TASER: The Whole Story

October, 15, 2012
http://re-sergeance.net/2012/10/15/taser-the-whole-story/

Dear Zofia,

In memory of Robert and all those who have lost their lives proximal to a TASER.  A promise not forgotten.

Dr. Mike Webster’s Presentation to:
Special Committee to Inquire into the Use of Conducted Energy Weapons
and to Audit Selected Police Complaints
Monday, October 15, from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m.
Douglas Fir Committee Room, Room 226, Parliament Buildings.

Preamble

I would like to thank the committee for inviting me here today. I am a Registered Psychologist (in private practice) that has worked in the area of police psychology for over 30 years. I completed basic police training at the RCMP Training Academy (Depot Division) in 1988. I specialize in the area of crisis management and have experience in the application of force across a broad array of police tasks including: hostage/barricade incidents; kidnappings; incidents of public disorder; and crisis intervention. I have been instrumental in the creation and delivery of crisis intervention, crisis negotiation, and incident command courses from the Canadian Police College (Ottawa, Ontario) to the B.C. Police Academy (New Westminster, B.C.). I have been an adjunct lecturer at the FBI Training Academy. I have consulted internationally and with several law enforcement agencies including: Colombia, Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, Iceland, Sweden, Australia, and Europol. I have consulted operationally at a variety of incidents including: the old BC Penitentiary (hostage takings); Waco, Texas; Gustafsen Lake, B.C.; Jordan, Montana; Ft. Davis, Texas; the G8; the G20; Apex Alpine; and numerous kidnappings from Iraq to Indonesia, and Kashmir to Colombia. I am familiar with both Use of Force Models; the RCMP’s Integrated Model of Incident Management and the National Use of Force Framework. I provided testimony at both phases of the Braidwood Commission of Inquiries.

I assume that your committee invited me here today to comment on my experience in the implementation of Justice Braidwood’s recommendations in the areas of crisis intervention and training; as I have noted, areas of specialty and experience for me. As I was not invited to be a part of that implementation process, I can only make general comment on what has been done by others. I am more than willing to answer any questions you may have in those areas of police work following my presentation. However, as it appears that electro-shock weapons (ESWs) are here to stay, and in order to assist in an informed discussion, and the formulation of future public policy, I would like to address in the meantime a couple of critical concerns. I believe your committee, and the public should be advised of not only recent TASER-related science but also some of the more pertinent contemporary and historical concerns associated with the TASER’s place in Canadian law enforcement. In providing this information I hope to prevent the next generation technology from being so easily accepted and under such compromised circumstances.

Presentation

The BC Government failed its citizens when TASER technology was introduced to the Province. As someone who is trained to construct, conduct, and be critical of research, I was taken aback last week to hear the Assistant Deputy Minister and Director of Police Services cavalierly gloss over the inadequate and flawed process used to approve the use of TASERs in this Province. Those who appreciate the scientific method prefer to regard that process as amateurish, at best, and replete with misrepresentations provided by what appears to have been a seriously compromised policeman/project manager. I would like to elaborate. There was not enough rigorous science applied by the manufacturer to guarantee the safety of the weapon. TASERs were anecdotally not scientifically developed. Universally, public officials failed to verify the safety claims being made by the company and its spokespersons. TASERs were rushed into service by decision makers and police in B.C. and throughout Canada in 1999. The weapon has caused problems for the public and the manufacturer. For example, TASER International is presently engaged in damage control by offering trade-ins to “recall” older, more powerful weapons. (Are you aware that the M-26 model is powered at 26-Watts, the next generation model the X-26 is lower powered, and the newest model the X2 will be even lower? This begs the question as to why the manufacturer would lower the power of the weapon without alerting law enforcement first and providing some explanation). It appears that with the lack of regular and rigorous peer reviewed independent measurement, no policeperson could be sure of the amount of current being emitted from the weapon at any given deployment; for unlike breathalysers, defibrillators, and radar guns, the police do not routinely measure the output of their TASERs.

The CBC had fifty randomly chosen police TASERs tested independently in a lab in Chicago in 2008. They discovered that not all TASERs perform in the same way, as reflected in their “output variance”. Electro-shock weapons manufacturers readily admit that the output of these devices can vary due to factors beyond their control.

According to the Canadian blog “Truth-Not-Tasers”, that has been tracking the death toll, approximately 750 people have died proximal to TASER use in North America since the higher-powered M-26 was introduced. The lower powered 5-Watt system was what was field tested in Canada, by the Victoria Police Department in 1999, in the “field study” mentioned by Mr. Pecknold. The policeman in charge initially said he had concerns about the new, soon-to-be-available higher powered 26-Watt weapons and that more research was needed before he could recommend them. Yet a few months later this was exactly the model of TASER that his police department purchased. In his final report (“An Independent Evaluation of Conducted Energy Weapons”) there was no evidence that the 26-Watt system had ever been subjected to any controlled research. Yet, the higher powered 26-Watt system is what our police services decided to buy and deploy. The medical safety studies promised by this policeman/project manager were never produced. Contrary to Mr. Pecknold’s statement of last week, the people of BC received no medical evidence assuring them of the safety of TASERs prior to them being brought into service.

Despite the glaring omissions of the 26-Watt system, and safety concerns about it in his final report, this same Victoria policeman wrote in both of his reports that TASERs had been “over-studied”. In fact, this was not true. It is widely known that TASER spent only $14,000 in research and development when it shocked a single pig in 1996 to develop the waveform and then 5 dogs in 1999 to further test the weapon. The results of these tests were not published, or reviewed, by third party peers. These results are not even included in TASER International’s own Medical Compendium.

The higher powered technology was never subjected to independent, impartial, rigorous research prior to being deployed throughout Canada. The policeman who claimed that TASERs were “medically safe”, not being scientifically or medically trained, was not qualified to make such a judgement.

This same policeman claimed that TASERs met electrical safety standards as set by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) and the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC). (The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) was not mentioned). This policeman’s claim of electrical safety was untrue because the devices have never been tested by these safety standards bodies. You will note that TASERs do not bear certification marks from any of these organizations, as other electrical products sold, and used, in Canada must. The fact is, the Canadian public still has an untested, unregulated electrical device in the hands of police; this, in violation of the Electrical Safety Standards Act, that says no electrical devices are to be sold or used without a proper certification mark. The TASER carries no such mark, even though it emits electrical current into the body. Remarkably this policeman/project manager’s report, replete with what appear to be false claims, was vetted by TASER International and the CPRC; and neither saw fit to make any amendments. Today these claims are no longer made.

Although somewhat technical, it is well to recognize that the dangers lie in the peaks of the current, even though TASER International prefers to use “averages” in its description of the weapon’s electrical characteristics. It is medically uncontroversial that electrical currents between 70 – 100 milliamps can kill. Following TASER International’s original specification sheets, the peak currents of the M-26 and X-26 models are obscured in average calculations. These weapons, at peak current, that is 162 and 151 milliamps respectively, are powerful enough to kill as suggested by Commissioner Braidwood at the conclusion of his Commission of Inquiries. Moreover, according to the IEC-479 standard, shocks of 151 to 162 milliamps over five seconds can stimulate the heart adversely in 50% of the population that receives the shock. Today the electrical output of these weapons does not appear in the manufacturer’s product specification sheets.

This same Victoria Police Department member was then seconded to manage the joint (RCMP and CPRC) “Conducted Energy Weapons Evaluation Project”. It was not a study into health and safety effects, as one may have hoped, but simply a cataloging of the effects of the harsh Canadian winter on the functioning of the weapons.

It was later discovered and reported by the Vancouver Sun, that this policeman had an undisclosed financial relationship with TASER International. This was revealed when he testified at a wrongful death lawsuit in 2005. The family of Robert Bagnell was suing the Vancouver Police Department after Mr. Bagnell was shocked multiple times and died in the downtown east side.

The policeman in question was asked to testify as he had been brought over from Victoria by the Vancouver Police Department as an “independent” investigator into Mr. Bagnell’s death. When pressed by lawyer Cameron Ward, the policeman admitted he had done undisclosed freelance work for TASER International.

On the surface it appears that this policeman, at some point in 2000, tasked with evaluating the technology for BC (and ultimately the rest of Canada), was quietly being given stock in TASER International while he lead Master Taser Trainer Courses for the manufacturer with other police services. TASER International Chairman Tom Smith told a federal all-party subcommittee, looking into TASER stock options, and televised nation-wide on the Parliamentary channel, that stock options were given to this officer for designing a holster. (Ironically, the holster in question was for the M-26 model, the very weapon this officer claimed to be uncertain of). There are those, who understand the objectivity of the scientific method, who would describe the receipt of payment, in whole or in kind, from TASER International, while evaluating the safety of its products for the BC Government as a hopeless conflict of interest. Ujjal Dosanjh, who had given the Victoria Police Department permission to field test the 5-Watt system in 1999, told CTV News that he felt he had been deceived. He was concerned that the policeman, in question, had failed to disclose his relationship with TASER International and, worse still, that false claims were made in the various versions of his so-called “independent evaluation”. This policeman remains on the job today with the Victoria Police Department and has never been held accountable by decision makers for making these misrepresentations. Mr. Dosanjh has said that if he knew then what he knows now, he would never have given TASERs the go-ahead.

