator putting out 20 million volts; it makes a kid's hair stand on end.

It's the amps that matter. And a Taser puts out less than .004 amps, or less than one joule, compared with a defibrillator that puts out between 150 and 400 joules.

You can receive a six-amp shock from the 100-volt wall outlet . . . .

Smith went on and on. It was a great sales presentation.

He had an answer for questions no one had even thought to ask. And videos to go with each, most tastefully stopped before their denouement because, well, they were pretty brutal.

Smith gives the same dog-and-pony show dozens of times a year. A born salesman with a product the world seemingly wants, he is enthusiasm personified.

The British home secretary, he said, promised to arm every bobby with a Taser if the current pilot-project deployment is a success. Smith noted 95 per cent of police officers in the United Kingdom don't want to carry a gun, but 96 per cent want a Taser.

It's the same on the continent. NATO, European governments, to listen to Smith is to believe everyone loves the stun-gun.

Unlike pepper spray or a baton, he boasted his product is practically guaranteed to bring a suspect down with minimal injury because it is scientifically designed to interfere with the body's muscular control system.

What could possibly be better? What offered lower risk or better outcomes?

Smith initially sold the Taser to individuals as a personal protection device and only in the late 1990s began selling to the professional military and policing markets. Although they are illegal in Canada, today in America you still can buy a purse-sized, designer-model Taser for personal protection.

There are lots of features built in to ensure accountability, Smith maintained, including tiny identifiable tags released when the Taser is discharged that can later be used to trace the weapon. As well, some models include cameras that record as much as 90 minutes of video and sound starting from the moment the device is activated.

Smith insisted that saying Tasers cause death was like saying air bags caused deaths because people died in car accidents in which air bags were deployed.

Like air bags, Smith said, Tasers save lives, emergency care resources and workers' compensation costs for law-enforcement agencies. They are no more dangerous than playing professional sports.

"Are Tasers risk-free?" the chairman asked rhetorically. "No -- they cause people to fall down."

What a sense of humour. And that's part of the problem here.

When he extolled the virtues of the Taser and arrogantly insisted it had revolutionized law enforcement, Smith sounded like a character from the creepy fascist Omni Consumer Products in the sci-fi series Robocop.

Like Paul McCartney's ex-wife in her divorce battle, Smith is his own worst enemy --his smugness in the face of the current body count feels offensive.

For anyone who has lost a loved one after a Taser incident, his overweening self-assurance must come across as hard-hearted indifference. Smith would do well to leaven his future presentations with a dose of compassion.

Officers face jury in taser death of Robert Heston

May 14, 2008
By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY, Herald Salinas Bureau

Four Salinas police officers, the Salinas Police Department and Taser International Inc. face a federal jury in San Jose today in the case of a Salinas man who died after he was stunned 30 times by Taser-wielding police officers. The family of Robert Heston Jr. is alleging wrongful death, assault and battery, and police negligence in their suit against the city, its police department and officers Juan Ruiz, James Godwin, Lek Livingston and Michael Dominici.

Parents Betty Lou and Robert Heston Sr. and their daughter are suing Taser International, alleging the company fails to warn that its product can cause death when used repeatedly, in conjunction with chest compressions and against people under the influence of drugs.

U.S. District Judge James Ware laid out "undisputed facts" in the case in a ruling in which he dismissed some allegations and removed Salinas Police Chief Daniel Ortega as a defendant.

On Feb. 20, 2005, officers Dominici and Craig Fairbanks, who has since been dismissed as a defendant, responded to the Salinas home of Robert Heston Sr. after he called 911 to say his 40-year-old son was violent.

Both officers fired their Tasers at Heston Jr., but he did not fall. Ruiz and Livingston arrived and stunned the man without knocking him down. Godwin arrived and fired his Taser at Heston Jr., who fell, hit his head on a table and lay prone with his hands under him.

At that point, Godwin fired his Taser at least three more times, as did Livingston and Ruiz. Other officers arrived and were attempting to pull Heston Jr.'s arms from under him to handcuff him. Godwin, believing the man was resisting, again shot his Taser. Assuming his stun gun was having no effect, he replaced the cartridge and fired again.

Officers cuffed Heston and realized he was turning purple. They started CPR and raced him to Natividad Medical Center. Heston never regained consciousness and died the next day.

The family's attorney, John Burton of Pasadena, contends Heston was stunned in 5-second cycles 30 times.

The county's regular forensic pathologist, John Hain, was away at the time and the autopsy was performed by Dr. Terri Haddix, a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. She concluded the primary cause of death was Tasing, with methamphetamine a contributing factor.

Ortega and Sheriff Mike Kanalakis then asked two other pathologists, including Hain, to review the autopsy. They concluded the primary cause of death was heart failure because of methamphetamine, with Tasing a secondary cause.

One issue to be examined in the trial is the validity of research that reportedly has shown repeated stuns from a Taser can induce cardiac arrest by changing blood chemistry.

The Monterey County District Attorney's Office cleared the officers of any criminal wrongdoing.

Burton will argue the police department showed an indifference to abusive Taser use by failing to track officers' usage.

The city, police department and officers are represented by Vincent Hurley and Assistant City Attorney Susan Matcham. Ware denied their motions to dismiss allegations of assault and battery and police negligence against each of the defendants.

He dismissed allegations against Ortega, ruling the chief was not individually responsible for the officers' actions and that claims against him in his official capacity were redundant to the claims against the city.

The truth according to Tom

IF TOM SAID IT, THEN IT MUST BE TRUE!

The following have been attributed to Tom before, during and after his "slick and speedy" performance at the Braidwood Inquiry yesterday:

Tom said critics spread myths about the stun gun's dangers.

Tom said "College students are as likely to receive an injury playing basketball, as is a person to receive an injury from a Taser."

Tom said air bags cause some deaths but save many lives, comparing the use of Tasers to that of air bags, which inflate during car crashes.

Tom said Tasers are safer than other police tools, such as batons, pepper spray, and firearms, when it comes to subduing and apprehending criminal suspects and violent individuals.

Tom said Tasers reduce injuries to officers and suspects and have revolutionized law enforcement.

Tom said Tasers don't lead to heart failure, something suggested when the inquiry began last week.

Tom said it's just a simple camera battery.

Tom said "There is no use-of-force option, ours included, that is a magic bullet."

Tom said Tasers save 70 lives for every life lost.

Tom said "I think it's extremely low," of the risk factor of using Tasers.

Tom said "I would never say never" when asked if death could result from a taser.

Tom said "There is a difference between contributing and causing. There is a big distinction."

Tom said "Are Tasers risk free? No, they cause people to fall down."

Tom said the Robert Dziekanski incident was tragic, but declined further comment until a medical examiner's investigation is completed.

Tom said "I believe this is the most studied police technology out there today."

Tom said non lethal does not mean there is no risk in using the weapons.

Tom said it is a common myth that there has been no independent research of Taser use.

Tom said 129 studies have been done on conducted energy weapons, something he calls “fantastic” ... and only 20 per cent of them were funded or sponsored by Taser International.

Tom said there have been 20 "arrest-related deaths" in Canada where a Taser was used but said a medical examiner must find direct pathological evidence linked to the Taser before he will blame his own weapon.

Tom said Taser is pursuing two lawsuits in the U.S. against medical officials who named Taser as a cause of death.

Tom WOULD NOT SAY if the company might take legal action against the Braidwood inquiry if it does not like the outcome of the investigation.

EDITORIAL: Impose protocols for use of tasers

May 14, 2008
Times Colonist (Victoria, BC)

Even those who support police use of Tasers should recognize that current policies and controls are inadequate, failing even to acknowledge the real risks involved anytime the stun guns are fired.

The case of Frank Lasser should end any argument. Lasser is 82 and frail. He's had bypass surgery and needs oxygen at all times. He becomes delusional when he can't breathe properly. That apparently happened after he was admitted to hospital in Kamloops with pneumonia this month. At 5:30 a.m., he began to threaten staff and pulled out a pocket knife with a three-inch blade.

They called the RCMP. When Lasser wouldn't drop the knife, officers zapped him three times with a Taser as he lay in his hospital bed. They pressed the stun gun against his stomach. The RCMP maintains this was the only safe way to handle a potentially dangerous situation.

But, as Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh testified at a provincial inquiry into Taser use this week, this was not the use proposed when Tasers were introduced in B.C. in 2000.

Dosanjh, who as attorney general approved the use of the weapons after a pilot project in Victoria, said he was told the devices were completely safe. That appears to be untrue. Seven people have died in B.C. after being zapped with the stun guns, 300 in North America. Recent research suggests the devices affect the heart.

And police said the Taser would be used in "assaultive and combative situations, where a person is a danger to others," Dosanjh told a B.C. inquiry into the weapon's use.

When Victoria police described their six-month trial, those were the kind of cases they cited. Tasers were used to subdue a naked, crazed man who attacked officers with a 10-inch spike and deer antlers to disarm another man who was in the act of driving a dagger into his own chest, they reported.

But since 2000, Tasers have been increasingly used as a quick method to control the merely difficult. Police insist there is no risk in using the devices and operate accordingly.

