RCMP Taser use on decline, watchdog says

Mike De Souza, Ottawa (Canwest News Service) – RCMP officers Tasered half as many Canadians in 2008 than they did in the previous year, according to statistics released Thursday by a federal police watchdog.

Paul Kennedy, the chairman of the Public Complaints Against the RCMP, said the drop shows that the weapon is becoming a strong deterrent to suspects, probably due to greater awareness in both the public as well as in the police force about the dangers and risks associated with its use.

“I believe what we’re seeing here is a response by the officer on the beat [having] greater sensitivity as to the device and self-restraint … in how the device is actually used,” said Mr. Kennedy, who compiled the statistics as part of a report on the weapons to be released next month.

The numbers revealed that there were 563 separate incidents reported by the RCMP in which an individual was stunned in 2008 either by a probe from the Taser or by the device itself. This is down from 1,135 incidents in 2007. Overall, there was a 30% drop in the number of times the weapon was removed from its holster, falling from 1,583 cases in 2007 to 1,103 cases in 2007.

Mr. Kennedy said it could be a while before any impacts from changes in the RCMP’s policies regarding Taser use, introduced in February, become apparent. But he said he did not agree with the police force’s decision to no longer require officers to issue a warning before they deploy the device.

“If you hold a gun on me, I assume you’d give me the benefit of a warning: ‘Mr. Kennedy, calm down, or I’m going to shoot you,’ ” Mr. Kennedy said.

“I think any use of force should be preceded by a warning. In addition to the suspect, it’s also a warning to others in the area that the device might be deployed, and you don’t want them inadvertently to step into the line of fire of the device.”

An RCMP officer has been on the hot seat this week at an inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski who was Tasered multiple times at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14, 2007.

But Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan defended the new policy, noting that it restricts use of the device only to responses to threats, and that it requires annual training of officers.

“It requires that they can only be used when force is necessary,” Mr. Van Loan said in the House of Commons during question period. “There was no such restriction before. And, of course, it underlines that any use of Tasers poses a risk. That was not there before. It is a much more restrictive policy. We believe it was a step in the right direction.”