Also related to the absence of independent, scientific evidence, American authorities allowed TASERs to be deployed despite significant “data gaps”, and other concerns raised in three key US government reports. Canadian law enforcement was unaware of, or worse ignored, these over sights. One of these critical oversights involved not questioning, TASER International for placing a conformity mark on their M-26 brochure. This mark (i.e. CE) is used to indicate conformity with standards necessary for a product to enter the European Economic Area. The European Community did not have, nor even have today, any standard for electrical safety that would apply to the M26 ADVANCED TASER. In sum, there was a glaring lack of due diligence undertaken by authorities when these weapons were first introduced. As a result, approximately eight people have died in British Columbia proximal to their use.

Times Colonist reporter Rob Shaw has said that your Special Committee will be considering “the scientific research into the medical risks to persons against whom conducted energy weapons are deployed”. This is encouraging as there is much that even Commissioner Braidwood did not uncover. Not one Canadian government agency or department including Health Canada, Public Safety Canada or the RCMP bothered to verify TASER International’s medical and safety claims. The RCMP even used photo-copied TASER promotional information in its first TASER report in 2000.Remarkably, law enforcement in Canada is still able to use TASERs in “probe mode”, when there is no electrical safety standard for invasive shocks; that is, electrical current introduced below the skin.

One Vancouver journalist approached the IEC, the UL, and the CSA and learned that the standard they use to measure safety thresholds is for shocks on the skin, not subcutaneous shocks. All these laboratories assert that we know so little about the effects of electricity below the skin they could not, in good faith, certify these weapons with one of their safety marks; like you find on your electric shaver, toaster, or hair dryer.

Contrary to Dr. Lu’s assertion, last week before this committee, there has been important TASER related research since 2008. Regarding cardiac risks, a study published this year, in the Journal of Circulation, by Dr. Douglas P. Zipes, cardiologist and professor emeritus at Indiana University, clearly demonstrates that the electric shock delivered to the chest by a Taser can lead to cardiac arrest and sudden death. “This is no longer arguable”, said Dr. Byron Lee, a cardiologist and director of the electrophysiology laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco. “This is a scientific fact”. With respect, the question before your committee should now focus on whether the risk of sudden death from a TASER shock is low enough to warrant wide spread use of the weapon by police in British Columbia.

It seems at this point governments and/or police decision makers don’t really want to know, or admit, they made grave errors by not adequately verifying TASER International’s safety claims. Presently in the U.S., courts are being asked to consider for the first time, police use of TASERs. No longer are TASER cases based strictly upon product liability; the cases now before the courts are different. These cases challenge the police persons who deployed the weapon. The question, in light of current evidence, is now “when is electrical force excessive force?” Appellate Judge Mary Schroeder has noted, “One could argue that the use of painful, permanently scarring weaponry on non-threatening individuals, who were not trying to escape, should have been known to be excessive by an informed police officer”. This may give you some insight into the “major and consistent decrease” in TASER use mentioned by the Deputy Minister last week before this committee. It is only a matter of time before cases of this nature work their way into the Canadian legal experience.

In contrast to Dr. Lu’s statement that “. . . TASERs are generally shown to be relatively safe”, TASER International’s own Voluntary Exposure and Liability Release Form includes a long list of alarming known and possible side effects that contradict its original safety claims and confirms what critics have been saying for over a decade. Here are only a few of those known and possible side effects. The company cautions that the weapons ”. . . have not been scientifically tested on pregnant women, the infirm, the elderly, small children, and low body mass persons…the use on these individuals could increase the risk of death or serious injury”. The company goes on to admit that the TASER “. . . can produce physiologic or metabolic effects, which include changes in: acidosis, adrenergic states, blood pressure . . . heart rate and rhythm …”. With this statement TASER International confirms experts’ beliefs that the TASER can capture the heart and alter its rhythms in healthy adults. TASER International then goes on to shift the responsibility for their weapons onto the user by recommending that “…all TASER … users conduct their own research, analysis, and evaluation”. Wouldn’t you think a manufacturer would want to be able to assure its customers of its product’s safety before it went to, or even after it was on the market?

A final concern that should be of interest to this committee involves the TASER tester, “Verus One”, being put forward by the B.C. Police Services. Police Services has accepted a test protocol developed by Andy Adler of Carlton University, Ottawa’s MPB Electronics, and Datrends Systems of Richmond, B.C., despite the authors themselves admitting this protocol is far from comprehensive or independent.

The Verus One actually tests to determine whether an ESW is operating within TASER International’s specifications. The Verus One does not determine the electrical energy delivered into a subject. The 600 Ohms resistance value being used in the formula by the B.C. Police Services actually comes from TASER International’s chief engineer Max Nerheim via Adler et.al. According to a study by the American Heart Association (AHA) the resistance for a trans-thoracic shock could be as low as 25 Ohms. So the suggested 600 Ohms indicates a base resistance that would appear to be an artificially high value that does not necessarily reflect the reality of all subjects. When CBC did it’s testing in 2008 and found a 12 percent failure rate, it used a previous test protocol employing 250 Ohms of resistance, which it got from TASER International. The company has since recommended raising the resistance level to 600 Ohms but, I have found no literature from the manufacturer that has offered the scientific references or rationale for doing so.

Several significant considerations should be pointed out concerning the Verus One:

1. It does not determine electrical safety of ESWs

2. It only tests to determine whether ESWs are “in tolerance” or “out of tolerance”.

3. A test result of “in tolerance” does not indicate or imply that injury or death will not result from use of the tested ESW, or that the tested ESW will incapacitate a person against whom the ESW may be deployed.

4. It does not measure the electrical energy delivered into a body (i.e. invasive shocks).

5. It also does not disclose scientific references or rationale as to why 600 Ohms is identified as the measurement base vs. a range of resistances.

In closing it is worth mentioning that the IEC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US are presently developing a standardized method of measurement for ESWs. This standard will result in the IEC 62792 ESW measurement method. Moreover, it is my understanding that no Canadian law enforcement agencies have even bothered to investigate, nor has Datrend disclosed the issue of Intellectual Property Rights regarding “Verus One”. This is significant as a lack of Intellectual Property Rights could cost Canadian law enforcement, and the Canadian taxpayer, a significant amount of money due to Intellectual Property and licensing issues. Based upon these concluding statements, I would strongly urge care and caution be exercised before purchasing any ESW analyzer.

Sister of dead Vancouver man targets police Taser accountability

May 30, 2012
Mike Howell, The Vancouver Courier

Next month marks an anniversary Patti Gillman wishes could be for a happier reason than learning about her older brother's death in a downtown hotel.

Eight years ago, 44-year-old Robert Wayne Bagnell died in the Old Continental Hotel at 1390 Granville St. after police attempted to arrest him in a washroom.

"It just brings a deep sense of loss and sadness," said Gillman, by telephone from her home in Belleville, Ont., who lost her brother June 23, 2004.

Vancouver police officers twice fired a Taser at Bagnell, handcuffed him and unsuccessfully used "zap straps" to tie his feet together before using a "triangular bandage" to restrain his legs.

He became unresponsive and died at the scene. To this day, Gillman doesn't believe a Taser was necessary in the arrest of her brother, noting he was 136 pounds and in medical distress when officers arrived at the hotel. "I don't think it helped," she said of the stun gun.

Gillman's belief and her crusade to make police officers more accountable for use of the Taser is detailed in a blog she started after her brother's death. The purpose of Truthnottasers is to track Taser-related deaths in North America and create public awareness about the weapon, said Gillman, who works for a non-profit association that supports people with intellectual disabilities.

Gillman contacted the Courier after reading a recent story posted on the paper's website that revealed the VPD had dramatically curtailed the use of the Taser since her brother's death.

Police have used the Taser only twice this year compared to a recorded high of 93 times in 2006. The year of Bagnell's death, police fired the Taser more than 20 times, according to incident reports posted on the VPD's website.

"Any time it's used by a police officer, it's a case of Russian roulette," she said. "With a gun you know what you're going to get, with a Taser you just don't."

In the lead-up to her brother's arrest, tenants heard incoherent yelling and the sound of porcelain smashing in the washroom. One tenant suspected Bagnell, who had a history of prescription and illicit drug use, of experiencing an overdose.

Dr. Laurel Gray, who conducted the autopsy on Bagnell, considered the role of the Taser, a stun gun that delivers a high-voltage electrical charge. But she concluded the cause of death was consistent with "restraint-associated cardiac arrest due to or as a consequence of acute cocaine intoxication and psychosis."

The details were revealed at a coroner's inquest in 2006 and 2007, which coincidentally was the same year Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died at the Vancouver International Airport after RCMP officers fired a Taser at him several times.

Gillman has kept in contact with Dziekanski's mother, who bought Gillman a laptop so she could continue to write on her blog about police departments' use of the Taser.

Though stun guns are still used by officers, Gillman believes if her brother experienced the same breakdown today as he did in 2004, he might still be alive.

"I think at the time [the VPD] were so unclear about what the Taser could do or how it worked or what the outcomes could be," she said, noting the family dropped a lawsuit against the VPD because it cost too much. "He wasn't an angel, not at all, but he didn't deserve to die."

Vancouver cops credit 'clear guidelines' with Taser use drop

May 22, 2012

By Mike Howell, Vancouver Courier

 

The Vancouver Police Department has dramatically curtailed the use of its Tasers with officers having only fired the stun gun twice this year compared to 93 times in 2006.

 

Statistics show the VPD recorded seven incidents—three in one day in February—where the Taser was involved, with two cases where it was fired.

In the other five incidents, officers unholstered the Taser but did not have to fire the 50,000-volt gun to arrest a suspect, according to incident reports posted on the VPD’s website.

The dramatic decrease in Taser use began after the recorded high of 93 times it was deployed in 2006 dropped to 74 in 2007. Usage dropped further in 2008 to 27 times.

Const. Jana McGuinness, a VPD media relations officer, said the department has 101 officers trained and carrying the Taser, which is far fewer than in previous years.

“And those who do carry it are under tighter scrutiny,” McGuinness said in an email to the Courier. “The new Police Act sets outs very clear guidelines on when the [Taser] may be used, and the legislated usage is much narrower in scope than in 2007. Simply put, the [Taser] is not used in as wide a variety of circumstances as it once was. This alone will account for a decline in usage.”

David Eby, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the decline is “good news” considering the battle his organization waged several years ago to get a moratorium on the use of Tasers in the province.

The civil liberties association requested the moratorium the same month Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died in October 2007 at the Vancouver International Airport after RCMP officers fired a Taser at him several times.

“The only bad news about this is that Robert Dziekanski and others have had to die in order for us to get to this number,” said Eby, noting the high profile of the Dziekanski case and the subsequent inquiry into his death. “This is great news. I think that the police are now using the device much more carefully, as they should have been during the beginning.”

The first VPD incident this year requiring a Taser to be fired occurred Feb. 1 in the north lane of 13th Avenue and Ontario Street. Officers boxed in a car, whose occupants were suspected of robbery, kidnapping and a carjacking involving a knife.

Police said the driver attempted to escape.

“The Taser was deployed and the driver was pulled from the driver’s seat and arrested,” said the incident report. “He was assessed at Vancouver General Hospital and then taken to jail.”

In a March 9 incident, officers were called to check on the welfare of an “emotionally disturbed woman” inside a suite in the 1400-block of West 14th Avenue.

The woman made verbal threats, was armed with knives and indicated she had a gun. A VPD emergency response team stormed the suite after a six-hour standoff.

Police fired a Taser and Arwen gun when the woman confronted officers with knives in hand, said the incident report. The woman was taken to hospital for a mental health assessment and is facing weapons charges.

McGuinness noted that in about 75 per cent of incidents involving a Taser, the suspect surrenders after police unholster the stun gun so it is in plain view.

In June 2004, Robert Wayne Bagnell died at the scene after police fired a Taser twice at him during an arrest at the Old Continental Hotel at 1390 Granville St.

Dr. Laurel Gray, who conducted the autopsy, testified at a coroner’s inquest she considered the Taser’s role in Bagnell’s arrest but determined the medical cause of death “was consistent with restraint-associated cardiac arrest due to or as a consequence of acute cocaine intoxication and psychosis.”

The five-man jury agreed and gave no recommendations.

Taser lawsuit dropped

March 28, 2011
Mike Bothwell, VANCOUVER/CKNW AM 980

The family of a man who died after being tasered is dropping their lawsuit against Vancouver Police. They did have a strong case according to Cameron Ward, the lawyer for Robert Bagnell's family. But they decided not go ahead because of the high cost of what was expected to be a six week trial.

The 44 year old Bagnell was tasered in police custody in June 2004. A coroner's jury later found he died of cardiac arrest related to cocaine intoxication.

Cameron Ward says BC law doesn't value the life of a son who is not a breadwinner. The family was faced with spending alot of money with little chance of winning a court award to cover those costs.

EDITORIAL: The Taser as a last resort

April 3, 2010
Calgary Herald

In addition to offering an apology Thursday for the 2007 Tasering death of Robert Dziekanski, the RCMP came out with changes to its Taser-use policy. It took the deaths of at least 20 Canadians including Dziekanski, as well as two federal reports, for the RCMP to finally bring in more stringent rules for Taser use.

Promoted as a less lethal alternative to the gun when introduced in 2003, Tasers were quick to be deployed. In June 2008, Paul Kennedy, the head of the RCMP watchdog agency, criticized the RCMP for failing to manage the use of Tasers and allowing their use to increase, echoing sentiments expressed by a House of Commons committee.

The policy announced Thursday restricts the use of Tasers to incidents of officer or public safety. That this even had to be spelled out in policy is an admission that the RCMP too freely used the device to subdue people. Within 30 seconds of an agitated and unarmed Dziekanski being confronted by four officers at the Vancouver airport, he was Tasered five times and was dead within minutes, of cardiac arrest.

Patti Gillman, whose brother, Robert Bagnell, died in 2004 after being Tasered twice by police in Vancouver, likens the use of Tasers to Russian roulette, saying police have no idea what the outcome of their use may be.

The public wants police officers to be safe and respects the pressures and quick decisions they face. But forgotten seems to be the use of pepper spray, negotiation or the physical ability of four Mounties to subdue a bewildered and upset Polish immigrant who spoke no English.

Aim Tasers lower, police told

October 12, 2009
Petty Fong, Toronto Star

Police forces across Canada, including the RCMP and OPP, are immediately changing their Taser use policy after the manufacturer issued a directive that officers should not aim the weapon at a suspect's chest.

Taser International said in a bulletin that it's no longer advisable to aim the conducted energy weapon, which sends out a jolt of electricity, at a target's chest area to avoid impact to the heart.

"[W]e have lowered the recommended point of aim from centre of mass to lower centre of mass for front shots," the company said in a new training bulletin.

Rather than the chest area, which could lead to electricity affecting the heart, the company said police officers should target the back, legs or abdomen.

The new directive comes as the two-year anniversary approaches of the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died Oct. 14, 2007 at Vancouver International Airport.

Taser International is giving its closing submissions this week at the public inquiry headed by retired B.C. judge Thomas Braidwood, who is looking into the circumstances of Dziekanski's death.

Dziekanski, who was approached by four RCMP officers, died within minutes after he was jolted by an RCMP Taser.

A spokesman for the RCMP headquarters in Ottawa Friday said a directive has been sent out to officers to immediately avoid targeting a suspect's chest and head.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Joe Bosie said Sunday that officers received a memo about the new policies last week.

"It makes sense," said Bosie. "Those probes or needles are very sharp and if you were to discharge a Taser in or above the heart area like the neck or eyes it could cause serious injury."

While the latest Tasers are wireless, most others include barbed darts attached to wires that strike the victim, before delivering an electric jolt.

Toronto police had no comment on the new policy, saying a spokesperson would not be available to discuss the matter until Tuesday.

Spokespersons for York, Peel and Durham regional police were also unavailable to discuss the matter.

Vancouver police spokesman Const. Lindsey Houghton said Sunday the municipal force has also received the new directive from Taser International.

"We immediately began advising and training officers to change where they aim from upper back or upper chest to lower centre of mass per the bulletin," he said.

The Calgary and Winnipeg police forces have also advised their officers to lower their aim when using the Taser.

Taser International has strenuously denied at the public inquiry that the weapon was the direct cause of Dziekanski's death.

The 40-year-old Dziekanski was on his first-ever flight from Poland to join his mother in Kamloops, B.C. when he was left lost and wandering at the airport for nearly 10 hours.

Police were summoned after a 911 call of reports that a distraught man was throwing furniture around the arrivals lounge. Within 30 seconds of the RCMP surrounding Dziekanski, the weapon was deployed and fired five times, leaving Dziekanski writhing in agony on the ground.

In its training bulletin, the company said that by avoiding the chest area, it lessens the controversy about whether the jolts do or do not affect the heart.

The risk of a cardiac arrest after the weapon was deployed was "extremely low," according to the company.

While Taser International noted sudden cardiac arrests can occur on "golf courses, in airports" or anywhere, the involvement of a Taser discharge at around the same time would place police officers and the company in a "difficult situation to ascertain what role, if any," the Taser played, according to the bulletin.

B.C. Civil Liberties executive director David Eby said Sunday the weapon should be banned and that changing the targeted area on where to aim is not enough.

"We are disappointed that police have to wait for the company to issue a directive before making these changes," said Eby. "Admittedly that is a step towards limiting the use, but it's hard to imagine in what situation it makes sense to aim at a suspect's back."

In 2004, Robert Wayne Bagnell, 44, died after Vancouver police used a Taser on him, sending two electrical shocks to his chest. His death was later cited as restraint-associated cardiac arrest due to acute cocaine intoxication.