The government's current guidelines, brought in after a Taser review by the Police Complaints Commissioner in 2005, say the devices should not be used unless people are actively resisting police. It's not enough that they're ignoring commands, gesturing wildly or shouting.

But the guidelines, and other recommendations in the report, have been largely ignored. Vancouver's transit police are authorized to Taser anyone who is non-compliant, even fare evaders.

And the RCMP, which provides policing for more than 70 per cent of British Columbians, doesn't accept the right of the provincial government to set any guidelines for Taser use.

Tasers should have a place in the police arsenal. They can increase the safety of both offenders and officers, offering an alternative to pepper spray or clubs in some situations.

But they carry risks, which police refuse to acknowledge.

And Taser use in B.C. is, in a literal sense, out of control. Government use-of-force rules are dismissed by the RCMP and widely ignored by other forces.

That should not be allowed to continue. If the province and police can't agree on an effective, accepted protocol for Taser use, the only solution left would be a return to the ban that existed until 2000.

Taser fatality inquiry set for December

May 14 2008
Dan Singleton, For The Calgary Herald

A fatality inquiry looking into the death of a 28-year-old Red Deer man who died after being Tasered by police in August 2006 will take place over eight days in December.

Jason Doan was breaking vehicle windows at a Red Deer park when he was chased by RCMP officers and shocked with a Taser, police said.

Doan died three weeks later of heart failure.

"The family wants some truth and some honesty and to know what happened," said the Doan family's lawyer, Will Willier. "We will be making our submissions on the recommendations for how we think things can be prevented in the future in similar circumstances."

The inquiry before Judge Monica Bast will take place in Red Deer provincial court Dec. 8 to 11 and Dec. 15 to 19. The judge can make recommendations but cannot assign blame.

Sixteen witnesses are expected to be called, including the sister of the deceased, Surya Doan, as well as medical personnel and an expert on Tasers.

The family has not filed a lawsuit in the case, Willier said.

Vancouver transit police refuse to testify at taser inquiry

May 14, 2008
David Hogben and Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun

The transit police force -- under fire last month for using Tasers against nonviolent passengers -- is refusing to testify at the provincial inquiry into the use of the stun guns.

The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service was to make a submission Tuesday at former appeal court justice Thomas Braidwood's provincially ordered inquiry, but decided not to attend.

"The Braidwood inquiry is to get at the policies; it's not to lay blame," inquiry counsel Art Vertlieb said in an interview. "They had issues in the media and it was a chance for them to be transparent, but they felt it was better to deal with the Police Complaints Commission."

Transit police were embroiled in a Taser-related controversy after an article in The Vancouver Sun revealed they had used the electroshock device 10 times over 18 months. On four occasions, transit police used the Tasers on non-aggressive, non-compliant passengers, according to information acquired through access-to-information legislation.

Sgt. Willie Merenick, a spokesman for the transit police, said Tuesday the transit police did not want to do anything to interfere with the Police Complaints Commission investigation into Taser use by the force. "It's like any investigation really. You cannot really take the evidence and disrupt the investigation," Merenick said.

The complaints commission announced it would investigate Taser use by the transit police after a complaint by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. Rob Holmes, president of the association, said the transit police explanation for not attending did "not make sense. He said there was no legal reason why the transit police could not participate in the Braidwood inquiry, noting Braidwood is "obviously engaging in a civil inquiry."

Bruce Brown, Police Complaints Commission deputy commissioner, said he could not comment on the decision by the transit police.

Braidwood has included the use of Tasers by transit police in his inquiry's mandate.

Solicitor-General John van Dongen refused to say Tuesday whether he believes members of the transit police should appear at the inquiry.

"Commissioner Braidwood has conduct of the inquiry. I would assume that's up to his discretion if he wants to bring them in front of the inquiry," said van Dongen. "I have confidence in Commissioner Braidwood to make all of the decisions and call whatever witnesses he feels are appropriate for him to conduct the mandate of his inquiry."

New Democratic Party public safety critic Mike Farnworth said he can't understand why the transit force will not appear. Walter Kosteckyj, the lawyer for Zofia Cisowski, Robert Dziekanski's mother, said: "We expected to hear from the transit authority this afternoon. They were invited to speak. They are an organization that uses a Taser. They declined to appear. What does that tell you about the public trust you can have in a police force not prepared to show up at a public forum and put their views forward before the public?"

Tasers safer than police batons, guns, inquiry told

May 13, 2008
Brian Hutchinson, National Post
Jason Payne, For Canwest News Service

VANCOUVER - Tom Smith is the smiling Dapper Dan from Scottsdale, Ariz., who makes and markets Tasers, and who must therefore leave his office and defend them. Not a pleasant task, one might think; these days, the conducted energy weapon is the object of scorn and fear.

Were they still alive, gunsmiths Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson would face less criticism, fewer accusations about their gear. But Mr. Smith of Taser fame was barely tested yesterday, at a provincial inquiry examining the use of his products in British Columbia.

The young chairman of Taser International Inc. cruised through a 55-minute presentation -- one, he admitted afterwards, that he delivers a lot, dozens of times a year in fact.

He's got it down pat and it showed. He spoke so rapidly and with such force that the commissioner of the inquiry, retired judge Thomas Braidwood, had to interject and suggest he slow down.

"This is not an endurance competition," he said.

Flashing statistics and bar graphs on to a projection screen, Mr. Smith insisted that Tasers are safer than such other police tools as batons, pepper spray and firearms, when it comes to subduing and apprehending criminal suspects and violent individuals.

College students are as likely to receive an injury playing basketball, as is a person to receive an injury from a Taser, the company chairman maintained.

His computer and video-assisted demonstration made the point, over and over, that Tasers are not the evil devices the public has come to loathe, and which reporters have to come rely upon as an endless source of hair-raising copy.

Placed strategically on Mr. Smith's left was a 20-centimetre-thick binder filled with independent scientific studies. These, he said, lend credence to his company's assertion that Tasers, while not harmless, are not as dangerous as people might think.

It's a fact that the proper use of Tasers rarely results in death, or even injury. That's why so many police agencies -- 12,500 from more than 40 countries at last count -- have bought the devices, Mr. Smith said. Sales are booming. Last year, its best ever, Taser International had revenues of $100.7-million. This year, sales are on a record-breaking pace.

Meanwhile, the lawsuits pile up. Most are discarded. "Six more product-liability suits were dismissed during the first quarter, representing a total of 67 wrongful death or injury suits that have been dismissed or judgment entered in favour of the Company through the first quarter," Taser International noted in a recent securities filing.

Born on a U. S. air force base in 1967, Mr. Smith was, growing up, a Star Wars and Star Trek geek. He wondered how techno-gizmos like "phasers" might be deployed in violent confrontations. His mother, he said yesterday, relied on a Doberman pinscher guard dog for protection; he looked to technology instead.

He formed Taser International with his brother in 1993, after buying the technology from its inventor. A number of improvements have been made since the clunky Tasertron was introduced. That first model was "more of a pain compliance device," Mr. Smith told the inquiry. Later models, including today's best-selling Taser X-26, are far better at disabling targets, temporarily turning their musculature to jelly.

Contrary to testimony delivered at the inquiry on Friday, there is no credible evidence that the electric jolt from a Taser can affect the human heart, Mr. Smith said. To emphasize the point, he pulled out the power source that his products rely upon to shoot 50,000 volts into a target. It's just a simple camera battery, he noted.

Pepper spray and police batons can be far more sinister than the X-26, Mr. Smith said. He played a few video clips to punch home the point. In one five-year-old scene, Nathaniel Jones, a black man in Cincinnati, is pummelled to death by stick-wielding police officers.

The inquiry audience was then shown the brighter side of police work involving Tasers. Mr. Smith pressed a button on his laptop. Up popped the image of "a mental subject" with knives in both hands, receiving a good Tasering by police inside a bathroom. The man was incapacitated, handcuffed and "returned to a mental hospital" with no harm inflicted, apparently.

Not shown during Mr. Smith's info-packed session was the video still on every-one's mind-- the one made with a cellphone last autumn at Vancouver International Airport. It led to this inquiry, before Commissioner Braidwood, and shows an agitated Polish immigrant named Robert Dziekanski being Tasered by RCMP officers. He soon died in their custody, after being manhandled. His death, while obviously accidental, sparked a huge outcry.

But the present inquiry is not tasked with examining the Dziekanski incident and death; that is to come later, at a second inquiry headed by Mr. Braidwood.

That left Mr. Smith free to complete his polished take on Taser use. After answering a few mild-mannered questions from Mr. Braidwood and from the inquiry's appointed counsel (Q: Are short people more in danger of getting hurt than others? A: Um, no), he walked from the inquiry room unscathed.

The inquiry next heard from Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, who, as B. C.'s attorney-general in 2000, approved the use of Tasers by police in this province. He was misinformed, he said yesterday, about their risks, and under what circumstances they might be deployed.

"One makes decisions based on the information one gets," he shrugged.

The Taser decision is one he now regrets. The inquiry continues today.

