Taser review sought in death

Michael Lightstone (Chronical Herald) – Nova Scotia Justice Minister Cecil Clarke Thursday ordered a ministerial review into stun gun use in the province in the wake of the latest fatality in Canada of a man who died after being shot with a Taser by police.

A 45-year-old man died Thursday morning at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, a release from the provincial Justice Department said. He’d been shot with a stun gun by Halifax Regional Police on Wednesday.

Police were responding to a domestic dispute in Dartmouth and a source said they apparently Tasered the man when he was being booked at the police station in Halifax.

The victim was Howard Talbot Walden Hyde. His sister said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was a young man. The man died about 30 hours after police used a stun gun on him.

Mr. Hyde had been arrested by police and charged with assaulting his girlfriend. He had made an appearance at Dartmouth provincial court Wednesday before he died in jail. On Thursday morning, Mr. Clarke briefed reporters on the death and said there will be a review of police use of Tasers.

He said use of stun guns won’t be banned. The province’s review will include Taser use by law enforcement agencies, at corrections facilities and by sheriff’s deputies. The RCMP and the province’s chief medical examiner are investigating Mr. Hyde’s death.

“I understand Halifax … police will also have the RCMP conduct an external investigation into the death,” Mr. Clarke said in the release.

Hand-held Tasers deliver a significant jolt of electricity, which immobilizes the person who’s been shot.Mr. Clarke said he’s ordered police in Nova Scotia to immediately review policies and procedures regarding stun gun use, but he stopped short of placing a moratorium on their use.

It’s unknown how long the police review of Taser use will take.“I also want to offer my condolences to the family at this difficult time,” Mr. Clarke said in the release.

Halifax Deputy Chief Tony Burbridge told a news conference the victim, whom he wouldn’t name, was resisting police Wednesday when he was brought into the Gottingen Street headquarters for booking. Two police constables and one booking officer struggled with Mr. Hyde, whom the deputy chief described as a man of about average size. The deceased was shot one or two times with a stun gun, reporters were told. The episode was recorded by the police department’s security cameras, Deputy Chief Burbridge said.

Mr. Hyde had been shot with a stun gun by Halifax police once before – in 2005 – the deputy chief said. Asked if police were aware of mental health issues affecting the victim, Deputy Chief Burbridge declined comment. The officer said the public shouldn’t rush to judgment over the “sudden death.”

The victim had been seen by medical personnel in hospital, Deputy Chief Burbridge said, and was discharged hours before he died. Police in Canada are being scrutinized in the public domain for stun gun use and Taser-related deaths.

Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died after he was Tasered by RCMP officers at the Vancouver airport five weeks ago.

That incident only came to light last week and sparked public outrage. The four officers involved were reassigned and Ottawa ordered a review of the RCMP’s Taser policy. Another British Columbia man was admitted to hospital recently in extremely critical condition after RCMP zapped him with a stun gun.

He was also hit with police batons and pepper-sprayed.

(mlightstone@herald.ca)