Bagnell's sister, Patti Gillman of Belleville, Ont., has since become an advocate against the use of Tasers by police.

"Finally this is an acknowledgment from Taser that the weapon isn't as safe as they've been claiming," she said Sunday. "Hopefully this will make police even more skeptical about using Tasers."

Amnesty International says 330 people died in the United States after being jolted by stun guns between June 2001 and late 2008. In Canada, the human rights watchdog says at least 26 such deaths occurred from 2003 to 2008.

Happy Birthday, Bob

This week marked the five-year anniversary of my brother's death. My only brother. Bob was his name. Bob was the 58th person in North America to die after he was tasered. Bob was alone in the washroom in the building where he lived. He weighed 136 pounds. He was UNARMED and posed NO CREDIBLE THREAT to anyone, least of all to the THIRTEEN Vancouver police officers who were present. He was tasered at least twice, probably more. He died moments later.

Had Bob been treated with some modicum of compassion instead of multiple 50,000 volt taser jolts, he would have been celebrating his 50th birthday today.

Thanks to Critical Mass for informing me that someone with Yahoo ID "patti_will_die_like_bobby" posted the following message today on the Yahoo Finance TASER International, Inc. (TASR) message board:

Keep trying Patti ! 24-Jun-09 04:29 pm "Dig a little deeper each day ! I love it. Your brother was a turd and deserved to die ! Time for a trip to Ontario very soon."

rick_solosky_loves_taser posted the following on the same message board:

It appears that the board bashers are losing their ID's 24-Jun-09 08:55 pm
One by one they will all go down. TASERS ARE THE BEST INVENTION IN LAW ENFORCEMENT HISTORY !!!! No OOPS about t. I can't wait to piss on Bagnells grave !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Taser inquiry delayed to Sept. after explosive email suggests officers lied

WOW. This takes me back to the day the coroner's inquest into my brother's death was abruptly halted. We became aware of a letter written by then Victoria Chief of Police Paul Battershill to Dirk Ryeveld, the police complaint commissioner for British Columbia, that raised concerns about the use of tasers. (Chief Battershill was in charge of the Victoria Police Department, which had been tasked by the police complaint commissioner to investigate the Vancouver Police`s use of tasers on my brother.) When we requested that the letter, which arrived at the inquest in a binder brought by a witness police officer, be marked as an inquest Exhibit, the coroner left the room for several hours before returning to announce that the inquest was adjourned. He did so without the jury present and he then left the hearing before our lawyer Cameron Ward could file any argument or submission requesting the inquest continue. The Coroner also ordered a ban on the distribution of the letter, in which Chief Battershill raised concern about whether police, by themselves, should be in charge of deciding where tasers belonged on the use of force continuum or whether this required wider public discourse. See Taser Inquest Shut Down.

WHO WILL STOP THIS MADNESS???????

June 19, 2009
By James Keller, The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER, B.C. - A single sentence contained in an email between RCMP brass in the weeks after Robert Dziekanski died has derailed a public inquiry, raising questions yet again about the testimony of four police officers and prompting calls for further investigation of the national police force.

As closing arguments were set to begin on Friday, a lawyer for the inquiry revealed a previously unreleased email that suggested the RCMP officers developed a plan to use a Taser before they arrived at Vancouver's airport.

All four insisted in their testimony that they did not.

The email was met with a tearful apology by the RCMP's lawyer for not releasing it sooner and denials from lawyers for the four officers and one of the senior Mounties referenced in the note.

All claimed the contents of the email were the result of a simple misunderstanding.

Commissioner Thomas Braidwood chided the RCMP for coming up with the email so late, and put the inquiry on hold until Sept. 22 so its contents can be investigated.

"I find the delay in disclosing this material to the commission to be appalling," said Braidwood.

"At the very least, it should have been disclosed to the commission before those officers testified."

The delay means the inquiry could still be hearing new evidence from senior RCMP officials and additional testimony from the four officers nearly two years after Dziekanski died on the airport floor.

Braidwood's final report - which will serve as a public record of what happened and include recommendations to prevent future tragedies - will be put off even longer.

And in the meantime, the RCMP, whose image appears to have already been damaged by the Dziekanski affair, has been forced to explain both the contents of the email and why it was kept from public view for so long.

The email was written in November 2007, just weeks after Dziekanski's confrontation with the Mounties.

In it, Chief Supt. Dick Bent and RCMP Assistant Commissioner Al McIntyre were discussing their media strategy for the release of the now-infamous amateur video of the fatal confrontation.

Bent recounted a conversation with Supt. Wayne Rideout, who was in charge of the investigation into Dziekanski's death.

"Spoke to Wayne, and he indicated that the members . . . . had discussed the response en route and decided that if he did not comply, that they would go to CEW (Taser)," wrote Bent, whose email was read in court on Friday.

The inquiry heard that the email was contained on a CD that the RCMP gave its lawyers in April, but government lawyers didn't look through its contents until this week.

Federal government lawyer Helen Roberts apologized for not finding the email sooner, which she called an "oversight," while casting doubt on the email's contents.

"Canada continues, as it has all along, to fully support the work of this commission," a tearful Roberts told the commissioner.

Still, Roberts said government lawyers have interviewed Bent, Rideout and McIntyre and concluded Bent's email may have simply been wrong.

"It is our conclusion from these interviews that Chief. Supt. Bent must have misunderstood information provided to him by Supt. Rideout," she said.

Lawyers for the four Mounties each stood up and said Bent's email was wrong.

But that wasn't enough for the commission.

While inquiry lawyer Art Vertlieb acknowledged the email was second-hand hearsay, he said the commission must determine whether or not Bent's comments are accurate - and whether there are any other documents that have yet to be seen.

"The RCMP have had this for a long, long time - it should have been out," Vertlieb told reporters.

The force released a statement insisted it has "co-operated fully" with the inquiry.

"Unfortunately in an exercise of this magnitude, such an oversight can occur," the statement said.

"The RCMP is as disappointed as all of the parties involved in this inquiry that there will be a delay in the completion of the inquiry."

Vertlieb also pointed out that it's not clear if prosecutors saw the email before making their decision on charges.

"One of the other questions is: Did the attorney general's office and the charge approval see this? And we have no idea."

Crown prosecutors announced last December that they wouldn't be charging the officers, but the officers' testimony prompted loud calls for that decision to be reconsidered.

The attorney general at the time said they could re-open the case if they hear new evidence, although the current attorney general wouldn't say whether the email would fit the bill.

Mike de Jong, who was sworn in as attorney general last week, declined to comment about the contents of the email or whether prosecutors may have seen it, and said any further decisions would wait until after the inquiry.

"It will be for Mr. Justice Braidwood to assess the evidence, assess its relevance and make appropriate findings," de Jong said in an interview.

"I will say this: Commissions like this and in fact our system of justice, rely on the fact that all witnesses who give evidence under oath, that they provide truthful and honest answers."

Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, who has long demanded that the officers be charged, said she doesn't believe Bent was mistaken in the email.

She said she believes Braidwood will get to the truth of what really happened.

"I have to wait patiently, because what can I do?" she said. "I want to know everything about this case and that helps me to slowly understand."

The four RCMP officers' lawyers are also in the middle of their own legal manoeuvres unrelated to Friday's surprising developments.

Earlier in the week, they lost a court challenge in a B.C. court, where they argued Braidwood shouldn't be able to make findings of misconduct against them.

Ravi Hira, one of the officers' lawyers, said he and the others are considering launching an appeal, although he wouldn't say if the latest delay gives them more time to do that.

"We're certainly looking at that (an appeal)," said Hira.

Ujjal Dosanjh, a former B.C. premier and the federal Liberals' public safety critic, used the furor over the undisclosed email to call for a "comprehensive federal review" of the RCMP and its policies on Tasers.

"It should look at whether or not . . . the culture of the RCMP is broken and whether or not it is in need of a major overhaul," Dosanjh said in an interview.

"And if it is, what are the recommendations for that overhaul."

The inquiry resumes on Sept. 22.

Taser Crusader: a Belleville woman is on a crusade to halt the use of tasers by police

April 13, 2009
Chris Harvey, CKWS Television, Kingston


A BELLEVILLE WOMAN IS ON A CRUSADE TO HALT THE USE OF TASERS BY POLICE.
THE WOMAN'S BROTHER DIED 5 YEARS AGO IN VANCOUVER AFTER BEING TASERED.
AND SHE'S CALLING FOR A MORATORIUM ON THEIR USE -- UNTIL THE ISSUE OF THEIR SAFETY IS SETTLED ONCE AND FOR ALL.
THE STORY FROM NEWSWATCH'S CHRIS HARVEY.

PATTI GILLMAN HAS A LIST OF THE NAMES AND AGES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED AFTER BEING SHOCKED WITH A TASER.
HER BROTHER BOB BAGNELL IS ON THAT LIST.
HE DIED IN JUNE OF 2004 AFTER BEING TASERED BY POLICE IN VANCOUVER---THE 58TH PERSON IN NORTH AMERICA TO DIE AFTER BEING SHOCKED BY THE STUN GUN.
AND SHE WANTS A HALT TO THEIR USE.

