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The Debate Rages Over Safety of Tasers
TORONTO -- Police say Michael Langan was armed, dangerous and ignoring orders to drop his knife moments before he was Tasered in a Winnipeg back alley.
The car-theft suspect became the latest Canadian, and the youngest, according to Amnesty International, to die in a Taser-related incident.
The subsequent controversy has thrust police in the Manitoba capital into the spotlight of the ongoing debate about Taser safety, and has provided more ammunition for opponents of the "electronic control device" who have long called on law-enforcement agencies to suspend its use.
Frank Addario is president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, which has called for a moratorium on the use of the weapon pending an inquiry into its safety He said officer training lacks uniformity and follow-up procedures are either ineffective or incomplete -- making it difficult to determine whether police are strictly limiting Tasers to situations where subjects pose a probable threat of serious injury to themselves or to others.
"This is not about whether one supports the police or whether one empathizes with their abilities in managing unruly suspects," Addario said. "This is about whether the weapon, as designed, is delivering what it promised, and if it is not, police forces in Canada ought to stop using it until better training can occur or the weapon can be modified."
Tasers are billed by police forces and the device's manufacturer as an effective weapon that can save lives and reduce injury to officers and suspects.
Critics warn there is no medical consensus on their safety and say public confidence in Tasers as a "non-lethal" use of force is increasingly being eroded in the wake of more than 20 deaths in Canada since 2003 linked to -- though not blamed on -- the conductive energy weapon.
Amid the public outcry following the release of a video of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who was Tasered in October, 2007 at Vancouver International Airport by the RCMP, a report by the Mounties public complaints commission chairman Paul Kennedy urged the RCMP to reign in their use of Tasers.
He said it appeared Tasers were being deployed by RCMP more often and much earlier in encounters with suspects than originally intended when they were adopted. Still, the extent of "usage creep" was impossible to determine because the Mounties had engaged in "systematic under-reporting."
According to documents obtained under the Access to Information Act by Canwest News Service, the overall use of Tasers by the RCMP soared to 1,119 incidents in 2006 and 1,414 in 2007, compared with only 597 incidents in 2005.
Municipal police forces across the country largely classify Tasers as "intermediate weapons" and consider them an appropriate option for subjects "actively resistant" towards an officer, Kennedy said in his report.
Still, he noted there remain "subtle but significant differences" in operational policies surrounding their use.
Earlier this month, Nova Scotia placed interim restrictions limiting Tasers to "situations of violent or aggressive resistance or active threat that may cause serious injury," following the release of a report into the death of a 45-year-old man who passed away hours after officers deployed a Taser.
Ontario only allows tactical officers or front-line supervisors to carry Tasers, while they are a standard tool of front-line police in Winnipeg, Calgary, and in Edmonton.
Dziekanski's death prompted the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to hold off on plans to expand their use of Tasers. The Saskatchewan Police Commission announced Friday it won't authorize the use of the devices by members of the province's 14 municipal and First Nation police services. However, SWAT team members will continue to be authorized to use them.
Addario said the varying protocols for Taser deployment need to be harmonized across the country so all police forces are "singing from the same songbook" when it
comes to the circumstances under which Tasers should be used.
A briefing note reviewing current medical research and literature on Tasers prepared for the Canadian Association of Police Boards in March suggested deaths or injuries that occur proximal to the use of the Taser will continue to prompt "flare ups" from the public that likely will result in ongoing pressure to define more precisely when a Taser
should and should not be deployed.
The report added policies dictating when officers can deploy a Taser could be detrimental to good policing and counter-productive because use of force is contingent on a mix of circumstances at any scene.
There is no "black and white" answer, said RCMP Const. Donald Perrett. He monitors and compiles daily reports of Taser use by officers across the country.
"Policework is dynamic," Perrett said. "It is difficult to say when and how, because two police officers can look at the exact same situation and will both respond differently."
In May, a study by researchers published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal said despite research suggesting Tasers don't hurt internal organs such as the heart, "it is inappropriate to conclude stun-gun discharges cannot lead to adverse cardiac consequences in all real-world settings."
Accompanying the research was an editorial by CMAJ deputy editor Dr. Matthew Stanbrook who said Taser safety has become a public health issue as law-enforcement officials preach the benefits of deploying the weapon when dealing with subjects suffering "excited delirium."
The highly controversial diagnosis is not recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders but has increasingly been listed by coroners as a cause of death in people restrained by police during an altercation -- regardless of whether a Taser was used.
Associated with individuals who have taken drugs, alcohol or who have a mental illness, symptoms can include agitation and super-human strength and can lead to sudden death, some researchers suggest.
Many police trainers teach officers excited delirium is a medical emergency and the sooner someone is taken into care, the better off they will be.
