RCMP pulls some Tasers, apologizes for Dziekanski’s death

Juliet O’Neill, Ottawa (Canwest News Service) – The RCMP pulled more than 1,500 older-model Tasers from service Monday on grounds they may not produce a powerful enough electrical charge, as commissioner William Elliott apologized for the death of polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski after four officers Tasered him at the Vancouver International Airport in October 2007.

Elliott did not link Dziekanski’s death to the older-model M26 Taser but his apology and the decision to pull them after B.C. government tests showed them “underperforming” occurred during a Senate national security committee hearing.

Elliott was closely questioned by Nova Scotia Senator Wilfred Moore about what should have happened the day Dziekanski died and what would happen now under a more restrictive Taser policy announced in the wake of the tragedy.

“I was embarrassed. I was ashamed by what happened as a Canadian,” the senator said, recalling how Dziekanski never got his chance to make a new life in Canada. “Where was the Canadian hand reaching out to help?”

Elliott said he could not comment specifically on the actions of the officers, which have been the subject of a public inquiry in B.C. that wrapped up testimony last week.

“I understand that Canadians are concerned and I understand and fully support the view that we need to make sure that our officers are trained appropriately, have the right policy and guidance and that they act appropriately,” Elliott told reporters afterward.

“But I won’t comment, just as I would not comment to the senator or the committee, about the specifics of that incident which is the subject of an ongoing public inquiry.”

Elliott also told the Senate national security committee that the RCMP’s objective is to test all the weapons in its Taser inventory.

“We are very sorry for Mr. Dziekanski’s death,” Elliott said in his opening remarks.

He repeated and endorsed the assertion made last month by his second in command that the RCMP are committed to learning as much as possible from the tragedy.

“We must continuously strive to learn and to improve,” he said in prepared remarks. “Canadians rely on the essential services the RCMP provides.”

Elliott told reporters B.C. tests showed the majority of M26 Tasers were “significantly underperforming and they decided to remove all of them from service. We are doing the same, not only in British Columbia but across the country.

“I think that we want to make sure that the weapon when it is resorted to, in the odd cases where it is resorted to, it does what it is that an officer should expect it to do,” he added. “The public and our officers need to know that we take our responsibilities seriously, to ensure that the weapons and other devices that they have perform appropriately.”

The commissioner asserted the RCMP is off to a good start in making changes promised after a string of scandals in the last couple of years but “the challenges we face should not be underestimated.”