PATTI GILLMAN:
"UNTIL THEY CAN DETERMINE WHAT IT IS THAT'S MAKING, THAT'S CAUSING THESE PEOPLE TO DIE.
WE HAVE 403 DEAD PEOPLE AND THE ONE COMMON DENOMINATOR IN ALL OF THOSE IS THE TASER."

DURING HER 5 YEAR CRUSADE TO HALT THE USE OF TASERS GILLMAN HAS EVEN SPOKEN TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND NATIONAL [SECURITY].

PATTI GILLMAN
"BECAUSE I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY PERSON WHO FEELS THIS WAY.
I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LARGE CONTINGENT OF CANADIANS WHO FEEL THAT WE'VE GOT QUITE A MESS ON OUR HANDS AND IT'S GOT TO BE SORTED OUT."
GILLMAN SAYS SHE BELIEVES POLICE ARE USING TASERS AS A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE, NOT IN A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION.

PATTI GILLMAN:
"IT'S BEING USED AS A COME-ALONG TOOL.
IT'S BEING USED IN SITUATIONS WHERE A GUN WOULD NEVER BE CONSIDERED."

BUT THIS DEPUTY CHIEF SAYS THAT IS NOT THE CASE IN BELLEVILLE.

DEPUTY CHIEF BRIAN HARDER:
"THE TASER IS SPECIFIC TO AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR.
AND ONCE SOMEONE IS NO LONGER AGGRESSIVE, THEN WE CERTAINLY DON'T DEPLOY IT."

HARDER SAYS BELLEVILLE POLICE HAVE SIX TASERS WHICH ARE CARRIED BY TACTICAL UNIT MEMBERS AND SUPERVISORS ONLY.

DEPUTY CHIEF BRIAN HARDER:
"AND I CAN TELL YOU FOR INSTANCE LAST YEAR WE ONLY USED IT 18 TIMES, OF WHICH ONLY 9 DID WE HAVE TO DISCHARGE IT.
SO JUST MERELY THE PRESENCE IN MANY CASES, HALTS A SITUATION."

GILLMAN SAYS SHE WON'T STOP PUSHING FOR A MORATORIUM ON TASER USE.
AND SHE SAYS POLITICIANS WILL HAVE TO ACT IF ENOUGH PEOPLE HELP HER GET THAT MESSAGE ACROSS.

CHRIS HARVEY, CKWS NEWSWATCH, BELLEVILLE.

Truth not tasers weighs in on the RCMP announcement

On February 12, 2009, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced new rules of engagement for the use of tasers in Canada, in response to a demand by the Canadian House of Commons Public Safety and National Security Committee that they reign in their use of these weapons. These new rules of engagement marked the first time that a Canadian police force has publicly acknowledged that tasers may pose a fatal risk.

We here at Truth not Tasers have been publicly acknowledging that tasers have the potential to be lethal for years. So, I was blown away when the police themselves finally admitted they agree. Even though RCMP Commissioner William Elliott didn't exactly come right out and say that tasers kill people, he did concede that "shortly after a Taser was deployed, individuals died." I'd say that comes pretty close.

Strangely enough, these new and improved rules of engagement are simply those under which tasers were supposed to have been initially approved for use in this country. However, as time passed, and while no one was really looking (save for a very few people like us), “usage creep” entered stage left and things went sideways in a major way. If the RCMP and police across the country have not been operating under these rules – and Canadians are slowly coming to realize that in fact they haven’t been – how the hell have we allowed them to get away with it for so long?? And what justice exists for those families who have lost a loved one who would likely still be alive had it not been deemed “necessary" to taser them?

For example, I am confident that had police been operating under these rules the night my brother Robert Bagnell died in June 2004, they would have had no reason to taser him and he would likely be alive today. His was a classic case of non-combative resistance. He was on his back, on a washroom floor – all 136 pounds of him – and posed no credible threat of death or grievous bodily harm to the 13 Vancouver Police officers in attendance. There were no members of the public present. The police would never have considered shooting Bob with a gun that night, but it was easy and convenient to pull out their trusty “non-lethal” (yes, police and the manufacturer were still calling them non-lethal back then) tasers.

And, in fact, I believe that the majority of Canadian men who have died would in all likelihood still be alive today had they not been tasered. So few of them posed a true, credible threat to anyone, save perhaps to themselves. Which is something that disturbs me about the new “rules”: what will constitute “enough” threat to a person’s own self?

From where I sit, these rules still rely far too much on officer discretion and do not come nearly close enough to making the taser the last resort before lethal force. And all the training in the world isn’t going to address that, one officer’s perception and experience being another officer’s reality. Editorial after editorial – even RCMP Complaints Commissioner Paul Kennedy – has cautioned that the rules are still too broad and vague. I agree wholeheartedly.

In the days since the announcement, police agencies across the country, including the RCMP’s own Sgt. Scott Warren, chairman of the officer safety committee, have come out madly swinging in defence against making any (gasp!) changes to their taser policies. See "What's wrong with this picture? And who's keeping track?" If anyone is awake enough to enforce it, police forces (and transit cops, etc.) across the country, will have no choice but to follow suit.

Otherwise, now that our federal police force has publicly acknowledged that the taser is potentially lethal, if it is used “inappropriately” and where bullets would never be an option and a person dies, what will that be called and how will it be handled?

RCMP Complaints Commissioner Paul Kennedy has undertaken to review the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the 10 men who were tasered by the RCMP and subsequently died. No one has yet identified who, if anyone, will be responsible to do the same for those 17 Canadians whose deaths did not involve the RCMP. Namely, Ronald Perry, Roman Andreichikov, Peter Lamonday, Robert Bagnell, Jerry Knight, Samuel Truscott, James Foldi, Alesandro Fiacco, James Barber, Claudio Castagnetta, Quilem Registre, Howard Hyde, Jeffrey Marreel, Michael Langan, Sean Reilly, Trevor Grimolfson and Gordon Walker Bowe.

Another important next step will be to unravel the incestuous relationship that exists between Canadian law enforcement (and its research arms) and the very rich and powerful - and endlessly litigious - Taser International. This enormously inappropriate alliance reeks of conflict of interest and it has been allowed to fester and flourish for many years beyond its best-by date. The necessity of Taser International’s attendance, in person or representatively, around and at Canadian inquests and inquiries into taser-related deaths must also be microscopically examined.

I hope that the RCMP’s policy changes will give medical examiners everywhere something new to work with. Medical examiners and coroners have been under tremendous pressure from police, “excited delirium” proponents and the weapon's manufacturer, Taser International, to “reverse and prevent medical rulings that Tasers contributed to someone's death.” The President of the National Association of Medical Examiners in the United States has said in more ways than one that “it is dangerously close to intimidation.”

Something also needs to be done about police using tasers on youth and senior citizens. C’mon – let's get REAL!

I have never been here for credit or accolades. But I do like to think that I and others, including the Canadian media, have played a critical role in getting us to where we are today. There is no doubt in my mind that we have collectively added to the pressure for needed change. I am grateful for my fellow travellers (most notably fellow blogger Excited-Delirium), who have joined me on this journey.

What a long, strange trip it's been. Unfortunately, it’s a trip that isn't over yet. I, for one, won't be riding off into the sunset until I and my family are satisfied that all we could do we have done.

"Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us." (Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead)

Canadian police pull old tasers off streets

December 12, 2008
by Ronald J. Hansen and Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic

Police departments across Canada, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, are pulling older Taser stun guns off the streets following a new study that found the weapons can deliver more power than the manufacturer says is possible.

Police departments in the United States, however, appear to have taken no similar action.

Taser International responded to the study, commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., with e-mails to police departments claiming the research is flawed.

"It is unfortunate that false allegations based on scientifically flawed data can create such uncertainty," Steve Tuttle, a Taser vice president, told The Arizona Republic. Taser also said researchers redid the test after the company pointed out errors.

However, Taser's assertions about specific data flaws contradict company documents and a letter from one of its top scientists. An audio recording also shows Taser was told that no retest took place.

"No, we never did (a retest). Absolutely not," said reporter Frederic Zalac of the CBC, which commissioned the study by a U.S. defense contractor and a Montreal biomedical engineer. "It is completely untrue."

The study, released last week, found that four of 44 stun guns of the X26 model used most by police departments fired jolts that were 47 percent to 58 percent higher than the manufacturer's specifications. The four high-firing weapons were sold to two police departments in 2004.

An accompanying medical analysis concluded that the higher jolts pose as much as a 50 percent risk of inducing cardiac arrest in some people and that stun guns firing at expected electrical levels pose some risk.

Taser maintains that shocks from its stun guns can't kill.

The president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, based in Washington, D.C., said Thursday that he was not aware of the study. Police officials with Valley departments, where most officers are armed with Tasers, have said they will evaluate it.

Canadian authorities are not waiting. Calling it a matter of national safety, the ministers of public safety for the provinces of British Columbia and Quebec in the past week ordered Tasers manufactured before 2006 to be recalled for testing and recalibration, if necessary.