Reposition taser, Dosanjh urges

May 13, 2008
Neal Hall, VANCOUVER SUN

Former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh said at a Taser inquiry Monday that there should be stricter guidelines about when police can deploy Tasers.

"I believe this particular tool must be repositioned, higher up [the police use-of-force continuum]," he told inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood, a retired appeal court judge.

He also recommended better training of police in the use of Tasers and setting national standards for Taser use.

Dosanjh, now a Liberal MP and public-safety critic who is sitting on a parliamentary committee examining Taser use in Canada, recalled he was B.C.'s attorney-general when he first allowed Tasers to be used by police.

"I was given several assurances that the Taser was absolutely safe to use," he told the inquiry, adding he now knows that seven people have died in B.C. after receiving one or more Taser jolts, which incapacitates an individual through a five-second electrical shock.

"The research to date is inadequate and in some cases misleading," Dosanjh said.

He questioned whether Taser use can cause heart arrhythmia or sometimes death, adding: "I'm not a scientist or expert in the use of force."

When first approved for use in B.C. in 2000, the Taser was supposed to be used sparingly by police in "assaultive and combative situations, where a person is a danger to others," Dosanjh explained.

But in recent years there has been "usage creep" and the use of the weapons has shot up, he said.

"It is also being used in situations where it wasn't contemplated," Dosanjh said, citing the use of Tasers by local transit police on fare evaders. "That is something I would have never imagined.

"It is being used as a substitute for ordinary, old-fashioned policing or talking to people."

Dosanjh told the inquiry that the onus should be on the manufacturer, Taser International, to conclusively prove there is no evidence that Tasers can kill people.

More than 300 people in North America, among them 20 in Canada and seven in B.C., have died after being jolted by a Taser.

Earlier in the day, Tom Smith, chair of Taser International, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, told the inquiry that Tasers are like air bags, which save lives during car crashes but occasionally contribute to the death of a person.

"Are Tasers risk-free? No, they cause people to fall down," Smith told the inquiry, pointing out that Tasers save 70 lives for every life lost.

Smith said studies show Tasers reduce the number of injuries to officers and suspects being arrested.

He said police forces such as Cincinnati, since adopting Tasers, reported officer injuries have dropped 75 per cent, suspect injuries are down by 40 per cent and use-of-force complaints against police are down 50 per cent.

Smith said it is a myth that there have been no independent studies of Taser use.

There have 129 medical and field studies, he said, with less than 20 per cent funded by Taser International.

"I certainly encourage more studies," Smith told reporters after his presentation. "This is the most studied non-lethal force option in the world."

He pointed out that Amnesty International is one of Taser's biggest critics but it has not funded any scientific research to support its allegations.

Smith said one study looked at a continuous Taser shock of 45 seconds, which found no evidence of increased risk.

"You show me the science that says risk increases with multiple exposures," he told reporters.

He said the death of a Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski last Oct. 14 at Vancouver International Airport was a tragic event that prompted the current inquiry, but it remains unclear what killed the man.

The Dziekanski incident was captured on video by a bystander, resulting in a international public outcry.

The inquiry could result in changes to Taser policy for municipal police forces, sheriffs and provincial corrections staff, but has no jurisdiction over the federally regulated RCMP.

Dosanjh told the inquiry that it impractical to have two police complaint processes in B.C. -- one for municipal police and another for the RCMP, which polices two-thirds of B.C., effectively making it a provincial police force.

He suggested the RCMP contract is coming up for renewal, so it could be negotiated to harmonize the civilian-oversight processes.

"The confidence in the trust between the RCMP and Canadians has been sorely tested," Dosanjh said.

More taser scrutiny 'great,' stun gun manufacturer says

May 13, 2008
IAN BAILEY, Globe and Mail

VANCOUVER — The chairman of Taser International's board is welcoming independent study of his company's devices, but suggests there is already a fair balance of independent research and his company's sponsored reviews of the stun guns.

Tom Smith's comments were made yesterday in response to recent suggestions by the Canadian Medical Association Journal that the Arizona-based company was relying on its own sponsored research to prove its devices are safe.

Mr. Smith, in Vancouver to testify before the provincial Braidwood inquiry into taser use, noted that only about 20 per cent of taser studies have been sponsored by his company, which produced the device used by police on Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski in an Oct. 14 incident that prompted the Braidwood probe and other continuing inquiries.

But Mr. Smith said, in his comments before the hearing and to reporters outside, that his company has had no hand in the remaining research, which allows for a broader perspective.

"I encourage studies. We think it's great. And we're seeing more of them done, and there are a lot being done and there are a lot being done independent of us, and I think it again goes back to this being the most studied non-lethal technology available today in the world," said Mr. Smith, who co-founded Taser International with his brother, Rick.

"I would certainly encourage more independent studies. Less than 20 per cent of them out there have been funded by us. That means 80 per cent have been done independent of our company, including here in Canada."

Mr. Smith referred to a total 129 studies of tasers.

In an editorial published a few weeks ago, the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggested Taser International has sponsored "just about all the research" to "prove the taser's safety." It's author, Matthew Stanbrook, an assistant professor, researcher and specialist in respirology at Toronto Western Hospital, called for federally funded, independent research to answer many questions related to the safety of tasers.

Those questions have become a pressing concern since Mr. Dziekanski died at Vancouver International Airport after being tasered during a confrontation with four Mounties, who were called to the scene after he began acting erratically.

The exact cause of the death of the 40-year-old man has not yet been released, but questions about police use of tasers have prompted a number of reviews.

Mr. Smith also acknowledged that tasers are not foolproof, and that there is a risk of death associated with them. However, he framed that chance more around circumstantial factors than anything inherent in the devices.

"They are not risk free. They do cause incapacitation. They can cause somebody to fall to the ground," he said.

"We cover the general warnings of possible outcomes that can be the result of being exposed to a taser, so in a general sense, they are safe, but they are not without risk," he told the inquiry.

Pressed further on whether death is the possible outcome of a taser jolt, Mr. Smith said: "I would never say never. It's certainly a possibility of any interaction that includes confrontation."

Reminded that tasers have been cited as a contributing cause of the deaths of 300 people - including 20 in Canada - Mr. Smith said there is a distinction between contributing and an actual cause of death.

Former B.C. attorney-general Ujjal Dosanjh, also appearing before the inquiry, said he was assured tasers were an appropriate idea when he authorized their use in B.C. in 2000.

He said staff told him the devices were backed by solid research, were safe and would be placed high up on the continuum of use-of-force options.

"All three propositions have turned out not to be true," he said.

"Am I disappointed? Yes. Absolutely disappointed because when you are in the public realm ... making these kinds of decisions, you depend on people coming in, giving you advice based on research they have conducted. Should there have been more research? Absolutely. Did I know that at the time? No."

Mr. Dosanjh, now a Liberal MP and public safety critic, is calling for more research on tasers, and better guidelines on their use. He said there should be a moratorium if these suggestions are not acted on.

In the UK: Taser usage shoots upwards

May 12, 2008

Government figures have revealed a dramatic upsurge in the number of incidents involving a Taser. The controversial Taser guns stun individuals with an electric shock but are only permitted to be used by trained firearms officers facing an armed person.

Home secretary Jacqui Smith permitted the 12-month trial in ten police forces around the country, starting from September 1st 2007.

There were 14 incidents in which Tasers were used in the first three months of the trial, with 12 subjects hit by the guns. Today the Home Office revealed in the following three months, from December to February, the running tally had increased to 163 incidents on 185 subjects. Northumbria police officers were responsible for 122 incidents while the Metropolitan police used Tasers 90 times.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it would closely monitor the use of Tasers during the trial, having already received several complaints about their use. "The IPCC is keeping a close eye on the extension of Taser use and if people feel excessive force has been used they should make a complaint," commissioner Deborah Glass said.

"Early indications would… be that the increase in Taser use has not been accompanied by a rise in complaints, but if we see any themes or issues emerging as a result of complaints over a longer time period we will ensure these are properly addressed as part of the pilot."

Chair of Taser International testifies the stun gun is safe, effective

May 12, 2008
Brian Hutchinson, Canwest News Service (National Post)

VANCOUVER -- Attempting to counteract media "sensationalism" and convince skeptics that his company's stun gun technology is a safe and effective policing tool, the chairman of Taser International Inc. delivered a slick and speedy presentation at a provincial inquiry today.

Tom Smith motored through a well-honed defence of his company's line of conducted energy weapons, better known simply as Tasers. Inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood, a retired B.C. judge, suggested at one point in the morning that Mr. Smith slow down, noting that "this is not an endurance competition."

Flashing statistics and excerpts from myriad studies onto a projection screen, Mr. Smith insisted that Tasers are safer than other police tools, such as batons, pepper spray, and firearms, when it comes to subduing and apprehending criminal suspects and violent individuals.

College students are as likely to receive an injury playing basketball, as is a person to receive an injury from a Taser, he maintained.

Mr. Smith presented a number of videos that showed police officers using Tasers on deranged individuals. In each case, the person was subdued, apparently without sustaining any serious injuries.

