RCMP Watch

Joe Strizi, Sherbrooke, Quebec ( Sherbrooke Record) - Controversy on Taser usage continues to surface as another man died Monday after being stunned by Ontario Provincial Police officers. However, in the Eastern Townships local regulations meet most of the criteria recommended in a report released by the RCMP last week on Tasers.

“Patrol officers don’t carry Tasers,” said Sherbrooke police spokesman Martin Carrier. “Only tactical groups, like the SWAT team, carry them. There are only a handful of the conducted-energy weapons in the Sherbrooke area, and they are used only in particular and grave circumstances.”
Carrier said that in 2007-’08, the number of times a Taser was used could be counted on one hand, and in every case, no one was seriously injured.
“Tasers are used under strict and controlled
conditions, and only by trained personnel,” Carrier said.
The nationwide Taser controversy began after the high-profile death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport last fall, after RCMP officers zapped him. Video of the incident led to international outrage, debate over use of the devices and several investigations.
Federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day asked the RCMP’s public complaints commission to look into the use of Tasers as a result.
Paul Kennedy, chair of the RCMP’s public complaints commission, said he supports the continued use of the stun gun, but only under strict guidelines.
Kennedy wants Tasers classified as “impact weapons” and for the weapons to only be allowed in situations where the person is combative, or poses a risk of death or major harm to the officer, themselves and the public.
Said Sherbrooke’s Carrier: “The last time a Taser was used by one of our tactical team members was on Saturday, May 31, during the arrest of a 47-year-old Sherbrooke man in Fleurimont, for the attempted murder of his neighbour, and was done so under very controlled conditions.”
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) also follows strict directives.
“There are only 24 Tasers in all of Quebec,” said SQ spokeswoman Joyce Kemp. “They are used by precision groups, like SWAT, with proper training and only in particular situations.”
As of February of this year, a total of 71 SQ officers are qualified to use the weapon, and 12 more are instructors. The SQ SWAT team has 10 Tasers, divided into two divisions across the province. The east division has four, and the west division, including the region of the Townships, has six, and a couple are reserved strictly for educational purposes.
The weapon debuted with the SQ in April 2001. Since 2003, there have been 20 Taser-related deaths reported in Canada.
The incident concerning the Ontario man happened at the beach hamlet of Turkey Point, on Lake Erie. Police arrived at the scene and said they were forced to subdue the man. He was transported to the Norfolk County OPP detachment, where he collapsed.
Officers said they administered first aid until the ambulance arrived. The man was then transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation is under way.