RCMP Watch

Neal Hall, Vancouver, B.C. (Vancouver Sun) - Police are sometimes too quick to use force rather than trying to de-escalate a situation, a former Mountie told a Taser inquiry today.

“Certainly, my own opinion is that we’re moving too quickly to use force rather than using techniques to de-escalate,” said Kevin Begg, now assistant deputy minister of the B.C. ministry of public safety and solicitor general. He suggested police should try to lower the level of tension rather than escalate it.

Begg said that Canadian policing has traditionally been more community based than U.S. Policing, which relies heavily on the use of force.

As for Taser use, he said it was approved for use in B.C. In situations where a suspect was violent, aggresive or armed.

Begg said he is concerned that in recent years that Tasers are being used in lower-risk situations — “slippage” he called it.

“This is not how the government originally envisioned and endorsed thje use of Tasers,” he explained to inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood, a retired judge.

He said the use of Tasers should not be a compliance tool but should be moved up the use-of-force continuum to deal with assaultive and combative behavior.

Outside the inquiry, Begg told reporters that there appears to be a gap that needs to be filled in policing by clearly defing when Tasers can be used.

“What I’m concerned about is that it’s been slipping down,” he said.

“I think the philosophy of policing is different in the U.S. And Canada…and I think there’s been a drift in that direction and it’s time to shift it back.”

He said the Taser is considered a low-risk weapon, but not a no risk weapon.