Taser As Convenience Tool Puts The Mounties On Trial

Taser International Inc. has defended the safety of its product but according to Amnesty International the Taser has been implicated in over 150 deaths. Dziekanski was Tasered twice so it is obvious the Tasering was a critical factor in his death. To claim you can shoot 50,000 volts into the human body without potential medical complications is absurd. From subsequent media reports it becomes clear police are using the Taser indiscriminately; or to put it quite bluntly as a convenience tool. One such example is a 68 year old man being Tasered in Kelowna BC after committing a minor traffic violation. The victim’s wife described the RCMP officer involved as a, “kid with a new toy.” It is an alarming sign of our times that technology so easily pre-empts the use of more humane and passive techniques in conflict resolution and police in too many instances resort to maximum force from the outset. The Taser is obviously a better alternative than using the lethal force of a handgun but it is apparent it is being used unnecessarily and without consideration its use could be lethal, much like a gun shot. Police forces have always resisted civilian oversight but the death of Robert Dziekanski is a tipping point. The RCMP, in co-operation with other police forces, cannot be left to investigate his death and draw its own self-serving conclusions. There must be a public inquiry, with the additional mandate to view this death as the symptom of broader problems afflicting the RCMP. The use of the Taser should be suspended immediately. Robert Billyard © 2007 [Proofreader’s note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on November 20, 2007]