He denied that Tasers can lead to heart failure, something suggested when the inquiry began last week.

The inquiry was formed after the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport last October. Mr. Dziekanski had been acting erracticaly before RCMP officers shot him with their Taser device. He died in their custody.

Liberal M.P. Ujjal Dosanjh sat in the inquiry gallery this morning as Mr. Smith spoke. He will give a presentation this afternoon.

Taser boss says weapon saves lives

May 12, 2008
Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - The chair of the company that makes Taser electrical shock weapons says the device is not risk-free but has been proven to save lives.

"Are Tasers risk free? No, they cause people to fall down," Tom Smith of Taser International told a Taser inquiry in Vancouver today,

He compared the use of Tasers to that of air bags, which inflate during car crashes. He said air bags cause some deaths but save many lives.

He said Tasers save 70 lives for every life lost.

Smith said it is a common myth that there has been no independent reseach of Taser use.

One of those attending the inquiry is Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, who said outside the hearing that he remains unconvinced that Tasers won't cause death. "I believe the science is incomplete," he told reporters. Dosanjh, who will testify later today at the inquiry, approved use of Tasers in B.C. in 2000. He said he was misled at the time, saying he was told during a briefing that Tasers were totally safe. He now believes the weapons need further study and national standards should be set for police about when they can be used.

Smith said there are about 300 documented deaths that occurred after Taser use in North America, including 20 in Canada, of which seven were in B.C. He pointed out only 30 of those deaths listed the Taser as a contributing factor. "I think it's extremely low," Smith said of the risk factor of using Tasers.

Details of Vancouver airport Tasering omitted from censored RCMP report

May 12, 2008
Jim Bronskill; Sue Bailey, The Canadian Press

The RCMP call it Occurrence No. 2007-34748.

Millions of people around the world know it as the infamous Taser zapping at the Vancouver International Airport last October that sparked so many questions about Robert Dziekanski's death.

The Mounties have stripped any new answers from a heavily censored report on the high-profile stun gun incident, obtained by The Canadian Press and CBC under the Access to Information Act.

Dziekanski died in the early hours of Oct. 14 after the RCMP hit the 40-year-old Polish immigrant with a Taser and pinned him to the airport floor. Police fired the electronic stun gun's metal probes less than 30 seconds after arriving on the scene of a sweaty, agitated Dziekanski, who had earlier tossed a small table and computer monitor in frustration.

Opposition MPs and human rights groups have criticized the RCMP for suppressing details of Taser cases, including injuries suffered by people stunned and whether they were experiencing a mental health crisis at the time.

The national police force has gone even further with the Dziekanski report, deleting information it routinely releases in other cases.

Though Dziekanski's name is struck from the four-page form, it is readily identifiable as his case, listing basic details well known to those who watched an amateur video of the RCMP arriving on the scene and shooting a Taser X26 at Dziekanski, who quickly crumpled in a heap.

Absent from the report is the name and rank of the officer who fired the Taser, the name of his supervisor, details about the duration of the firing, and the number of times the weapon was used in stun mode - a contact Tasering that's akin to leaning on a hot stove.

A written summary of the incident has been blanked out along with assessments as to whether use of the Taser helped the RCMP either "avoid use of lethal force" or "avoid injuries to subject or Police."

A passage about whether Dziekanski was armed or not has also been excised. One witness says he was waving a stapler at police.

New information is scant. The form says the RCMP officer issued the standard verbal command, "Police. Stop, or you will be hit with 50,000 volts of electricity." The lighting conditions are described as "Good artificial light." And the serial number of the Taser was X00-2226496.

In a letter accompanying the form, the RCMP says it invoked exemptions under the Access to Information Act to protect the privacy of the person stunned and to guard confidences about the force's investigations and weapons.

The RCMP did not return a phone call Sunday seeking comment on why it censored more information than usual. The deletions may, however, be due to the fact the Crown is still deciding whether to lay charges in the case following completion of a homicide probe.

Liberal public safety critic Ujjal Dosanjh said regardless of the investigation the RCMP should tell the public whether Dziekanski was armed and how many times he was hit with the Taser.

"I don't see any reason why there should be an impediment to releasing information about how many times Mr. Dziekanski was stunned," he said in an interview Sunday. "Why would that be a problem, unless that was a fact in dispute?"

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said last month the Mounties have been forced to make tough choices on how much to publicly disclose about Taser incidents.

Elliott said some information about stun gun use cannot be made public. And he noted the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP has access to full versions of all of the force's Taser reports.

Insp. Troy Lightfoot, an RCMP spokesman, said in March that internal analysis of the forms concluded the painful weapons were being used correctly.

Legal power of Taser International is cause for concern at Canadian inquests

May 11, 2008
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — An Ohio court decision ordering a state coroner to remove all reference to Tasers from autopsy results is an "appalling interference," says British Columbia's chief medical officer.

The top medical examiner in the U.S. called the court ruling last week "dangerously close to intimidation."

But officials at a public inquiry currently underway in B.C. into the use of Tasers say their investigation will continue and their conclusions will not be swayed.

Art Vertlieb, commission counsel with the inquiry, said there will be no adverse findings made in the first phase of the inquiry, which is looking at Taser use in general.

But a second phase that will look specifically at the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport last fall is another matter.

"Once we get into the deal with the airport, that's going to be different. That's going to be a real inquiry in a more confrontational sense," he said.

"Under the rules in an inquiry in B.C. you can't say there's civil or criminal wrongdoing, but you can make adverse findings about people. It's right in the act."

The maker of Taser shock weapons sued the medical examiner of one Ohio county after she named the use of their stun guns as a contributing factor in three deaths in her jurisdiction.

Taser, which has an impressive line-up of lawyers on staff and a stunning legal winning streak of 68 and 0, asked the court to force the chief medical examiner to remove any reference to the use of a stun gun as a contributing factor in the deaths.

While the chief coroner of B.C. declined comment, the province's chief medical officer was blunt.

"I think this is appalling interference in transparency, in trying to find out what actually is going on," said Dr. Perry Kendall.

He could not recall similar legal cases involving Taser in Canada, but Kendall said he hoped the Ohio ruling is appealed.

"I doubt that it will stand. At least I hope it wouldn't stand."

Steve Tuttle, spokesman for Taser International, defended the company's record and vigorous defence of its product - and said the company is watching the public inquiry now underway in Vancouver.

"You can't miss it. It's getting quite a bit of coverage in Canada," he said.

The second phase of the inquiry will specifically examine the circumstances of Dziekanski's death and will be followed by a coroner's inquest.

Kent Stewart, chief coroner of Saskatchewan and chairman of the Chief Coroners and Chief Medical Examiners of Canada, says the U.S. ruling is cause for concern.

But he said coroners and medical examiners in Canada have a job to do and won't be swayed by Taser International's legal juggernaut.

"Certainly, every chief coroner and every medical examiner in Canada would be concerned," Stewart said from Regina.

"But we have to recognize that coroners and medical examiners in Canada have a legal responsibility to investigate deaths and make findings including establishing the cause of death.

"More importantly, those decisions must be fair and impartial and made without fear and bias. So that (ruling) does concern us."

The judge in the Ohio ruling was clear: "There is simply no medical, scientific, or electrical evidence to support the conclusion that the Taser X26 had anything to do with the death of (the three men)."

The judge ordered the Ohio medical examiner to change her official autopsy reports and death certificates for each of the three men.

John Manley, chief prosecutor in the case, told The Canadian Press from his Akron, Ohio, office that Taser is a formidable force in court.

"They are undefeated in terms of litigation," he said, referring to the cases, which involved wrongful death, product liability and failure-to-warn issues.

Only two of them involved findings by medical examiners, he said.

"They have plenty of money and they've got quite a large stable of expert witnesses. They are a formidable force as their record would suggest."

Taser brought in nine expert witnesses for the Ohio case, including the company CEO, cardiologists, doctors, electrophysiologists, and forensic pathologists.

Most of their experts witnesses have testified for the company in other legal challenges, said Manley.

Tuttle said Thomas Smith, the chairman of the board for Taser, will testify Monday at the Taser inquiry in Vancouver.

He was reluctant to comment on what action Taser might take in Canada if an inquiry or inquest was to make any "adverse finding" against the weapon.

"I couldn't even guess. This has only occurred twice and we've been around as a company for 14 years," he said.

The company is also awaiting a coroner's inquest into Dziekanski's death at the Vancouver airport, which will take place after the inquiry. RCMP are also investigating the incident.

"This is way too soon to be speculating on anything that we would do. (There is) an investigation (into Dziekanski) that's ongoing and we want to co-operate as much as possible," Tuttle said.

He said that there have been more than one million "applications" of Tasers on volunteers and in "field applications" and only twice have medical examiner's reports cited Tasers.

"Look at our 14-year track history and this has occurred twice... and that includes more than a million exposures to the Taser system in the field and with volunteers."

Inquest will examine death of local boxer (Jerry Knight - Canadian)

May 11 2008
Pam Douglas, Staff Writer, The Caledon Enterprise

An inquest has been called into the death of a Brampton boxer who was zapped with a Peel police Taser four years ago. Jerry Knight, 29, died July 17, 2004 during a violent struggle in a Mississauga motel lobby.