"It is just to be secure, safe," said Mario Vaillancourt, spokesman for the public-safety minister in Quebec. "We want to be sure that all Tasers are safe in the province."

The order applies to Tasers being used by police officers, corrections officers and transit police. It is unknown how many Tasers could be recalled for testing.

"All impacted organizations are currently doing an inventory to determine exact numbers of devices that will require mandatory outside testing," British Columbia Public Safety Minister John van Dongen said in a written statement.

Van Dongen said his office will work with police departments to establish a standard for regular calibration of all Tasers used in the province.

Similar moves have been announced by the Mounties and police departments in Nova Scotia and Winnipeg.

For its part, Taser considers the CBC testing troublesome and wrong.

"Taser International stands behind the quality and safety of its products and is providing full cooperation and all information necessary to allay any concerns," said Tuttle, the Taser vice president.

"Taser International welcomes proper testing of its devices and has provided its factory test protocols to test laboratories in Canada so police agencies can avoid the scientific errors made by the CBC."

Taser officials have not yet addressed the issues related to the study's medical claims or issues the study raised about quality control in manufacturing or whether the stun guns' performance declines over time.

Tuttle on Thursday declined to comment on documents and a recording that contradict Taser's challenges to the study.

In an e-mail to police and others, Taser said that researchers failed to conduct a "spark test" to warm up the stun guns, which the company said is critical to getting a reliable shock reading. The company also said researchers measured the shocks using the wrong resistance level to calculate the impact of shocks on the human body.

Resistance, measured in ohms, refers to an object's ability to withstand an electrical charge. The higher the resistance level, the less effect the charge will have.

Magne Nerheim, Taser's vice president of research and development, said the study measured the Taser shocks at 250 ohms instead of the necessary 600 ohms, leading to false measurements.

However, in a May 21 letter to Canadian police officers who were testing two Taser stun guns involved in a death, Nerheim advised them to use a 250-ohm resistance.

The letter accompanied a step-by-step guide for hooking up the equipment and included an arrow pointing to an image of a 250-ohm resistor.

The testing protocol from Taser does not mention the spark test.

Taser also maintained in its e-mail to police that the CBC rested the guns after consulting with Taser. "The four devices were retested using the recommended spark test," resulting in current levels within the manufacturer's specifications, the e-mail said.

Zalac, of the CBC, said this didn't happen and supplied an audio recording of a Dec. 3 telephone conversation with a Taser representative. In it, Zalac says that no Tasers were retested using Taser's recommended spark test. Zalac tells the Taser official that one Taser was tested twice and that the results were the same, with the gun producing higher shocks than the manufacturer specified.

Tasers are in use by more than 12,000 police agencies across the United States, and police credit the stun gun with reducing officer and suspect injuries. More than 400 people in the United States and Canada have died after police Taser strikes since 2001.

Pierre Savard, a University of Montreal biomedical engineer who co-authored the Canadian report with two Americans, defended their work and the response by police in his country.

"It's a responsible reaction. It's the right thing to do," Savard said. "There's a need to know more about Tasers."

Savard said no spark test was done last summer by National Technical Systems, a California-based engineering firm that measured the electrical output for the X26 stun guns.

Instead, NTS technicians noticed unusually high electrical output from two guns and fired them again seconds after the first shot, he said.

One of the guns that was fired a second time still registered an output level that was beyond what Taser expected and could pose nearly a 50 percent risk of cardiac arrest, Savard said. Four of the Tasers in the study would not fire or could not maintain a charge.

In pointing to the safety of its products, Taser has cited an international guideline that helps doctors assess the risk of heart troubles.

But the guideline Taser referred to changed in 2007 and "very significantly" understates the risk electricity can pose to humans, Savard said.

Savard said the rule is imperfect but is widely considered more accurate than the 1987 rule used by Taser.

Death stirs debate on taser's pros and cons - Ontario mom up in arms against use of stun gun

November 4, 2008
Valerie Fortney, Calgary Herald

Four years ago, Patti Gillman didn't even know what a Taser was. But all that changed when her only sibling, Robert Bagnell, died after being Tasered twice by Vancouver police on June 23, 2004.

"He was 136 pounds, and 13 police officers apparently couldn't restrain him," says Bagnell of her brother, who police initially told her had died of acute cocaine intoxication and psychosis. A neighbour in Bagnell's apartment called 911 for an ambulance after he collapsed in a communal bathroom.

"We didn't even find out police had used a Taser on him until we saw Vancouver police announce it on the TV news a month later."

That tragedy has transformed the Ontario mother of two into a civilian crusader against the pistol-like device capable of discharging 50,000 volts of electricity.

In the wake of a 2007 inquiry that made no recommendations after hearing 10 days of testimony about her brother's death, Gillman started up her website, truthnottasers.blogspot.com, which lists the names of the 20 Canadians and more than 200 Americans who have died after being Tasered; it also includes news articles on Tasers from across North America and advocates for the likes of the mother of Robert Dziekanski, whose death after being Tasered at Vancouver International Airport by RCMP officers was videotaped by a bystander and broadcast around the world.

"Zofia just found out it will be delayed again," says Gillman of the inquest into Dziekanski's death. "It is just devastating for her, to have to wait so long."

This past April, Gillman appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to give her views on the device described by Alberta Solicitor General Fred Lindsay as "an alternate tool to lethal force."

So it's no surprise Gillman was well acquainted early Monday with the case of 30-year-old Gordon Bowe, who died after being Tasered on the weekend by Calgary Police. At press time, the investigation into the incident had yet to confirm if the Taser made contact with Bowe.

"I've been worrying all weekend he might not make it," says Gillman. "I can't believe you have two dead Albertans in less than one week."

Gillman, who has also been in touch with the family of Edmontonian Trevor Grimolfson, who died Oct. 29 after being Tasered, confesses to being a first-time agitator.

"I've never done anything like this before," she says of her new role as an outspoken opponent of Taser use by police.

"But when Bob died, I knew I had to do something about it."

While the battle rages on over the use of Tasers, Gillman says a big part of her mission is to remind people of the very human stories behind the headlines.

"We're not talking about hardened criminals in most of these cases," she says, not mincing words when it comes to her view of the end result for some. "But they're being summarily executed, without benefit of judge or jury."

Her own brother, she admits, had his problems, including some minor brushes with the law.

"But he was a nice guy, artistic, funny and wouldn't hurt a fly," she says. "Every time police use Tasers, it's Russian Roulette. It's sad for the victims and it's sad for the police, too."

Her mom, Riki, talks about the son she remembers as a good-humoured wanderer who was "living his dream" in Vancouver.

"These are not bad people, these are people in crisis," she says. "And the end result is horrifying."

Every time there is news about someone dying after being Tasered, says Gillman, there is a family left broken hearted and wondering why.

Every time they hear about another incident, Gillman says she and her family relive their own nightmare.

"I couldn't even watch the video of Robert Dziekanski, it was like witnessing my brother's death."

Still, there are many who disagree with Gillman, from government officials to judges to police associations, most of whom argue that not only has it not been proven Tasers cause death, but they protect police in volatile situations. Taser International, the U.S. company that makes the device, says they have never been directly blamed for a death.

Such opposition and expert opinion, though, is unlikely to deter people like Gillman, who see themselves as voices for those who have been silenced forever.

"I was living a very normal life before all this happened," she says at the end of our conversation. "Then the Taser entered it -- and nothing will ever be the same."

British Columbia watchdog urges more care in taser use

June 25 2008
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER -- B.C.'s police complaint commissioner says he doesn't advocate a moratorium on the use of Tasers but they have become a "tool of convenience" and more testing, study and training is required.

Dirk Ryneveld told a B.C. public inquiry Wednesday that he's had a long-standing concern with the Taser and how it's being used by police forces.

"Unfortunately, the Taser has become a tool of convenience in some situations, sort of a `Come along' device, `drop the beer. No? Zap,"' Ryneveld told the inquiry.

"In essence, it's being used in situations far short of an alternative to lethal force."

He said the Taser's use should be restricted to situations when people pose a threat to the public, an officer or themselves. Ryneveld, who investigated the death of Robert Wayne Bagnell, 44, after he was subdued with a Vancouver city police Taser in June 2004, said issues about the shock weapon were raised then and still haven't been resolved.

He said a report issued in the wake of Bagnell's death called for uniform training in the use of Tasers by police across the province.

Ryneveld said further study, independent testing and training is urgently needed.

"That was my view in 2004 and it still is today. Unfortunately, the issues we raised then are still unresolved and true independent study and testing hasn't been as actively or as timely pursued as I would have hoped," he told the commissioner.

Ryneveld said he doesn't have the jurisdiction to ban or even limit the use of the weapons. In any event, he said he doesn't recommend a moratorium. "I am ... not advocating a moratorium on its use in its entirety at this time, based on safety issues alone," he said.

"Apart from anecdotal accounts of inappropriate use of the Taser in situations where they clearly ought not be used, there is not, to my knowledge (apart from one U.S. civil case), a body of evidence or legal determination that directly connects Taser use with resultant death as its sole cause."

