Video shows man calm before being tasered in Vancouver

[Admiral Beez]

Add to that, it is not as easy as it appears to immobilize a person in physically, and it always leaves the police open to physical injury.

I've five years of Okinawan Karate under my belt, and trust me, with the right training, a 100 lb. female could have taken this guy down and immobilized him without permanent injury to the passenger. I've seen it done. It's not pretty, but it's better than dead.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Nope, Pearson is policed by Peel Police. The RCMP does not police it.

We're both right actually. Peel polices the grounds, parking lot, etc, but the RCMP's "Toronto Airport Detachment" is stationed at Pearson to provide federal police services.

See details of the RCMP's force at Pearson at:

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/on/community/tad_e.htm

"Toronto Airport Detachment (TAD) employs 100 RCMP members and employees, including a drug dog named “Memphis.â€

 

[Hydrogen]

RCMP should restrict taser use immediately: report
BRODIE FENLON
Globe and Mail Update
December 12, 2007 at 12:22 PM EST

The RCMP should immediately restrict the use of tasers to only the most serious encounters with people who are combative or pose a risk of "death or grievous bodily harm,†the head of the force's public complaints commission says.

The recommendation is among 10 made by commission chairman Paul Kennedy in an interim report released Wednesday.

However, there is no call for a moratorium or outright ban on tasers, which is sure to please RCMP Commissioner William Elliott, who said on Tuesday that such a ban would “compromise both officer and public safety."

Mr. Kennedy was asked to advise on the use of the electric stun gun after the death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport on Oct. 14.

Among his recommendations:

• classify the taser as an "impact weapon," which changes how officers use it according to the RCMP's use of force model. In other words, the taser can only be used in situations where a person is being "combative" or poses a risk of "death or grievous bodily harm" to the officer, themselves or the general public.

• change the RCMP's taser training program to reflect its status as an impact weapon

• require recertification in taser use every two years

• require and enforce stricter reporting requirements every time a taser is used

"The most powerful asset in a police officer's arsenal is public support. Anything that erodes that support reduces the ability of officers to successfully perform their duties on behalf of the public," Mr. Kennedy said in a release.

Mr. Kennedy's report just one of several examinations of the RCMP expected this week. A task force on restructuring the force, headed by lawyer David Brown, is expected to report Friday.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

RCMP Taser Restrictions; "Significant"

RCMP restricts Taser use

Stun guns have been used inappropriately, commissioner admits as he announces new rules

Dec 15, 2007 04:30 AM
Bruce Campion-Smith
OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF

OTTAWA–The RCMP says it's restricting when its officers can use their Tasers, admitting that the stun guns have been used inappropriately on suspects in the past.

Front-line Mounties were issued a new edict yesterday saying that weapons can be used only on people who are "combative" or "actively resistant."

As well, the new policy says it's "not appropriate" to deploy a Taser on a person who resists only through "passive" physical actions and "verbal refusal to respond to lawful commands."

"The changes ... make it clear that in certain instances, including I would say instances where the Taser has been used in the past, it's not appropriate to use a Taser," RCMP Commissioner William Elliott told a news conference yesterday.

The force moved quickly to enact the new policy just days after a police watchdog urged the Mounties to immediately restrict their use to cases where an individual is "combative" and is at risk of killing or injuring himself or a police officer.

In an interim report this week, Paul Kennedy, chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, said the authority for police to use force "is not absolute; it must be proportionate and reasonable to the situation that the officers find themselves in."

The use – and potential dangers – of Tasers were thrust into the spotlight on Oct. 14, when a Polish immigrant died at the Vancouver airport soon after being shot with the weapon.

The 40-year-old man was zapped by four RCMP officers less than a minute after they approached him.

The new policy raises questions about whether officers would have been justified in using the Taser on Robert Dziekanski.

While Elliott called the changes "significant," he stressed that the Tasers, which can deliver 50,000 volts of electricity, remain a vital tool for police officers "in appropriate circumstances."

"It's not a total rewrite of our policy nor is it anything akin to suggesting that Tasers are not an appropriate tool. They are and continue to be ... a very useful tool that promotes officer and public safety," Elliott said.

However, a spokesperson for Kennedy said the RCMP's actions didn't go far enough and expressed regret that the force didn't classify the Taser as an "impact weapon," which would only be used in more serious circumstances.

"It's encouraging that they recognize that it's inappropriate to use in passive resistance, that's one step. But the matter of where it is on the force continuum ... we don't think they go far enough," said Nelson Kalil, spokesperson for the complaints commission.

"We're disappointed with the (measures) because they don't follow our recommendations."

Elliott also pledged that the force would improve its analysis of the weapon's use by RCMP officers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With files from The Canadian Press

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Here's the Globe's surprisingly excellent editorial.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day yesterday ordered a review of the use of tasers as a result of this outrageous and tragic incident.

He is correct to do so. All that is wrong with tasers is in plain view in this video. The officers didn't attempt any interaction with the man. They didn't try to negotiate. They didn't make calming gestures. They didn't have to. They had their tasers with them, and lost their humanity.

Tasers were never intended to be an alternative to those values the RCMP cite in their published "commitment to communities," values such as "compassion" and "respect." They were meant to be an alternative to the use of firearms, and live ammunition would never have been justified - indeed, would never have been used - in this situation. To have done so would have been viewed as an extrajudicial killing. How is the use of a taser in this case really any different?

Hi there, unimaginative2

Just wondering if some people would be interested in how Tasers are used with Peel Regional Police. Last week (December 18th) I attended a Peel Regional Police Services Board meeting.

And there was a presentation on the use of Tasers in Peel. It was an hour-long presentation and I videotaped it.

Allow me to point you to my Blog called "TASER TASER TASER --Peel Police Services Board Presentation"

I put the video onto Google Video --47 minutes long that includes video clips of real situations. Even a clip of the officer presenting this talk being tasered at a conference in the States.

Here's a direct link to the video, "TASER TASER TASER" (Peel Police Services Board December 18, 2007)"



Oh yeah and it shows a Taser demo --aimed at a swivel chair.

I urge people to watch this.