Alberta Taser Maze

The gov't is setting stricter guidelines for Taser use.

The guidelines also provide clearer direction to police on Taser use, which is now limited to when an officer believes there is a "real likelihood" a subject could cause injury to themselves, the officer or a bystander.

What the heck does "real likelihood" mean?

Taser Phaser

So RCMP officers need to tone it down then...

Under the amended policy, an officer is only permitted to use a stun gun if he or she is in physical danger or the public is in danger.

It means Mounties can no longer shock people who are simply were "actively resistant" to officers' orders, the commissioner said.

Where's "the line" though? I don't think this permission will really change anything.

Dog the Bounty Hunter uses pepper spray quite effectively I might add.

Update: The Edmonton Police Service isn't changing their position on Tasers.

And another Taser death...

Edmonton last week--Calgary this week.

The Canadian Press
CALGARY -- Calgary police say a man has died in hospital after officers used a Taser while arresting him on the weekend. Police say the dead man is Gordon Walker Bowe, 30, from Castlegar, B.C.

Bowe was rushed to hospital Saturday night in critical condition after
police responded to calls about a break-and-enter.

Officers found a man in a basement of a home and used a Taser to try to subdue him, but were unsuccessful.

Police say the man was eventually arrested, but went into medical distress while being assessed by paramedics.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has taken over the investigation.

Addendum:
CBC has been keeping track of these deaths for the most part. Here's a map of the Taser-related deaths in Canada...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/map-tasers-canada/

Another Frickin' Taser Death

There's been a couple recent taser deaths in Canada. But this one is right in Edmonton, and the attack happened right next to a pub I frequent.

The assailant was on drugs, no doubt. He attacked and chased an innocent man. He ran into a pawn shop and was wrecking the place. Police tried to detain him but he rushed them. Then the taser came out and they zapped him. He laid unconscious. He later died.

First, I hope the innocent man who was attacked is okay, which I think he is, but that would certainly be traumatic.

Secondly, I hope the pawn shop employee(s) and owner will be okay.

Thirdly, I hope the police are okay in this difficult situation.

Fourthly, did the attacker deserve to die?

No. If he did then he should have been shot by police. But he wasn't. A taser was used to subdue him, but it was the cause that killed him. I do not blame the police one bit in this situation. They were doing their duty and their job. I blame those who thought tasers were a good idea.

But this situation, kind of makes the Rodney King video (remember that?) look like a massage because Rodney King is still alive.

Some say it was because of the drugs that this assailant was on that the taser enhanced the effect and killed him. Which is exactly why tasers shouldn't be used. There's a slew of medications, drugs, and other physical defects where a policeman would not know whether the taser could kill.

Call me a bleeding heart, but I'm far from it. This attacker should have been detained (beaten with a club on the legs perhaps to subdue him), arrested, and locked up for a long time.

And I'm all for more police here. I called for it on Whyte Ave, where they parked their cars at each block to prevent any rogue riots. They stepped up (obviously not on my account) and incidences are way down on the popular bar strip. The Edmonton Police Service have been actively recruiting and advertising for more officers and hope more and more people sign up and become what is touted as one of the best police forces in North America.

But we all know that the law regards reasonable doubt as the defining line between innocence and being guilty.

And it is because of that doubt, that time and time again, the use of tasers goes beyond that line and the judge and jury be damned, because the taser has proven it decides the ultimate sentence right then and there.

Tasers are a cop out

I think all that needs to be said about stupid tasers can be found here.

'If there is injury and illness, as a physician, I would have to say those people, even if they are accused criminals, should be taken care of.'— Dr. Paul Dorian, cardiologist

You got that right.

But the cops still push...

The Canadian Police Association stands by stun gun use. President Tony Cannavino said the association would like to see every police officer in Canada armed with a Taser and that there is enough evidence to show that Tasers save lives.

"They have to get the proper training, and also not only the proper training, there should be consistency across Canada about the training and the fact that they should also be requalified every two years."

The CBC investigation into Taser use has also found that RCMP officers are likely to fire their electronic stun guns multiple times during an altercation, despite a policy that warns it may pose health risks.

It still amazes me how London Bobbies don't even carry guns, just clubs.

I'll say it again and again. We don't need robocops. We need more cops. Much more. Especially in Edmonton. I read over and over again how "investigations are pending" on theft, rape, murder, and other offenses.

If you want more info on unsolved cases, go to unsolvedcanada.ca or here for Edmonton and poke around.

Another death too many...

This is shameful. I can't, for the life of me, understand why tasers are still being used by the RCMP and other authorities in this country, when even one unjustified death occurred over 9 years ago.

19 deaths? By a taser?

The robocop nation continues.

Where's V when you need him?

Frickin' Robocop Taser Beams

"One death is a tragedy. A million is a statistic." - Josef Stalin

Another taser death.

This is ridiculous.

I've been watching Question Period in the House of Commons lately and I gotta agree with NDP leader Jack Layton continuing to call on Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day to order that the use of tasers be suspended until we learn more about them. None of these deaths were warranted or sanctioned.

With things like photo-radar, red light cameras, and street surveillance cameras, all of these things are inching toward "robocop enforcement", where more money is put into technology, which often doesn't work, and not into actual people doing the actual enforcement of the law, especially having more of them together. (The recent young Mountie's death in Nunavut a couple weeks ago was most tragic, especially with him being the only officer on the call.)

But now we see the frequent use of tasers to assist with enforcement, which time and time again, we have seen failing in the most reprehensible manner. The use of them should have stopped after the first death.

This is Canada for crying out loud.

Here's a recap of taser-related deaths:

2007:

• (unreleased name), 45, in Nova Scotia Correctional Facility
  
• Quilem Registre, 39, in Montreal.
• Robert Dziekanski, 40, in the Vancouver Airport in October.
• Claudio Castagnetta, 32, died in Quebec City on Sept. 20, two days after being tasered.

2006:

• Jason Dean, 28, in Red Deer while running from police in August.

2005:

• Alesandro Fiacco, 33, in Edmonton, arrested while wandering into traffic in December.
• James Foldi, 39, of Beamsville, Ont., while being arrested for breaking and entering in July.
• Paul Sheldon Saulnier, 42, while being restrained by police in Digby, N.S., in July.
• Gurmeet Sandhu, 41, of Surrey B.C., while being restrained during a domestic dispute in June.
• Kevin Geldart, 34, in Moncton, N.B., in an altercation with police.