Pubdate: Tue, 17 Aug 2004
Source: Powell River Peak (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 Peak Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1998
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/734
Author: Chris Windeyer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

TASER USE PUT UNDER MICROSCOPE

Powell River officers have used electrical weapons several times without 
incident, but deaths in other areas of BC prompt review of their use

Four Taser-related deaths in British Columbia in the last two years have 
prompted calls from human rights group Amnesty International for police to 
suspend their use of the device.

Amnesty spokesman John Tackaberry said police forces should refrain from 
using the device "until there is an independent and rigorous examination of 
their impact."

"We're not saying that Tasers kill," he said. "What we are saying is that 
the interaction between certain factors lead Tasers to be lethal or at 
least appear to be lethal in certain circumstances."

A Kingston, Ontario man died August 8 after being shot with a Taser, 
although a police coroner told the Canadian Press the man's death was 
caused by a cocaine overdose. Robert Bagnell, 54, died in June after 
Vancouver police used the device on him. A toxicology report showed high 
levels of cocaine and other drugs in Bagnell's system.

Taser is the brand name for an electrical weapon used by more than 2,000 
police forces as an alternative to guns. It delivers a current of 50,000 
volts via two probes attached to the gun by insulated wire. The five-second 
cycle overrides muscle coordination and brings its target to the ground.

Most of those who have died after being hit by a Taser had cocaine in their 
system at the time.

Tackaberry claimed Taser International's own research says there is no 
clear evidence either way whether its product is safe to use on people with 
pacemakers. However, the company's website claims pacemakers are designed 
to withstand defibrillator pulses hundreds of times stronger than that of a 
Taser.

Powell River RCMP has four Tasers, in service since last fall, which have 
only been used half a dozen times.

"Most of the situations where we've had to use it so far is on people who 
were mentally imbalanced . . . out of control," said RCMP Constable Rob Foster.

Foster, who trains fellow officers in Taser use, said every officer must 
receive eight hours of training before being allowed to use one in the 
field. They must also be shot with the device to know what they may have to 
dish out to suspects before using them in the field.

When Foster was hit with the Taser he thought, "Turn it off, I've had 
enough," but said the pain stopped as soon as the current finished its 
five-second cycle.

More than 70,000 police have been exposed to Tasers without a fatality, the 
company claims.

But that figure isn't representative of the people the device is usually 
used on, said Tackaberry.

"A lot of these tests have been done on police officers who are some of the 
most healthy people in the world," he said.

BC Schizophrenia Society supports the use of Tasers when people suffering 
from mental illnesses are acting violently and police need to arrest them, 
said society president Fred Dawe.

"We'd prefer that the person be subdued by a Taser, which is a less lethal 
means of subduing a person," he said.

Foster agrees. "If somebody is suffering a mental meltdown, [using the 
Taser is] defending the defenceless, taking care of that individual so they 
don't hurt themselves."

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police announced August 10 it would 
launch a review of existing reports and research on Tasers in conjunction 
with the Canadian Police Research Centre, the RCMP and the National 
Research Council.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager