Phhilip Ling, Ottawa (Canwest News Service) – The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP reported that officers are Tasering those with mental-health issues “significantly” more than non-mental-health cases for the fourth straight year — a statistic that is “worrisome” to the RCMP watchdog.
The commission’s interim chairman Ian McPhail reported Thursday that officers deployed Tasers and other conducted energy weapons 49.6 per cent of the time after drawing them on mental health incidents, compared to 39.2 per cent for non-mental health cases.
Mental health cases represented almost one quarter of all deployments — more than any other type of incident, such as assault, break-and-enter or domestic dispute.
But the report said there is no evidence to suggest that mental health cases were more risky for police than other incident types.
“The concern, therefore, is that . . . there was nothing obvious that distinguished the circumstances of mental health incidents, except for the subjects themselves,” the report wrote.
It added: “Of equal concern is the fact that the percentage of (conducted energy weapon) reports of deployment that are mental health-related has shown an increase for four straight years.”
The commission also expressed concern about reports of conducted energy weapon usage against youths aged 13 to 17, although the deployment for the age group essentially remained unchanged from 2008.
Youth cases where conducted energy weapons were discharged were overall less likely to involve substance use, but much more likely to involve weapons.
The watchdog says Taser use involving youths was “proportionately more likely” in B.C.
The commission said Mounties nearly cut their Taser use by half in 2009 compared to 2008 — the second year in a row that use of the weapon decreased. There were 276 incidents across the country last year in which RCMP officers deployed a Taser on suspects, down from 563 in 2008.
Overall, the number of times RCMP officers pulled their stun guns out last year totalled 694 — 38 per cent less often in 2009 compared with the previous year. That figure includes each time the stun gun was simply taken out of a police holster — whether the weapon was fired or not.
That’s down from an all-time high in 2007 of 1,583 incidents. The RCMP introduced the conducted energy weapon into their arsenal in 2002.
Regionally, every RCMP division except Yukon saw Taser use — the threatened or actual deployment of the weapon — decrease.
The rate of actual deployment of the weapon also dropped in each division except for Prince Edward Island.
The report also shows that in 2009, for the first time ever, Mounties fired their Tasers less than 50 per cent of the times they drew them.
This suggests that “Tasers have increasingly been used as a means of deterrence and a tool for compliance,” the commission wrote.
RCMP national spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Gagnon said the decrease is related to the new policy put into place following recommendations made by retired Appeal Court judge Thomas Braidwood, who led a public inquiry into the Tasering and death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver International Airport.
Since Dziekanski’s death, the RCMP has made a number of changes to its Taser policies, including restricting the weapon’s use to incidents of officer or public safety, introducing annual recertification for trained users and enhancing reporting on all use-of-force incidents by RCMP officers.
The most recent change was in May when it was determined Tasers should only be fired when a suspect is causing “bodily harm” or is about to do so.
The RCMP also changed its rules in June 2009 so that police could no longer use the weapon on suspects who did not co-operate. The revised policy dictated that there must be a threat to the public or the police.
Gagnon did not comment on Taser use on subjects exhibiting mental health issues.
“The RCMP has just reviewed the report so we’re still reviewing it,” she said Thursday afternoon.
Taser deployment in 2009 vs. 2008 by RCMP division
N.L.: 7 — 20
Man.: 15 — 49
B.C.: 109 — 208
Sask.: 26 — 68
N.W.T.: 3 — 15
N.S.: 4 — 24
N.B.: 28 — 30
Alta.: 66 — 123
P.E.I.: 3 — 2
Yukon: 6 — 6
Nunavut: 9 — 18
Total: 276 — 563
“But the report said there is no evidence to suggest that mental health cases were more risky for police than other incident types”.
I am only commenting on the above statement in this article; not on the debate regarding the taser. Whoever made the above statement did not spend much time on the street. The goal of a street cop in officer/violator contact is to gain voluntary compliance by verbal intervention. If the violator is suffering from a mental illness the ability to achieve verbal intervention by the police officer is greatly diminished. The use of force is geared to the individuals behaviour.
The dealing with the mentally ill persons should not be placed solely on the police officer. Before getting to the police officer what happen to the mentally ill person’s assistance from family, support systems, and mental health care workers?
Do you really think that the person who beheaded the bus passenger could have been controlled by a police officer’s verbal intervention?
Calvin Lawrence
CGL Consulting
Hot debate. What do you think?
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