RCMP Watch

(Chronical Herald, Editorial) - There’s a disconnect in the RCMP watchdog’s logic regarding Taser use by the national force’s officers.

In an interim report issued Wednesday by the RCMP’s public complaints commission, the oversight body found that Tasers are being overdeployed by officers. In other words, Mounties have been firing the weapons in situations where use of that amount of force was unnecessary.

Further, the RCMP watchdog strongly argued that better training of both officers and supervisors, more research on the effects of the weapon and rectifying an alarming lack of data on police usage of the Taser are all needed.

Given that the commission’s report was sparked by the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died after being Tasered by RCMP officers at the Vancouver airport in October – and that more than a dozen other Canadians have died in recent years after being Tasered by police – you’d think the RCMP watchdog’s findings would naturally lead to police officers holstering their Tasers until further notice.

Not so.

Despite its findings, the complaints commission did not recommend a moratorium on Taser use by RCMP officers. Instead, it urged Tasers be immediately reclassified as “impact” weapons, which would mean they should not be used against individuals who were merely resisting arrest. Only people posing a risk of death or grievous bodily harm to the officer, themselves or the general public, or who were being “combative,” might be subjected to the Taser.

The report recommended that change be communicated throughout the force, and incorporated into Taser training.

The recommendation is a sensible one. The problem, though, is that there are some 2,840 RCMP officers equipped with Tasers, some of whom may have been trained in their use as long as three years ago. It will take time to ensure all of these officers receive updated Taser training. If there’s a problem, why not halt Taser use altogether, at least until the force is satisfied that all officers fully understand the new rules?

Of course, that presupposes that Ottawa and the RCMP will accept the recommendations, which also urge more frequent retesting, mandated reporting of Taser use and more research on the health impacts. Both the federal government and RCMP have said they’re reviewing the commission’s report.

The public is justifiably concerned about the potential for more Taser-related deaths. As the RCMP watchdog’s report itself notes, public trust in the police is fundamental to the force’s ability to do its job. Even one more Taser-related death at the hands of police officers would be one too many. Holster the Taser, for now.