WinnipegFIRST

• Posted: Oct 15th 2007, 16:56 / Written by: T. Shane Gibson
• Tagged as: Taser Guns, Amnesty International, RCMP
• 6 Comments

The death of a man subdued by RCMP officers using a Taser gun at Vancouver International Airport early Sunday has renewed debate over the use the non-lethal weapon.

According to Amnesty International, which is asking for a moratorium on Tasers, the death is the 16th in Canada since the RCMP began carrying the non-lethal weapon made by the US company, Taser International, in mid 2000.

The hand-held guns, which are illegal for private ownership in Canada, are used by police departments to control resisting suspects by shooting up to 50,000 volts of low-wattage electricity through their bodies. The current can temporarily paralyze even the most belligerent of suspects.

Manitoba RCMP have been carrying Taser guns since 2002, according to Cpl. Chris Ballard, RCMP spokesman for “D” division. He says that Tasers are a useful tool in apprehending criminals.

“It’s used on people who have resistive and combative behaviour,” says Ballard. “Tasers are effective when people are suicidal, and with people who just want to fight.”

Ballard says that there have been no deaths due to Tasers in Manitoba within the RCMP, and says that officers are trained to use split-second judgment to decide what level of force to use in subduing a subject.

“Use of force is up to the officer to assess, dangers present to himself and others, including the offender are considered before deciding on what type of force should be used.”

One factor the RCMP trains its officers to recognize is a disorder called excited delirium, which according to Elizabeth Berton-Hunter of Amnesty International Canada is a major cause of Taser deaths in Canada.

“When a person is suffering from excited delirium they are often excited and exhausted, and that is a dangerous combination.”

Berton-Hunter says that most of the fatalities are caused when the symptoms of excited delirium are mixed with the electricity from the Taser resulting in heart failure.

Amnesty International wants to shelve Taser guns in Canada until more research is done on the safety of the weapons.

“We’ve asked for a full independent review, because the only reviews that have been done so far have been done by Taser International.”

Ballard, who has been shot by a Taser in training, says that although Amnesty International has good intentions, the moratorium is not necessary.

“It hurts, and it definitely incapacitated me, but once it was over I was back to normal. There has been quiet a bit of research done and all I can say is it’s a safer alternative than firearms to a threat.”