The coroner at the time ruled out the use of the Taser stun gun as a factor in Knight’s death following a post mortem. Knight died from “restraint asphyxia” with cocaine-related excited delirium, a post mortem revealed.

Because Knight was in Peel police custody at the time of his death, an inquest is mandatory and will examine all force options available to police.

The inquest begins June 3 and will last three weeks. Dr. William Lucas will preside over the inquest, which is expected to hear from 18 to 20 witnesses at the Brampton Provincial Courthouse on Ray Lawson Boulevard.

The Peel officers involved in the incident were cleared of any wrongdoing by the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) two months after Knight’s death. The coroner found no evidence that the Taser or pepperspray used to try to subdue Knight played a role in his death. In fact, witnesses said Knight continued to struggle with police after he was hit in the back with the electric pulse of the Taser.

Excitation delirium is a state in which an individual’s body produces so much adrenaline that the heart goes out of rhythm. Being restrained while in that state can cause death. The syndrome has been linked to cocaine use and the use of a prone-position restraint hold, particularly “hog-tying”, according to a study co-written in 1998 by Ontario Chief Coroner Dr. James Young.

Knight struggled violently with police for 20 minutes in the early morning hours of July 17, according to the SIU report. Pepperspray had no effect on him and he only “slowed momentarily” when hit in the back with the Taser, but then resumed his violent struggle. He bit a police officer several times and tried to pull his gun out of its holster.

He was subdued only after being hog-tied, according to the SIU investigation. “This was indeed a tragic outcome to a very difficult situation,” said SIU Director James Cornish at the time. “It is clear that the officers had grounds to arrest Mr. Knight and it is also abundantly clear that Mr. Knight violently resisted the efforts of the officers to arrest him.” One officer was bitten several times and two others were also injured.

The incident raised speculation in the media about the use of the Taser.

At 1:46 a.m. a clerk at the White Knight Motel called 9-1-1 to report an unruly guest. Knight was acting “strangely and belligerently” in the lobby, the SIU determined. A trained boxer, Knight was in “excellent physical condition”. Knight had been detained by Peel police officers under the Mental Health Act for “erratic behaviour” on three separate occasions before the July confrontation. In the lobby, he threw business cards, pulled the fire alarm and tried to vault the front counter.

Knight tried to run when a male officer and two female officers arrived. In their attempt to arrest Knight, the male officer grabbed him from behind while the two female officers attempted to grab his legs. He resisted and screamed as they tried to handcuff him.

The officers sent out an emergency call for help and in the end 17 more officers responded.

See also: Stun gun company planning to monitor autopsy

See also: Ontario coroner hit for taser link

See also: Taser manufacturer picked up Ontario coroner's tab

Studies on tasers are flawed, cardiologist tells inquiry

May 10, 2008
ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY, Globe and Mail

Tasers pose potentially fatal health risks that studies proving their safety don't take into account, a U.S. doctor told the B.C. taser inquiry yesterday.

San Francisco cardiologist and electrophysiologist Zian Tseng became interested in the use and effects of tasers after a taser-related death in San Francisco in January, 2005. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Dr. Tseng suggested tasers could induce cardiac arrhythmia.

"Shortly thereafter I was contacted by [Taser International, Inc.] directly to reconsider my statements to the media," he said. "They even offered to ... give me grant money for research."

Much of the scientific justification for the safety of tasers is based on formulae that don't examine their use in the "real world," Dr. Tseng said.

"What's not allowed in these theoretical calculations are worst-case scenarios," he said. "Tolerability in healthy volunteers under optimal conditions does not mean safety."

Many of the most commonly cited studies that show the devices are safe were financed by Taser International, Dr. Tseng said. Several of the authors of a 2005 study are Taser employees.

Many of these studies use simulated stun guns rather than tasers themselves, and a study on humans monitored only the subjects' heart rate before and after the shock - not during it, which is when other studies have shown that heart rates were most dramatically disrupted.

The ability of tasers to disrupt a person's heart rate fatally increases if the weapon's barbs are embedded close to the heart or if the subject is affected by high adrenalin, heart disease, drug use or high blood acidity, Dr. Tseng said.

Several people have died after taser-related incidents in Canada since the devices were introduced in 1999, but no autopsy has found them responsible. Dr. Tseng said a fatal arrhythmia caused by a taser wouldn't show up in an autopsy.

"If somebody dies and they find no cause of death, it's almost certainly an arrhythmic death," he said, adding that tasers can affect a person's heartbeat long after the event.

Dr. Tseng said tasers may be able to play a role in law enforcement, but the way they're used should be re-examined. He recommended police avoid tasering subjects near the chest area and carry "dummy-proof" automatic external defibrillators with them to ensure they can aid anyone who goes into cardiac fibrillation.

B.C. sheriff services Superintendent Paul Corrado and senior use-of-force instructor Greg Ducharme presented the B.C. sheriffs' policy on taser use. They've been using tasers to assist in prisoner management since 2001.

Sheriffs don't routinely carry tasers and have to be trained beforehand, Supt. Corrado said, but they aren't told of any safety risks.

The presentations were part of a "study commission" headed by former Appeal Court judge Thomas Braidwood looking into taser use in the province. It's the first part of a provincial taser inquiry; the second part will focus on the death of Robert Dziekanski after he was tasered in Vancouver International Airport in October, 2007.

Taser rushed into use, competitor tells inquiry

May 10, 2008
Terri Theodore
THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER–Taser International rushed its product to market with faulty safety and medical research, claims the head of a company that plans to market a device to compete with the Taser.

Ken Stethem, founder and chairman of Ageis Industries, told a public inquiry into Taser use that Taser International's methodology was flawed in designing, developing and deploying the conducted energy weapons.

Normally a company would develop medical and safety data, then test the product on animals and humans, Stethem told the inquiry, launched after the public video of the minutes before Robert Dziekanski's death was aired world-wide. It showed the Polish immigrant creating a disturbance last October at the arrivals area of the Vancouver airport and being twice shocked by an RCMP Taser.

"In my humble opinion that's not how the current CEWs were developed and deployed. And that's why we're having problems today.

Stethem disputed several claims made by Taser on medical evidence and safety connected to the device. He pointed to Taser's patent information that says the device puts out between 100 and 500 milliamps of electricity.

Medical experts say it only takes about 100 milliamps to cause the heart to go into a fatal rhythm, Stethem told the inquiry. He said medical studies say low voltage electrocutions can happen without any visible evidence of injury.

"Now the burden of proof has been shifted to the public that these aren't safe, instead of law enforcement and manufacturers that they are," Stethem told the inquiry.

Stethem's company designs intermediate force options, similar to a conducted energy weapon, in a baton that incapacitates muscles via an electrical output.

"I'm not here to bang Taser International or anybody else," he told commissioner Thomas Braidwood. "I'm here to report what we've learned through our research."

A heart-rhythm expert also told the inquiry there are real risks to Taser use, despite the company's safety claims.

"Just because somebody collapses of sudden death minutes later after a Taser application doesn't mean that the two are not connected," said Dr. Zian Tseng, a San Francisco cardiologist and electrophysiologist.

Tseng said any normal, healthy person could die from a jolt of the conducted energy weapon if the shock was given in the right area of the chest and during the vulnerable point in the beating of the heart. He stressed the risk of death is far greater if there is adrenaline or illicit drugs coursing through the body or if the person has a history of heart or other medical issues.

Tseng said there needs to be much more real-world studies on the use of the weapon, instead of using police officers – often large, healthy males – to test the device. He also said medical examiners should be given more freedom to investigate such deaths. "If there's a person that dropped dead suddenly after Taser application and you can find nothing else on the autopsy, I would venture to say that's due to arrhythmic death."

The risk to suspects being shocked could almost be zero to the heart if police avoided using the weapon in the chest area, and Tseng suggested that be one of Braidwood's recommendations.

Think inquiry will end taser use? Not likely

May 10, 2008
GARY MASON, Globe and Mail

Prediction: Years after retired judge Thomas Braidwood has wrapped up his current inquiry into the use of tasers, the controversial weapon will still be in the holsters of police officers all over Canada and being blamed in people's deaths.

Why do I say that? Because after listening to a week of testimony at Mr. Braidwood's public inquisition in Vancouver, it's hard to imagine him not lining up behind Paul Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, who has already looked into this matter and determined there is a continuing role for the taser to play in law enforcement.

Albeit, a more restricted one.

Mr. Braidwood is a bright man who, as a top judge in B.C. until his retirement in 2005, handled some of the most complex and controversial cases in recent years. In many ways, he was the perfect person to head an inquiry into a matter so socially charged. But I'm already beginning to wonder what he's going to tell us that we don't already know.

Print Edition - Section Front
Enlarge Image

More Stories
Feisty Finns ready for Canada
Ribeiro, Osgood stay in the game
Philadelphia not feeling lucky
Philadelphia not feeling lucky
Penguins take charge
Tremors rumble through tennis
Go to the section
So far, the inquiry has heard independent experts on the effects of electricity on people say that the chances of a taser causing death are small but not impossible. And that until far more research is done in this area we are, to some extent, "groping in an environment where we don't have all the facts," as one of the experts told the inquiry.