It's a recommendation endorsed by several coroner's juries -- most recently by a panel in Ontario looking into the death of amateur boxer Jerry Knight, who fought more than 20 officers before being subdued during an incident in a motel lobby in 2004.
Mike Webster, a police psychologist, said "well-meaning" law-enforcement officials have been "brainwashed" by the device's manufacturer to justify "ridiculously and inappropriate" use of the weapon for a disorder that doesn't exist.
"Police have been indoctrinated into believing in this fictitious disorder -- this excited delirium -- and it is presented as a rational for the use of the weapon," said Webster who testified at public inquiry in B.C. probing Tasers.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg Police Chief Keith McCaskill warned this week it is far too early to pass judgment on the circumstances surrounding Langan's death.
But he said police in the city are trained "very clearly" on how to respond to situations such as the one two patrol officers were confronted with on Tuesday.
- - -
RECENT CANADIAN TASER INCIDENTS
2007
- Oct. 14. Robert Dziekanski died after being Tasered by the RCMP at Vancouver International Airport. He just arrived from Poland and due to a mix up waited for hours in the arrivals area, becoming distraught and tossing chairs.
- Oct. 15. John Moore of London, Ont., had a heart attack while being subdued by police with a Taser. He admitted to being high on drugs at the time of his arrest.
- Oct. 18. Quilem Registre, 39, died of multiple heart attacks several days after being Tasered by Montreal police. He was stopped by police on Oct. 15 on suspicion of drunk driving.
- Oct. 31. Ron Chipman, 22, was restrained and Tasered in a police cell in the Regional Municipality of Cape Breton. He claimed he resisted being restrained because he was choking.
- Nov. 5. John Peters, a senior citizen who was double parked while delivering free newspapers in Kelowna, B.C., was Tasered twice by the RCMP when he ignored their attempts to ticket him for the traffic violation. The RCMP publically apologized but Peters is suing.
- Nov. 20. Robert Knipstrom, 36, of Chilliwack, B.C., was killed after struggling with the RCMP. Police used pepper spray, a Taser and a baton to subdue him. He died days later in hospital.
- Nov. 21. Howard Hyde, 45, of Dartmouth, N.S., died about 30 hours after being Tasered by police. A paranoid schizophrenic who had stopped taking his medication, he had been arrested for assaulting his girlfriend.
- Dec. 10. Ghasem Yarahmadi brandished a knife in the Whitehorse RCMP detachment and attempted to slash his own wrists. He was Tasered by police and later treated in hospital for unspecified injuries.
2008
- Feb. 28. A man with a knife walked into an RCMP detachment in Moncton, N.B., then attacked a civilian employee, while asking police to shoot him. He was subdued but not injured with a Taser.
- March 21. Victoria area RCMP Taser a violent 15-year-old while he was handcuffed inside a police vehicle. The youth had been picked up for violating a court-ordered curfew. He was not injured.
- April 3. A Calgary man, high on cocaine, was Tasered three times in an effort to subdue him after he stole a truck, drove into a garage, a police car and finally a fence. He was not injured.
- April 5. Terrence Yellowback of the Manto Sipi Cree Nation in Manitoba is shot, then Tasered by an RCMP officer when he refused to drop the table leg he was brandishing as a weapon. He later admitted he had been drinking and deliberately walked towards the police with the weapon but maintains the Tasering was excessive. He was treated in hospital for the gunshot wound.
- April 18. An unidentified Hamilton, Ont., man is treated in hospital for burns after a shock from a Taser ignited his trousers. Police suggest the man had a flammable substance in his pants. The Ontario Special Investigations Unit is investigating.
- May 1. RCMP Commissioner William Elliot is voluntarily Tasered by police in Alberta. A small hole was burned in his shirt but he refused to describe the experience to the media. Alberta Attorney General Fred Lindsay was also Tasered at the same time and described the pain as "incapacitating" but that it dissipated quickly.
- June 23. Jeffrey Marreel died in June in Norfolk County, about 130 kilometres southwest of Toronto, after being Tasered by Ontario Provincial Police. He was causing a disturbance and had a history of depression and drug use.
- July 7, 2008. Cape Breton Regional Police Taser a pit-bull type dog that was endangering a crowd. The Humane Society euthanized the dog.
- July 11. Jonathan Lavoie is Tasered once by the RCMP in Campbellton, N.B., as they try to subdue him after he assaulted three people and stole a police car.
- July 12. Nova Scotia issues new guidelines for stun gun use by police agencies and will create the position of a "use-of-force co-ordinator "as recommended in an advisory panel report issued June 30.
- July 22. A 17-year old teenager died after being shocked with a Taser by Winnipeg police. They were pursuing him after he allegedly robbed a car, and brandished a knife at police.
© 2008 Canwest Digital Media
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21 Comments so far
Show AllHand Held Electric Chairs - how quaint!
Misuse. I live in Scottsdale and have been to Taser HQ, I have seen each of the founders be tasered while standing in a pool of water. New employees go through a tasering. Before taser, would an officer have shot a person? the whole idea was to incapacitate a person rather than shoot them. I have to believe that it is either improper training, or improper usage of the product. Recently some duffus officer tasered a guy NINE TIMES, he was immediately relieved of duty and the department said this was a complegtely improper use of taser.
The problem is a culture of "I'm a policeman and I can do whatever I want and you have to do what I say any time for any reason and if you argue about it I'll put you down hard". Its about time for somoneone to publish the home addresses of these bullies who hide behind a badge. Maybe they would think twice if they knew their stinking cowardly actions were going to follow them home. They are not heroes. Being shot with a taser as part of a demonstration at the headquarters where these godawful things come from is quite a bit different than some swaggering policeman shooting you in the heat of an argument when you're not expecting it. They should try speaking to people as humans and not just screaming orders. It would make all the difference in the world. Someone also please publish the home addresses of the people who make a living selling these things. We could all let them know that certain actions have consequences . It doesn't matter if it is improper training or improper usage, promoting these torture devices is wrong. This has to stop! NOW WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!!!!
I have made the claim that with a Taser I can kill any test subject. No one has denied my claim.
You don't want police to use their guns to protect the community and now you want them to STOP using Tasers! Good grief, it's a wonder we have any police officers to take care of the community. They try to do their job and people piss and moan that the BAD guys are getting hurt!
Officer use your tasar and if that doesn't stop them SHOT them!
I have never, in my 70 years of life, ran into a situation where a police officer was rude, callouse or strong armed me.
It's people like cajoler who speak out of ignorance and inflames the population to action where none is warranted especially the kind he speaks of. Yea maybe there are a few bad apples in the police force BUT you don't start a riot by including ALL of them in your hateful tirade. There should be a taser for your tongue OR your keyboard!
A police officer shocked a handcuffed Baron "Scooter" Pikes nine times with a Taser after arresting him on a cocaine charge. He stopped twitching after seven, according to a coroner's report. Soon afterward, Pikes was dead.
http://existentialistcowboy.blogspot.com/2008/07/tasers-catnip-for-cops-death-for.html
Yea well If you can't do the time, be it death or prison, Don't Do The Crime!
John F. Butterfield July 27th, 2008 5:16 pm
"I have made the claim that with a Taser I can kill any test subject. No one has denied my claim."
I make the claim I can Kill you with a standard police issued 9mm glock. Do you want to deny my claim?
YES, you are right MY claim is just as stupid and silly as yours.
cajoler July 27th, 2008 4:44 pm
YOU are DAMN right we should stop promoting these torture devices, This has to stop! NOW WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!!!!
We should get rid of these torture devices and go back to the GOOD OLD DAYS, the cop shoots first (with a .357 S&W Magnum) and asks questions later!!!!!!!
Tasers are NOT safe, they have killed people, some not guilty of any serious infractions.
They are however far safer than a 357cal or 9mm bullet. The problem is, most sensible police officers hesitate to draw their handgun and shoot, use deadly force. The sometimes tragic thing is, those same offcers may not hesitate to use a taser and sometimes that turns out to be deadly force.
What's wrong with pepper spray when absolutely necessary? That puts a violent or out of control person down just as well as a taser. Here we have a situation where some genus is making a lot of money selling tasers, that's the bottom line. They should be outlawed.
Taser Corp. absolutely REFUSES to have it's products tested by an outside agency, such as Underwriters Laboratories, citing trade secrecy and corporate espionage concerns.
Those few scientists and electrical engineers who have obtained Taser products for their own independent tests say that the Taser product routinely exceed the voltages and amperages claimed by the company.
Taser Corp. says in return that these results cannot be trusted or verified because they are not carried out by recognized testing authorities.
Does anyone else think Taser Corp. has something to hide?
Kem - Pepper spray is a good intermediate weapon.
But I have witnessed with my own eyes people who have been pepper-sprayed get even more violent and combative. At the same time there are reports of those people with severe and occasionally life threatening allergic reactions to the capsasin base in such weapons.
I would like to on record that I agree with you that Tasers are far too dangerous at this time to be widely deployed to each and every frontline police officer. ideally I would like to see Tasers withdrawn from service until they are reliably tested by an outside agency to conform to the claimed standards.
Dominick J. -- Go watch the videos of Andrew Meyer's tasering in Florida on Youtube, or better yet read about the hospital patient who was tasered in his hospital bed.
Clark I don't doubt that some freak incidents have happend and also there are some wrong people who handle these weapons as they would be wrong if they handled a gun. BUT tasers are far better to use than guns. What would you have the police dept. use? Just their hands? AND then put them down for being better at fighting?
We have criminals on the streets and we, John Q public, need to be proptected. NOt only do we need it we demand it and pay for it through our police departments. DO you have a better solution? OR how about you putting your life on the line for those around you.
Police have have their hands tied now. You would want to tie them even more tightly and that's just what the criminals want to happen.
As the mother of an autistic, MR, mute son on medications for a seizure disorder, I promise you that I am quite anxious for his safety. The police in the area use Tasers. While he is generally manageable, last year, after being out in excessive heat, he began throwing furniture. He's had these problems since a neurologist put him on a particular drug for partial seizures. It took me months to get them to take him off of it. There was immediate and dramatic improvement. But now we have these rare but worisome breakthrough outbursts. He is in no way intentionally trying to hurt anybody. These are the sorts of situations police face with some developmentally disabled. If they have been trained to believe that a Taser would not cause death they might be more ready to reach for it in such a situation. Not clarified in this article was that there seems to be a greater chance of death if the person is taking drugs.
Hey remember Rodney King? it seems like the peace loving non cowardly always in the right polite police did just a fine job of "subduing" him without using a taser or a 9mm. Why not use a piece of wood commonly called a baton to force subjects to conform or confess or just because they don't like the color of their skin or otherwise beat the crap out of someone. Wake up idiots I have never, in my 54 years of life, ran into a situation where a police officer was not rude, was not callousse or strong armed me,or didn't try to intimidate me or didn't try to shake me down. You make it sound like it's dangerous to breathe. Sorry that you're scared of your shadows little bunnies. Big bad criminals out there boo hoo. Hey life is a gamble. Maybe you need someone to watch over your every step of your pathetic lives and tell you how and what to think but most people don't want that kind of nonsense. Have you ever heard of a book called 1984? The police have too much power period. They cannot be trusted. They have their own agenda. They will lie to you. They are not your friends. They are there to force you to conform. It would be much better if they went back to being peace officers instead of "law enforcement officers. Heres a novel idea "CHANGE THE LAWS DUMBASSES" QUIT MAKING NON VIOLENT CRIMES AGAINST THE LAW!!! We would be a lot better off if we stopped using the force of law to save each other from drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, suicide and sex. Get rid of tasers. we as a people are better than that, it's the kind of device you associate with some 3rd world dictator. Beware those who love to punish others, there is something really wrong with them.
I have never met a police officer who did not treat me like dirt. They are ALL bullies, why else would anyone in their right mind want a job where they could carry a gun and a taser and boss people around. I saw a man trying to return to his home after a hurricane here in Florida and an officer pulled him out of his car and used his taser for arguing about trying to get back to his home so he could asses the hurricane damage.
And if anyone thinks that this situation is going to get better, consider the following:
- Blackwater is now more deeply entrenched in the domestic security Ãndustry' and is the trainer-of-choice for your hometown police. And you can bet that they are NOT training on DE-escalation techniques!
- The police forces are filled with returning military men (from Vietnam, Iraq 1 and Iraq 2) who have not fully decompressed from their service and who are even more trigger happy and less patient.
I still remember living in the UK when the Bobbies didn't have guns. The good ole days.
I know several police officers and Highway patrol officers who are personal friends and they are all swell guys who believe in their code of being here to serve and protect. Two have risked their lives in the past five years to save the lives of others, people of a different race that they didn't even know.
Any who have ALWAYS had police officers treat them like dirt MAY have a personality problem. Rodney King was mistreated and abused, even though our "dear poor" Rodney initiated the conflict, he's also an asshole who has a serious personality problem.
I'm 72 years of age and have never had a police officer treat me unfaily, some were a bit rude and I am aware some are not fair and are brain damaged bullies looking for a fight, they are the vast minority.
And yes, I well remember the Bobbies without guns when I lived in England and I also remember when a good percentage of citizens of the world were not hooked on mind altering drugs. Sadly for all of us, those days are long gone.
Blackwater troops? That's a far different story and it's not a good story.
Where are the TRDs (Tricky Republican Devils) and the MOB (McKinney's Obama Bashers)?
I guess RichM, tailcap, tetti tatti and the rest can't attack Obama and the Democrats for this.
In 1968 I was walking by myself to the bus station in Washington DC carrying a heavy backpack. All of a sudden a bunch of people who had splintered off from an anti-war demonstration were running toward me. They were doing random property damage and a group of police were chasing them throwing teargas. I wanted to run but the back pack was heavy so I stashed it in a stairwell. A cop came running up to me yelling "What are you doing!", and sprayed teargas directly in my eyes. The last thing I saw before I went blind was the piece of tape he had covering his badge number. I was fourteen years old.
When the Taser first came out in the 1970's it was called a "Volt-Gun".
Tasers are NFG. They should be regulated as a firearm or they should be outlawed.