Ryneveld said the shock weapons need to be placed higher on the use-of-force scale than they currently are and a national protocol should be established so all users understand when they should be deployed.

The B.C. public inquiry was called after would-be Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski was hit with an RCMP Taser at Vancouver International Airport last October.

The inquiry has been so overwhelmed with requests from people to appear that it scheduled an additional day on Wednesday for submissions.

A report on the first phase of the inquiry, which is looking at the general use of Tasers by law enforcement in the province, is expected this fall. A second phase of the inquiry will look specifically at Dziekanski's death.

RCMP complaints commissioner vows to 'hold feet to the fire' on tasers

June 25, 2008
The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — The commissioner for complaints against the RCMP says he's trying to "create enough heat publicly" to force the national police agency to change the way it uses Tasers.

Paul Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, appeared before a B.C. public inquiry on the use of Tasers on Wednesday. Last week, Kennedy issued a scathing report on use of the shock weapons by the force.

He conceded outside the inquiry that none of his recent recommendations have to be implemented but he said it's his job to pressure the force to co-operate.
"Part of what I have to do is create enough heat publicly . . . to say, 'Look, this is what we want.' That's the bottom line," Kennedy told reporters.

Kennedy pointed out that the national police force has 3,000 Tasers at its disposal across the country. In addition, they have many new recruits, a high turnover rate, an inadequate mentoring system, he said. And he said they don't have a system in place to monitor use of the weapons. "I'm hoping that if they look at that they'll realize, 'Whoops, we have a problem here. We didn't think it was being used in these kind of circumstances,"' he said.

RCMP have started to implement some recommendations, including appointing a national use-of-force co-ordinator, but overall Kennedy expressed dissatisfaction. "They have modestly implemented some," he said.

He said each division should have a use-of-force co-ordinator and there should be a national co-ordinator who is a commissioned officer.

"I'm trying to hold their feet to the fire. I'm giving them a model," Kennedy said of the report issued earlier this month.

The report echoed his interim call to limit Tasers to clashes where suspects are combative or risk serious harm to themselves, the police or the public. In the 78-page report, Kennedy urged tighter controls on a weapon the Mounties have drawn from their holsters more than 4,000 times since its introduction in 2001.

In his presentation to inquiry commissioner Thomas Braidwood, Kennedy decried the situation where the RCMP decides how to deploy the Taser and also decides what data it's going to release on its use.

Like others who have appeared, Kennedy said the Taser is being used in situations where it was never intended - known as "usage creep."

Earlier in the day, B.C.'s police complaint commissioner said he - like Kennedy - doesn't advocate a moratorium on the use of Tasers. But they have become a "tool of convenience" and more testing, study and training is required.

"Unfortunately, the Taser has become a tool of convenience in some situations, sort of a 'Come along' device; 'drop the beer. No? Zap,"' Dirk Ryneveld told the inquiry. "In essence, it's being used in situations far short of an alternative to lethal force." He said the Taser's use should be restricted to situations when people pose a threat to the public, an officer or themselves.

Ryneveld, who investigated the death of Robert Wayne Bagnell, 44, after he was subdued with a Vancouver city police Taser in June 2004, said issues about the shock weapon were raised then and still haven't been resolved. He said a report issued in the wake of Bagnell's death called for uniform training in the use of Tasers by police across the province.

Ryneveld said further study, independent testing and training is urgently needed. "Unfortunately, the issues we raised then are still unresolved and true independent study and testing hasn't been as actively or as timely pursued as I would have hoped," he told the inquiry.

The B.C. public inquiry was called in the wake of the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski after he was hit with an RCMP Taser at Vancouver International Airport last October. The inquiry has been so overwhelmed with requests from people wanting to appear that it scheduled the additional day for submissions on Wednesday.

A report on the first phase of the inquiry, which is looking at the general use of Tasers by law enforcement in the province, is expected this fall. A second phase of the inquiry will look specifically at Dziekanski's death.

Earlier report was prescient, inconvenient, and ignored

June 19, 2008
GARY MASON, Globe and Mail

REGINA -- As Dirk Ryneveld continued telling his story, you could see heads in the audience beginning to shake in that disgusted, isn't-that-just-typical sort of way.

The subject was tasers. The occasion was the annual meeting of the Canadian Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, which included officials from police watchdog agencies across the country and around the world.

B.C.'s police complaint commissioner was telling the gathering about a wide-ranging investigation he held into the use of the tasers back in 2004. It was prompted by the in-custody death of Robert Bagnell after he was tasered by the Vancouver police.

The commissioner thought that conducted energy weapons needed a more thorough examination, so he had the Victoria Police Department carry that out on his behalf. A wide range of specialists were consulted. Later that year, Mr. Ryneveld issued an interim report.

It called for: standardized testing and training across police forces; mandatory reporting on deployment of the taser; and training for people dealing with what is known as "excited delirium" or cocaine-induced psychosis. It suggested police immediately call for medical assistance when a person had been hit by a taser.

In response to suggestions by medical experts that some people were likely dying from the holds police put them in after they were tasered, Mr. Ryneveld suggested law enforcement agencies introduce strict restraint protocols to reduce the chance of this occurring. He recommended that the taser be used on individuals exhibiting combative behaviour only. He urged police departments and the provincial government of B.C. to conduct further studies into the weapon.

As an independent officer of the B.C. Legislature, Mr. Ryneveld could not order his recommendations into law. And they covered only municipal police forces in the province anyway. Nearly 70 per cent of B.C. is policed by the RCMP. It was up to the B.C. solicitor-general to follow through on the changes Mr. Ryneveld had proposed.

So what happened?

Nothing. The report and all its fine research and proposals were thrown in a filing cabinet somewhere and forgotten.

"You can lead a horse to water," Mr. Ryneveld said yesterday. You could hear groans in the audience.

Years after Mr. Ryneveld issued his report, the taser-related death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport would prompt a mass overreaction by politicians and give birth to a number of different investigations and inquiries. Yesterday, the head of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP issued his final report on the use of the taser. The similarity between many of Paul Kennedy's recommendations and Mr. Ryneveld's are unmistakable.

In fact, Mr. Ryneveld must be wondering why his name wasn't on the report too.

And there is no doubt that many of the recommendations that former judge Thomas Braidwood makes when he wraps up his inquiry in Vancouver will also duplicate those of the B.C. police complaint commissioner.

Isn't there something all too typical about this? Good and valuable reports ignored by our political leaders because they're simply not a priority at the time or, in the case of Mr. Ryneveld's report, because it would mean stepping on the toes of a group of people politicians generally don't like to upset: the police.

Well, at least until it becomes politically necessary to do so.

When, for instance, someone dies after being tasered and the whole ugly affair is caught on camera and produces international outrage and the public is demanding that something be done.

Then, amazingly, our politicians find courage.

Mr. Ryneveld was remarkably restrained after his speech. He refused to indulge in any shots at those who ignored the alarm he sounded on tasers years ago. And when asked about the amazing parallels in his recommendations and Mr. Kennedy's, he would offer only a tight, wordless smile.

P.E.I. RCMP quibble with taser numbers

June 13, 2008
CBC PEI

Multiple firings of stun guns by RCMP are not as routine on P.E.I. as a CBC investigation shows, Mounties on the island say, but the use of the weapon is more frequent than previously thought.

A joint investigation by the CBC and the Canadian Press, looking at data from 2002 to 2007, estimated RCMP nationwide used their Tasers more than 3,000 times during the period. On more than 1,300 of those occasions, or 43 per cent of the time, the stun gun was fired multiple times. RCMP policy states officers should avoid firing Tasers, which deliver an incapacitating electrical shock to a subject, more than once at a person.

For the same five-year span, the media investigation found 31 incidents of Taser use by RCMP on P.E.I. In 17 of those cases, or 55 per cent of the time, the stun gun was fired more than once.

The Mounties dispute those numbers. Sgt. Denis Morin told CBC News on Tuesday that multiple firings occurred in only 38 per cent of cases, below the national average. But he added that RCMP data shows Tasers were deployed more often on P.E.I. — 49 times, of which 19 were multiple firings. Both figures are higher than what the CBC-Canadian Press investigation determined.

Morin, who calls the Tasers "conducted energy weapons" or CEWs, said officers will only fire multiple times as a last resort.

"[It] might be caused by the CEW wasn't effective when it reached the target," he said. "It hit clothing or didn't penetrate clothing or the subject moved, or that person was combative.... You'd think it would be enough to take anybody down, but it seems in some cases, members have to use it again."

Mother of victim shocked

The information regarding multiple uses of the Taser came as a shock to Riki Bagnell of Charlottetown. Her son Robert died in British Columbia in 2004 after police used stun guns on him.

"He was unarmed and he was of no threat to them, which they have since admitted, but for whatever reason they decided to Taser him," Bagnell said. "They Tasered him more than once, and he died on the scene."

