Kelly Sinoski, Kewlona, B.C. (Vancouver Sun) - An elderly newspaper delivery man, who claims he was punched and Tasered by an RCMP officer following a dispute over double parking, plans to lodge a formal complaint, his lawyer said Friday.
John Peters, 68, says he was confronted by the officer last Monday morning after he double-parked on a downtown street to wait for his wife after they had delivered newspapers around the city.
His wife, Anne, said she heard shouting before she got in the car, which had its hazard lights on. When the officer tried to give him a ticket, she said, Peters drove off.
He pulled over a half block away, however, when the police chased him down the street.
“They put the siren on and told him to pull over,” Peters’s lawyer, Marty Johnson, said Friday. “The cop came over, opened the door and punched him. The guy put his arm up over his face and he got Tasered.
“This is pretty unbelievable, this one.”
Johnson described Peters as “frail,” noting he had suffered a stroke in 1990, was hard of hearing and suffered from a neurological disorder called aphasia that affected his speech.
Peters’s wife Anne said it was shocking that anyone would Taser an elderly man like her husband, who she said was a “very mild-mannered, reserved, God-fearing kind of person.”
She said other people who have heard about the incident are also upset.
“We did the paper route today [Friday] and this whole town is in an uproar,” Anne Peters said. “Nobody can believe anybody would do this to him.
“All he had to say was, ‘Get out of the car, you’re under arrest,’” she said. “He wanted to use that Taser on my husband. He was like a little kid with a new toy. I saw the look on his face, it was scary. It was a horrible nightmare.”
The Peters, who are semi-retired, are well known in the city because they deliver the local newspaper, which comes out three times a week. They were taking a coffee break when the incident occurred.
Their car is licensed for delivery, Anne Peters said, and the car had been double-parked for only a few seconds before police confronted the couple.
She said the same officer had given her husband a ticket in May.
Since the latest incident, her husband has not been sleeping well and “keeps dreaming at night of fighting these policemen,” she said.
Peters has been charged with obstructing the peace, resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer. He has also been issued a ticket for double-parking, Johnson said.
He is scheduled to appear in court in December.
Kelowna RCMP Sgt. Cory Hamelin said Friday the matter was under investigation but would not reveal further details.
He said the officer in question was experienced but could not say how long he has been with the force. He has not been suspended pending the investigation.
Johnson said he understood the police have ordered an administrative review of the officer’s conduct.
“Tasering is in the news because it’s used far too often,” he said. “It’s a shame.”
6 responses so far ↓
1 Mercy Me! // Nov 10, 2007 at 19:13
Why do we hear so much negative talk about how the RCMP do their jobs?
Police have a saying;
Give them an inch and they will take a foot
Give them a foot and they will take a yard
Give them a yard and they will take a mile
Sounds like it’s working - Give them a taser and someone will be no more.
2 Dale Updike // Nov 11, 2007 at 14:57
John Peters is my cousin, He is the most mild-mannered, kind, unoffensive man I know; we went to school together. The officer who did this to him should be immediately suspended, then charged with assault.
Imagine - an RCMP officer STRIKING a SENIOR CITIZEN, then TASERING him - TWICE!!! SHOCKING!! After killing the Polish man in the airport, and now THIS, The RCMP should immediately suspend taser use.
According to a TV story I saw a few days ago many tasers have their power SET WAY TOO HIGH too - many times the suggested manufacturer’s level! What’s with that??!!
3 Billy // Nov 11, 2007 at 18:00
Should have taken the ticket and fought it in court instead of taking off, escalating the situation.
Further, there is surely a better way to handle a feisty senior than a taser.
The ‘fighting dreams’ should have been addressed by the family physician as well. Sounds like a health issue.
4 mark // Nov 11, 2007 at 19:10
“According to a TV story I saw” sounds like a good source!… TASER’s have no power setting, the power can not be adjusted.
Dale, just because you’re related doesn’t mean you were there. Why would a senior get tasered? probably because it was needed. Tell your family members to take their tickets like the rest of us, and not to be ass-holes about it and they won’t get tasered.
5 Dale Updike // Nov 14, 2007 at 00:02
You are right, Billy - it is partly a health issue, and he should not have driven off either, but because they have delivered the papers on that same route for a long time, and HAVE a delivery license to make drop-offs like this, he didn’t believe he would or could get a ticket for doing that - stopping for less than a minute to do so. Just being 68 years old may have had something to do with it too.
Mark:
Good question you asked: “Why would a senior citizen get tasered?”. Tasers are for subduing someone exhibiting VIOLENCE; JOHN PETERS WAS NOT DOING THAT. He is blind in his left eye (and hard of hearing), and put his arms up to try to prevent being slugged again. Is that a good enough reason to taser anyone in your mind, especially a frail 68 year old man?
The TV documentary (I did NOT mean a ’story’ like CSI, as you seem to think I meant) I SAW very recently DEFINITELY stated that the taser power CAN be adjusted, and some users have it MANY TIMES higher than the manufacturer’s recommended setting. No wonder the Polish man they tasered twice at the airport died. That should make ANY RCMP officer extremely cautious about using his taser.
The newspaper articles didn’t tell even half the story about John and Anne, and some details in some of them are incorrect. John WAS PUNCHED IN THE FACE BY THE OFFICER while sitting in his car. John and Anne have a delivery license from the city to deliver the papers and were NOT breaking any bylaw. The place where this happened is a seniors lab test facility where drop offs like this take place numerous times per week.
And I take offense to your name-calling insults to my family, sir; I know John Peters very well - since about 1951. He did NOT deserve this kind of abuse. Just think of the meekest, mildest, kindest person YOU know - that’s exactly what John Peters is like. And I don’t have to have been there; I talked to them on the phone, as well as to another cousin who lives nearby. Were YOU there? Why do you think YOU know what really happened?
6 updike // Nov 14, 2007 at 22:36
There is a serious error in the newspaper article posted above, which states: “They were taking a coffee break when the incident occurred.” This is absolutely wrong. They were definitely NOT double-parked”taking a coffee break”! The incident took place with Mr. Peters in the driver’s seat of his car.
I would like to know who submitted that part of the incident, as it is a complete fabrication, and should be retracted. It should be stressed that they have a delivery license, and deliveries by others at that particular location is very common. It would be illuminating to find out why Mr. & Mrs. Peters were singled out for this brutal treatment.
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