We already knew both those things.

The inquiry also heard from a former Mountie, now a top bureaucrat in the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor-General, who said RCMP officers are reaching for their tasers too quickly, before using techniques to de-escalate confrontations. Like we needed anyone to tell us that. We've all seen the video a million times now of the RCMP tasering Robert Dziekanski.

We heard that the taser was originally approved for use on suspects who were violently aggressive or armed, but that justification for firing the gun has since "slipped" down the use-of-force continuum. Now it's being used to help take down those even mildly resisting arrest.

We knew that too.

And we also heard from family members upset that a loved one was tasered who shouldn't have been.

There have been lots of those people on the news in recent months too.

So what, then, is the point of this probe? Will it break new ground? Unveil shattering new secrets about the instrument that have been rattling around the closets at Taser International? I don't think so.

This inquiry was called mostly to do one thing: quell the angry masses. If there had been no video of Mr. Dziekanski's death after being tasered by the RCMP, there would no inquiry today. But after the video surfaced and the world was justifiably outraged, an inquiry was the logical and politically expedient route for the B.C. government to take. It allowed the government to be seen to be doing something to "get to the bottom" of the many questions that surround taser use in Canada.

Even if it knew the inquiry could never do any such thing.

At best, I think Mr. Braidwood will end up affirming many of Mr. Kennedy's earlier findings.

As the complaints commissioner said in his December, 2007, report, there needs to be far more research conducted into the effect of tasers before we'll have anything near to a complete picture of its impact on people. And the RCMP and police forces have a pivotal role to play in providing the information needed for that necessary research to take place.

I think Mr. Braidwood will agree with that view and perhaps recommend formalizing this exchange of information in some way - maybe root it in law.

I'll also be surprised if Mr. Braidwood doesn't advocate a much more restrictive and narrowly defined set of guidelines for taser use - just as Mr. Kennedy did but never got.

It needs to be much harder for a police officer in this country to blast someone with 50,000 volts of electricity. As a weapon, the taser can't be considered the equivalent of pepper spray or a riot baton as it is now. It needs to be viewed as a weapon a notch from a gun.

There is no chance Mr. Braidwood will recommend banning the weapon outright.

As much as we were all repulsed by what happened to Robert Dziekanski, and upset over recent reports that cops are using tasers to apprehend so-called "non-compliant" transit passengers in the Vancouver area, the use of tasers under many, many circumstances is a better alternative to lethal force. The minimal element of risk represented by the taser is dwarfed by its ability to save far more lives than it will ever take away.

For better or worse, tasers are here to stay.

Heart specialist tells taser inquiry that shock can be deadly

May 9, 2008
THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER - A heart specialist has told a public inquiry in Vancouver into the use of Tasers that a shock from the energy weapon can be deadly. San Francisco cardiologist Zian Tseng says a Taser shock at a vulnerable period in the heartbeat can produce a fatal rhythm. He says the heart could be even more vulnerable if there is high adrenaline or drugs, such as cocaine, present in the person's system.

Tseng told the inquiry that just because someone dies minutes after a Taser application, it doesn't mean the two aren't connected.

He recommended more independent study of the electrical shock weapons, and that police be taught to avoid using the Taser more than once and avoid the chest area.

The initial phase of the inquiry is examining the general use of shock weapons by police and will later look specifically at the case of Robert Dziekanski, who died after being hit twice with an RCMP Taser at Vancouver airport last fall.

Former courthouse security head charged with assault

May 9, 2008
By Dirk VanderHart, News Leader (Springfield, Missouri)

The former head of security at the Greene County Courthouse stands charged with assault, after allegedly aiming his Taser at a woman in a joking manner last month.

Prosecutors on Friday charged former Sgt. Robert Green with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for the April 8 incident. He could face up to 15 days in jail if convicted.

A probable cause statement used to charge Green said he had been joking with Tiffany Adamson, who works for Springfield attorney Stacie Bilyeu, when he “drew his Taser and pointed it at Adamson.

“Adamson observed a red laser light on her left breast and stomach,” Farrell wrote. “I asked Adamson what her thoughts were when the Taser was pointed at her. Adamson said she felt ‘trapped, detained, threatened and like she could not move.’”

In an interview with a Greene County detective after the alleged incident, Green said he “screwed up,” the document said, and admitted that he had “lasered” a woman.

In Missouri, no actual physical contact is required for an assault charge to be filed. A person may be found guilty of the crime if he or she places another in “apprehension of immediate physical injury.”

Green, who had been with the sheriff’s department for 19 years, resigned last month as deputies began to investigate the alleged incident.

If the allegations are true, Greene County Chief Deputy Jim Arnott has said Green’s actions would be a clear violation of department policy.

For more on this story, read tomorrow’s News-Leader.

Old man deserved to be zapped

May 9, 2008

by Kelly McParland, National Post

RCMP says old man deserved to be zapped

Bunnies and small children are key targets of RCMP Taser squad

We noticed this item from from the RCMP about a rather odd case of Taser use by the RCMP in Kamloops, B.C. Officers used the stun gun three times on an 82-year-old who was carrying a knife. The man was recovering from bypass surgery and even carried a device that provides him with oxygen. We can't make this stuff up. The following satirical column is almost entirely made up.



"I didn't like the way he was looking at me," constable explains.

Kamloops -- The RCMP today defended their use of a stun gun to subdue an 82-year-old man with a heart problem who was Tasered in his hospital bed after undergoing bypass surgery.

Frank Lasser, 82, was Tasered three times after nurses complained that the frail old man had become delusional and pulled a knife from his pocket. Mr. Lasser said he couldn’t explain pulling out the knife or why he continued to hold onto it, which, since he was delusional, shouldn't come as a big surprise.

A spokesperson for Kamloops RCMP said the three officers who confronted Lasser were fully justified in using the high-intensity weapon repeatedly against an ailing octogenarian in a hospital bed.

“Whether the person is 80 or 20, we are dealing with a person who had a deadly weapon in their hand,” Cpl. Furd Burfel explained. “Some of these old folks can be quite wily; first it’s a pen-knife, then next thing you know they’re flinging their Jell-O at you.”

British Columbia RCMP have established something of a track record in the use of Tasers, which administer an intense jolt of electricity through probes fired at a victim from up to 10 metres away. Previously they Tasered a Polish man who had spent 10 hours in Vancouver airport looking for his mother and was getting upset; and a man who made some noise in the street outside a building where Governor-General Michaelle Jean was appearing. Vancouver Transit police have Tasered riders who refused to pay their fare, or just ran away when asked.

“In my opinion that is a wholly justified use of the weapon,” Corp. Burfel commented. “I’ve been on the transit myself and some of these blokes can be 100, 120 pounds and more. And you never know what they’re carrying in those backpacks. Many carry lunchbags, and they can crumple those things up and hurl them quick as you can say “Ouchie!”

Vancouver police on Thursday told an inquiry into Taser usage that they would hesitate to use one on a pregnant woman, even though they can get pretty grouchy at times. Const. Philomena Ducktape told inquiry lawyer Patrick McGoohan the force feared a Tasered woman might stumble and fall over, skinning her knee. The potential health risks to the woman or unborn child hadn’t occurred to them.

“Gee, I guess you might have a point there,” Const Ducktape allowed. “Do you think 50,000 volts of electricity passing through a fetus might have a negative effect? You think we should be using Mace instead?”

Cpl. Burfel said Kamloops police have put similarly deep thought into limitations on the use of Tasers.

“Essentially we can Taser anyone we feel like, for any reason at all, as long as they’re smaller, older and frailer than us, and represent no physical threat whatsoever,” he said.

“Tasering is especially effective if administered in the company of several other officers, against a lone victim with no capability of defending themselves. The other fellas get a bit of a giggle, and the victims are usually too dazed to identify anyone.”

Cpl. Burfel said the Mounties have used Tasers against bunny rabbits, kittens and small children in wheelchairs, but draw the line at Tasering their own mothers.

“Now hold on there -- we’re not inhuman you know. There are limits. Pepper spray is usually quite enough to subdue an angry mother, especially if she’s handicapped. I would never use a Taser against my Mom. Unless of course she had a pocket knife, in which case I’d zap the hell out of the old bat.”

82 year old man says he was tasered in hospital bed by RCMP

May 9, 2008
The Province

As a Vancouver inquest discusses when it's appropriate for police to use Tasers, a new case has surfaced.

Frank Lasser, 82, told CBC News he was shot by officers using the stun gun while lying on a Kamloops hospital bed, recovering from pneumonia.

"It was just bang, bang, bang, and it sent me right back," said Lasser. "I was yelling, 'No more!'"

Lasser said he was delusional because of a lack of oxygen and refused to let go of his pocketknife.

Kamloops RCMP confirmed that an officer did use Tasers in that incident.

Tasers aren't firearms, says trainer

May 9, 2008
By MATT KIELTYKA, 24 HOURS

Tasers are no substitute for deadly force, according to the Vancouver police department's conducted energy weapons trainer.

Const. Tammy Hammell appeared before the Braidwood Inquiry yesterday and said while Tasers can be used instead of guns in certain situations, they can't always be relied on in dangerous incidents.

"The Taser device is not a substitute for lethal force," she said. "The public has been educated it is, but it's not. It's a complimentary tool for a firearm, not a duct-tape solution." The real value in the Taser is to create a "window of opportunity" that allows police to arrest someone who is actively resisting arrest or worse.

That's especially true when it comes to people who show signs of "excited delirium," which appears to be a common thread among Taser-related deaths.

"If we see those signs and symptoms, we see this is a medical emergency. At that point, we want to save this person's life," Hammell said. Doing so requires officers to get the person into custody as soon as possible so they can get medical attention, often with a Taser.

B.C.'s director of police services, Kevin Begg, said Wednesday that the government was concerned Tasers are being used in "increasingly low-risk situations."

But Hammell, who reviews incident reports every time the VPD deploys a Taser, said she's only had to talk to an officer about inappropriate Taser use once. In that case, the officer was criticized for using a Taser instead of a gun in a potentially deadly situation.

"He was not using enough force," Hammell said. "Luckily, everything turned out okay."

Taser revises product warnings for law enforcement

May 05, 2008

Taser International issued revised product warnings for law enforcement in April.

August 2006: Product Warnings – Law Enforcement

(Hmmm - the August 2006 Product Warning has been removed from the internet archives. I wonder who initiated that?! It's OK - I have it on paper if anyone needs to see it.)

April 2008: Product Warnings – Law Enforcement

Here's the "scoop" from policeone.com:

Since June of 2005, there had been strong warnings about the potential for breathing impairment and other effects of repeated, prolonged TASER exposures. Those 2005 warnings were issued after medical studies involving anesthetized pigs. However, in the interim, there has been much medical research on humans that indicated that the 2005 warnings were overstated. The following is excerpted from TASER Training Bulletin 14.0-03:

These warnings are being updated to reflect new data from recent human scientific and medical studies which found, in part, the following:

• (Breathing) The available human data directly contradicts prior animal studies and does not reveal any evidence of breathing impairment or respiratory acidosis.

• (Metabolic Acidosis) While prolonged muscle activity does produce lactic acid, human studies of ECD exposures up to 15 seconds (or 3 cycles) have shown that there is no evidence of metabolic acidosis. Strong physical exertion (e.g., resisting law enforcement restraint) can lead to profound metabolic acidosis and measures to limit the period of resistance might be beneficial in already acidotic persons.

• (Rhabdomyolysis) With ECD use, it is reasonable to expect some elevation in markers of skeletal muscle injury consistent with participation in an athletic event; however, this elevation is not believed to be important in the sudden in-custody death phenomenon. Rhabdomyolysis does not cause injury for days after the inciting event and in the case of severe rises in creatine kinase, the clinical course is deteriorating renal function that can be treated with dialysis if needed.

• (Ventricular Fibrillation [VF]) The preponderance of the data, including all of the human studies, suggests that VF is not caused by ECDs in real-world usage. There is no evidence of important electrocardiogram changes, or capture (pacing response of the heart to electrical stimulation), and finite element modeling does not suggest a current density in real-world use able to induce fibrillation in humans. Also, epidemiological studies do not find that real-world human ECD use causes VF.

These new warnings remove the prior warnings regarding breathing impairment and continuous exposure risks. These warnings continue to emphasize the importance of minimizing any application of force or restraint, cuffing under power, and minimizing objectively reasonable force and restraint to accomplish lawful objectives.

Vancouver police won't taser themselves or pregnant women, inquiry told

May 8, 2008
Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER - Local police won't use a Taser on a pregnant women because they could fall and be injured, a police trainer told a Taser inquiry today. "That's your only concern?" asked inquiry commission lawyer Patrick McGowan. "At this point, yes," replied Const. Tammy Hammell, who is the coordinator of Conducted Energy Weapons (Tasers) program for the Vancouver police force.

Vancouver police no longer use Tasers on officers during training sessions, she told the inquiry probing the controversial use of the electrical weapons. It was stopped about 18 months ago after a request by Workers Compensation Board because of a number of shoulder injuries caused by officers falling during training, Hammell said.

She said Tasers were used about 100 times last year by Vancouver police, up from about 90 times the previous year.

Hammell said she downloads computerized information from each of the 120 Tasers used by Vancouver police. This is done every six months or immediately after an officer discharges a Taser in the line of duty.

She said about 150 officers have been trained to use Tasers, which are classified as an intermediate weapon, the same as police batons, beanbag guns and anti-riot weapons that fire rubber bullets.

The police use-of-force continuum allows police in B.C. to use Tasers when a subject displays "active resistance" to arrest or police commands. A day earlier, Kevin Begg, assistant deputy minister of the B.C. ministry of public safety and solicitor general, told the inquiry that the Taser was approved for use in B.C. in 2000 for situations where a suspect was violent, aggressive or armed. He said he is concerned that in recent years Tasers are being used in lower-risk situations. He suggested Taser use should be moved up the use-of-force continuum for assaultive and combative behaviour.

The inquiry continues Friday with presentations by Dr. Zian Tseng, a U.S. cardiologist, and Paul Corrado, superintendent of strategic operations for sheriff services.

Vancouver police taser manual isn't specific on who deserves shock, inquiry hears

May 8, 2008
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — A Vancouver police officer gets eight hours of training before being issued a Taser and the manual they use makes no distinction between people who are holding a passive protest and those resisting arrest.

Const. Tammy Hammell, the Vancouver Police Department's electronic control device co-ordinator, testified at a public inquiry into the use of Tasers on Thursday that officers are told they are allowed to use the weapon if someone is "actively resisting," such as holding on to a bar and refusing to be handcuffed.

Officers aren't allowed to use the Taser on so-called passive resisters, such as protesters sitting in the middle of a roadway. But Hammell admitted under questioning from a commission lawyer that the weapon's manual doesn't spell out to police officers the difference between active and passive resistance.

The training also doesn't warn officers to try to keep the probes that deliver the electrical shock away from the heart muscle. "We don't train them that this is something that is going to hurt somebody," she said.

The force does tell officers not to use the weapons on someone who is visibly pregnant or on a balcony because they could fall over. Hammell said the Vancouver Police Department has changed its policies as safety issues arose. "We've done some field training ourselves and, as a result of that, changed our pepper spray," Hammell explained. "We decided to conduct a test (to see), if you married the Taser up with the pepper spray what would happen and it was flammable."

Not every Vancouver police officer who wants to carry a Taser is allowed. Hammell said an officer can only be issued one of the shock weapons if their sergeant recommends them. The officer has to have demonstrated the ability to use good judgment in the field. Officers are no longer able to test the device on each other because workers compensation rules prohibit it and people were being hurt," she added.

Vancouver police training officer Sgt. Clive Mulligan told the inquiry Thursday that any officer found using excessive force is dealt with quickly, citing two officers who were fired after three people were taken to a remote area of Stanley Park and beaten in January 2003.

But he questioned how much risk the public believes an officer should take before they use their weapons. "Should an officer ... be subjected to hammer-fist strikes to the nose, elbows, to the stomach, kicks to the groin when arresting somebody to take them before a court?" He said police officers know there are risks but they can mitigate those by using tools such as the Taser.

Mulligan showed the inquiry a video where two average-sized Washington State police officers easily handled a 340-pound man who refused to be handcuffed. In the video, the writhing man screams in pain and tells officers he'll co-operate as he is shocked twice. "I'm sorry man," the suspect said. "I'll do anything you want." The suspect later told the officers he had never felt such pain. "I've been shot. I've been stabbed. That hurts."

But Mulligan said it's not the Taser that is saving lives, but police officers. "Whether it's a tool Taser, a tool baton, tool firearm, or pure contact in the verbal arena, cops are the ones out there making those decisions ... and making everyone safer for it," he told the inquiry.

He mused that the manufacturer of the weapon, Taser International, probably wouldn't like to hear that assessment.

Commission lawyer Art Vertlieb asked if Vancouver's current policy allows someone in handcuffs to be shocked with a Taser. "Yes, it does. And again this is often a contentious issue," Mulligan replied. He said a person can be considered a threat, even with handcuffs on, and in training exercises restrained individuals have still been able to disarm and assault other officers. "It's not over until the cell door is closed," Mulligan said.

The inquiry was called shortly after Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died at Vancouver International Airport last October. RCMP officers twice hit Dziekanski with a Taser in the minutes before his death. Four officers had been summoned to the arrivals area to respond to an agitated Dziekanski, who had tossed some airport computer equipment and was acting unpredictably. The first phase of the inquiry will examine general police use and medical aspects of the electrical shock weapons and the second phase will look specifically at Dziekanski's death.

Hey New Jersey: Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed

The pressure is on in New Jersey, one state in the US that does NOT allow police to use tasers. Good 'ole Tom Smith is right in there like a dirty shirt, telling folks that some people actually get PLEASURE out of being tasered. And note the spokesperson for the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police, saying: "If there is a way that officers can perform their sworn duty WITHOUT EMPLOYING DEADLY FORCE, then we have a MORAL OBLIGATION to do so. Once again, the police attempt to mislead an unsuspecting public into believing that the taser will only be used as a "moral alternative" to deadly force. As we all know, that sales pitch is what got us into this mess in the first place. It's a very slippery slope that leads to "usage creep."

As New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen once said: “Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed.”

Training Key Issue in Using Tasers
May 8, 2008
By Tom Baldwin, Asbury Park Press (New Jersey)

TRENTON, NJ — A special state panel exploring the idea of allowing police to use less-than-lethal weaponry heard from the founder of the widely discussed Taser gun Wednesday, as well as a small-town mayor who had volunteered to be felled by the weapon.

The Attorney General's Committee on Less-Lethal Force, also watched real, police-action videos of mentally shaky people being "Tasered,' and of fighting-fit cops who volunteered to challenge the tool but were decidedly waylaid, if only for seconds.

But when the soft-spoken and genteel mayor of tiny Hope — one of New Jersey's picture-postcard hamlets — said he had been "Tased," in his words, many heads turned.

"It didn't hurt," said Mayor Timothy McDonough. "When I say "hurt,' I am thinking of hitting your thumb with a hammer. That hurts. This felt about like sticking your finger in a light socket." He agreed that such an action could be painful to some.

McDonough and Taser International Founder and Chief Executive Officer Tom Smith joined an array of others who largely trumpeted the praises of the tool that they said sends small projectiles onto a suspect's skin, scrambles the nervous system for about five seconds, then leaves one blinking but unharmed.

"The key issue is the training," said Richard Celeste, who has run the Somerset County Police Academy.

Toms River's Frank Rogers, a retired deputy superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, told the panel the weapon allows an officer to stay safely away from a suspect while still disabling the person without having to use a conventional gun.

"Does it hurt?" asked Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan.

"It's uncomfortable. It's like hitting your funny bone" many times over, said Taser's Smith.

"It may be a good tool, but there is a pain element," said Kaplan.

"We have had people describe it as pain. We've had people describe it as pleasure," said Smith. "You are very aware of what's happening to you."

"These non-lethal weapons will provide options," said Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr.

Mount Laurel's Steve Demofonte, speaking for the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police, said, "If there is a way that officers can perform their sworn duty without employing deadly force, then we have a moral obligation to do so. ... Officers often require thousands of hours of counseling and support to overcome trauma."

One panel member, Robert Davison, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Essex County, said he worried police might rely on the Taser when time and talking might restore calm to a chaotic moment.

Dentist Maryam Seluki of Willingboro said she opposes such weaponry. "These have a great potential for being lethal and for being abused."

The panel is to write a report to Attorney General Anne Milgram. Its chairman, Roman Martyniuk, said there is no deadline for when the report is due.

Smith said so-called "conductive-energy devices" are used allowed in all other states, and some 12,750 out of some 18,000 U.S. police departments use some sort of stun-gun product, if not his brand, as do authorities in 45 nations, including Britain, France and Australia.

In reply to a question from Middlesex County's Kaplan, Smith said he had been Tasered several times.

Police told to focus on 'talking skills' - Taser Inquiry; 'Usage creep' against mentally ill

May 8, 2008
Suzanne Fournier, Canwest News Service

VANCOUVER - Members of the Canadian Mental Health Association told an inquiry into the use of Tasers yesterday that they want police to de-emphasize the use of the devices and learn some "talking skills."

Dr. Nancy Hall and Bev Gutray of the CMHA pointed out there are about 130,000 people in British Columbia with severe addictions and mental illnesses -- and about 60% access health care directly from a hospital, through an emergency ward or in a crisis-driven situation. Thirty per cent of them are brought to hospital by police.

The Vancouver police department's own report this year found that 31% of police incidents involved a person believed to be affected by mental illness. The mental-health advocates had a number of recommendations for British Columbia's Braidwood inquiry, which was in its third day yesterday. They want a core of "first-call" crisis-response police officers available at all times, a comprehensive 40-hour training program for any first-responders who deal with the mentally ill, and more transparency and data on the use of the Taser.

Dr. Hall and Ms. Gutray said they initially supported the use of the Taser in de-escalating crises involving the mentally ill, but they are now concerned about "usage creep" and the lack of knowledge about the connection of Tasers to serious injury or death.

The inquiry was called by the B. C. government after Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died after being stunned with a Taser by RCMP officials in the arrivals lounge of Vancouver International Airport.

On Tuesday, the inquiry heard from Cathy Gallagher, whose brilliant but troubled son has remained in hospital since he was stunned with a Taser on Feb. 24. Ms. Gallagher held up a red T-shirt with a hole near the heart where her son Christopher, 37, was hit by a Taser after seven Vancouver police officers broke into his Vancouver home and told him to drop face down to the floor. Ms. Gallagher said she had to obtain her information from police reports because her son is too terrified to talk. The Gallaghers, who demanded a moratorium on Taser use, said Chris's condition has deteriorated to the point he can't leave hospital and live on his own.

Former B. C. Supreme Court judge Thomas Braidwood will also conduct a "hearing and study commission" into Mr. Dziekanski's Oct. 14, 2007, death. That probe will begin after the RCMP has finished its own investigation, most likely in early fall.

Tasers used too often, senior official says

May 8, 2008
Suzanne Fournier, The Province

Mental-health advocates are calling for a "carefully selected first-call crisis response" core of police officers who can respond 24/7 to mental-health crisis calls.

A medical doctor, a police liaison lawyer and the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association all told the Braidwood inquiry into Taser use yesterday that police need to be trained in the use of "non-threatening, de-escalation techniques" instead of resorting to impact weapons, including the Taser.

CMHA consultant Dr. Nancy Hall told the inquiry that police "command and control" tactics seldom work with mental-health crises "and can potentially cause more harm than good."

Hall said police need to be trained in verbal skills and other techniques already in common use in prisons, social-work settings, hospitals and psychiatric hospitals.

She noted that a recent B.C. study by the CMHA found that 60 per cent of those in a mental-health crisis get treatment through a hospital emergency ward, and 30 per cent of those people are taken there by police.

The CMHA estimates there are 130,000 people in B.C. that fit the medical diagnosis of having severe addiction or mental illness that is both serious and persistent, a condition called SAMI in medical texts.

Yet police mental-health training at the Justice Institute of B.C. is typically just one three-hour class in six months on how to intervene with people with mental problems, said Hall, calling for at least a 40-hour integrated training program.

Hall and CMHA police liaison Camia Webster also criticized the increasing use of Tasers in lower-risk situations.

Kevin Begg, an assistant deputy minister in the Solicitor-General's Ministry and a former police officer, said Tasers are being used too often, adding that a record should be kept of their use.

"I am very concerned about slippage in Taser use, where it is being increasingly used in lower-risk circumstances," he said. "We believe an appropriate threshold for its use must be established."

Retired judge Tom Braidwood is inquiring into Taser use by police, sheriffs and corrections officers.

Plea for more talk, fewer tasers

May 8, 2008
By THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER -- Police across North America have earned the moniker "psychiatrists in blue" for their constant intervention with the mentally ill.

It's for that reason that the Canadian Mental Health Association implored the head of a B.C. public inquiry into the use of Tasers by law enforcement yesterday to convince police to talk more and use the Tasers less.

Yet an official with the provincial solicitor general's ministry told the inquiry there has actually been "slippage" in the threshold for the use of the shock weapons. Kevin Begg, assistant deputy minister for the B.C. Solicitor General's Ministry, said police officers seem to be moving too quickly to use force rather than trying to calm the situation.

The Taser was never meant to be used as a compliance weapon, he said, and the government had been contemplating changes even before a man died at Vancouver's airport last year. "Our view is that Taser needs to be up further on the continuum (of force) and should be used on the assaultive level."

Camia Weaver, of the Canadian Mental Health Association, told commissioner Thomas Braidwood that police may not want to be in the position of front-line mental health workers, but that's the reality.

Statistics show that over 30% of people in B.C. receiving mental health services got there by having some kind of confrontation with police first.

The inquiry was announced following the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport last fall.

An agitated Dziekanski was hit twice with an RCMP Taser after four police officers responded to a call of a man acting erratically at the airport arrivals area.

VPD to investigate taser use by Translink

May 8, 2008
straight.com

The Vancouver Police Department has been ordered by the office of the police complaint commissioner to investigate the use of tasers by TransLink police. “They’re looking at 10 different incidents,” deputy police complaint commissioner Bruce Brown told the Straight regarding the instructions received by the VPD.

The department, whose officers are also armed with the high-voltage stun guns, has until October to wrap up the probe, which was triggered by a complaint filed last month by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

Brown said that one of the incidents under investigation involves the deployment of a taser by transit police to subdue a man who got into a fight with VPD officers. Transit-police officers happened to be passing by the scene when they intervened.

The incident occurred in the Downtown Eastside, outside a cultural event attended by Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean during her visit to Vancouver in January.