Since her son's death, Bagnell has been researching stun guns and started a blog dedicated to him called Truth, Not Tasers. She noted that according to Taser International, which makes the stun guns, Tasers cause the subject to lose all muscle control. She doesn't understand why they would need to be used more than once.

Canada's RCMP complaints commissioner will soon release a report on the weapon, and it's expected to call for a much tighter rein on the use of stun guns.

Senior B.C. Mounties defend use of tasers

May 23, 2008
Suzanne Fournier, The Province

Three RCMP officers faced the Braidwood inquiry on Tasers yesterday to express "condolences" for the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, but also to insist the Taser is a valuable tool they plan to keep using.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Al Macintyre, head of E division in B.C., said he wanted to "express my sincere condolences to the Dziekanski family and especially to Zofia Cisowski on the death of her loved one."

But Macintyre also said the "RCMP continues to believe the Conducted Energy Weapon is a valuable tool . . . that when used properly can save lives and reduce injury to officers and to the public."

Macintyre noted RCMP appeared "voluntarily" at the Taser inquiry, which was set up by the B.C. government and has no jurisdiction over the federal force.

Outside the inquiry, Macintyre admitted that the worldwide attention garnered by a cellphone video of Dziekanski being Tasered last Oct. 14 at the Vancouver International Airport, and then dying within seconds "was tough for us, very tough."

He said Mounties will appear at the coroner's inquest into Dziekanski's death and are co-operating with ongoing criminal investigations by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team and B.C. Crown counsel.

RCMP use-of-force trainer Cpl. Gregg Gillis said RCMP in B.C. used Tasers 496 times in 2007, and they've been used 148 times this year. A total of 3,153 RCMP officers in B.C. are trained to use the Taser in the event of "active resistance."

Earlier yesterday, biomedical engineer Pierre Savard, of Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique, said the effects of the Taser on the heart are similar to two major cardiac tests, but those tests are carried out only in a medical setting and only when there is a defibrillator present to bring a person back to life.

Taser International says its weapons can't kill, but Savard noted the company warns there is "a degree of risk that someone will get hurt or may even be killed due to . . . unforeseen circumstances and individual susceptibilities."

Vancouver lawyer Cameron Ward, representing the family of Robert Bagnell, who died after he was Tasered by Vancouver police in 2004, said he has compiled a list of 344 "unexplained deaths" in people who were Tasered.

Ward said one of the two Tasers used on Bagnell registered thousands of times the supposed 50,000-volt electrical output when tested by an independent lab and he recommended the Taser used on Dziekanski should also be tested.

The inquiry concludes its first phase today with a presentation by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

Commissioner Tom Braidwood, a retired judge, will look into Dziekanski's death in the fall.

Taser boss invokes Star Trek

May 15, 2008
By Carlito Pablo, straight.com

Strip away Tom Smith’s corporate persona as chair of Taser International Inc., and you’ll find an unabashed Star Trek fan.

When Smith fielded questions from the media after defending the 50,000-volt stun gun before a provincial inquiry on May 12, the Arizona-based executive couldn’t help but make a reference to the TV science-fiction series that he and his brother and company cofounder, Rick, grew up watching.

“We believe today we are the wired version of the Star Trek phaser, trying to get to that point where we’re using the minimum amount of force necessary to end the confrontation as safely as possible,” Smith told reporters at SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue in downtown Vancouver.

In the Star Trek universe, phasers are energy-beam weapons that can be set to stun, kill, or even vaporize an enemy. Smith claimed that in the real world and in the hands of law enforcers, Tasers are nonlethal devices that are designed only to incapacitate a person at the receiving end of two metal probes attached to wires.

Earlier in the day, Smith told the inquiry, being conducted by former B.C. Court of Appeal justice Thomas Braidwood, that Tasers aren’t entirely risk-free because they cause people to fall down. However, he stressed that the use of the stun gun actually prevents other injuries and even deaths caused by other weapons, primarily firearms.

But according to Vancouver lawyer and police watchdog Cameron Ward, Tasers have been involved in far too many deaths across North America since they were introduced.

“Many of those deaths, if not most of them, remained unexplained,” Ward told the Georgia Straight at the sidelines of the inquiry, which was ordered following the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski after he was tasered at the airport.

Ward represents the family of Robert Bagnell, who died in June 2004 after he was shot with a Taser by the Vancouver police.

According to a blog maintained by Bagnell’s sister, Patti Gillman, 344 North Americans, including 20 Canadians, have died since 1999 after they were shocked with the device. “Twenty-seven people have died in the U.S. since the beginning of this year,” the TNT—Truth…Not Tasers blog states. “Seventy-seven North Americans (that we know of) died in 2007, five of them Canadian.”

Amid often-conflicting claims about the safety of Tasers, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published an editorial on May 1 panning Taser International–funded studies indicating that the weapon is safe.

“They even set up demonstration booths where, like some bizarre extreme sport, people line up voluntarily to experience a taser shock for themselves,” the editorial stated. “Notably, volunteers are almost always shocked in the back and not in the chest, where the electrodes might cross the heart, nor do the volunteers experience the repeated and sustained shocks often used in the field, a feature that has led the United Nations to classify the Taser as a form of torture.”

The CMAJ also stated that new and independent research is needed to settle the issue of whether or not Tasers kill.

On May 12, Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh also appeared before the Braidwood. As B.C.’s attorney general, Dosanjh approved the introduction of the stun gun in the province in 1999. Dosanjh told the inquiry that he is “absolutely disappointed” that back then he was briefed that Tasers were safe and that their use had been thoroughly researched. “Now we know that is not true,” he said.

Dosanjh told reporters after his testimony that “all public officials are at the mercy of those who advise them.”

Although noting that there is “absolutely no conclusive evidence that Tasers don’t kill”, Dosanjh also said that he doesn’t want to “take away Tasers from the police forces”.

“I want them properly restrained in terms of the use,” he said. “I want the police officers really properly trained, and I want better research, and more and better reporting. If they don’t do any of those things, I believe that there ought to be a moratorium placed on the use of Tasers.”

Outside the Thomas Braidwood inquiry, three key players offered their views about the use of Tasers

Ujjal Dosanjh
Vancouver South MP, Liberal public-safety critic, and former B.C. premier and attorney general
“I think that ultimately the Taser is a device that [police] may be required to use under appropriate circumstances. The fact is that the RCMP and other police forces need to have stronger national standards for using these kinds of devices. We need to do more research. You want to know under what conditions they ought to use it and what the guidelines ought to be.”

Tom Smith
Chairman of the board and cofounder, Taser International Inc.
“We’ve done as long as 45 seconds in human exposures. We’re not seeing increased risks. I was the first person ever hit by our technology, in 1993. I’ve been tasered numerous times. We’ve had a number of studies that have been ongoing. I encourage studies. It just again goes back to this being the most studied nonlethal technology available today in the world.”

Cameron Ward
Vancouver lawyer and police watchdog who represents Robert Bagnell’s family
“The device is being used far too frequently, and not as an alternative to lethal force but as a tool for compliance. Before 2000, police were able to deal with nonviolent people in distress by talking to them and, if necessary, by using soft physical force. What we’re finding is that they’re using it as a weapon of first resort. They’re using it before making any attempt to talk people down or subdue them in conventional ways.”

Taser guns not tested by police: CTV finds

May 6, 2008
CTV British Columbia

Even though they are often used as restraining devices on members of the public, police do not carry out routine tests on Taser guns, a CTV News investigation has found.

It means that police officers are unaware of the true electrical output of what has proven to be a lethal weapon.

This information has come to light in the wake of the death in 2004 of Robert Bagnell, who was killed almost instantly after being shocked by a Vancouver police Taser.

Questions about the safety of Tasers have also been sparked by the recent death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport last fall. The polish immigrant is one of 20 Canadians who have died after being shocked by a Taser gun.

Engineering firm Intertek tested the two weapons fired during the Bagnell incident. Their research found while one Taser performed within a normal electrical output, the other was 30 times higher.

Taser International, a U.S. stun gun manufacturer, later disputed Intertek's test results. Since then, the two Bagnell Tasers were sent to the Canadian Police Research Centre in Ottawa for further examination. That was two years ago.

Victoria Const. Mike Massine, considered one of Canada's foremost police experts on stun guns, says Tasers are not tested by police.

"I'm assuming (Tasers) are tested at the factory," he said. "We don't have the mechanism to do that."

Professor William Dunford of UBC's electrical engineering department was surprised to learn that police don't regularly check their Tasers.

"It's reasonable that testing be done once a month or once a week, whatever is appropriate," Dunford said. "You look at how these things fail -- that's the whole engineering method."

Intertek's data came as a surprise to Federal Lliberal Party safety critic Ujjal Dosanjh.

"If they've known about this and have done nothing -- that is absolutely wrong," Dosanjh said.

Ten years ago, Const. Massine took part in Canada's first Taser trial. The six-month study set the stage for the purchase of the weapons by police forces coast to coast.

"How safe are they? It really depends on who you talk to," Massine told CTV News. "If you have pro-Taser people, they'll say they're safe. If you have anti-Taser people, they're gonna say they aren't safe."

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger