the_rising_use_of_tasers

= A Shocking Situation : The Rising Use of Tasers =

Initial Thoughts
It was a viral video that swept the Internet on September 17th, 2007. A month after its originally posting, the video itself had accumulated over 2.6 million views and the phrase "Don't tase me bro!" had become a popular online meme. The video in question was of University of Florida student Andrew Meyer, who is shot with a stun gun by police after he had caused a disturbance during a town hall forum. In the span of two and a half minutes, after hearing the agonizing screams coming from Andrew, it would be difficult not to ponder if the police in the video were in the right to turning a stun gun on the University student. media type="youtube" key="6bVa6jn4rpE" height="344" width="425" University of Florida Taser Incident

The Issue
The topic of police taser use has been one that has crept into Canadian news outlets every few months, with its appearance happening more and more frequently as of late. With each incident, there has been a public outcry for tighter taser usage policies to banning their use on certain age demographics. In response, officials from different policing bodies and even stun gun manufacturers defend the taser, claiming it is one of the prominent tools in civilian protection. However, with taser-related incidents on the rise, it begs the question of: are stun guns really protecting citizens from the right kinds of people? This year 2007 saw a significant number of stun gun related headlines across numerous Canadian news outlets. While more trivial instances failed to make the front page of newsprints, two fall instances caused a public need for inquests and the shelving of the weapon from the police arsenal.

Robert Dziekanski
On October 14th, Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died after having a stun gun used on him twice by RCMP Officers (Canadian Print, 2007). The instance happened just a few hours after Dziekanski had arrived in Canada at a Vancouver airport. With Polish being his only spoken language, he found it difficult to communicate with the Airport's staff. After being unable to locate this mother, Dziekanski became frustrated in the situation, causing damage to a computer and throwing a small table. RCMP Officers were called to the scene and preceded to use a stun gun within seconds of encountering Dziekanski, rather than trying to reason with him ( Brennan, 2007). He was reported to be shocked several times. This event sparked a strong international disapproval for the RCMP. Apologizes from both B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day were given to the victim's family ( Maccharles, 2007). Solicitor General John Les announced that B.C. would appoint a commissioner to preform an inquiry surrounding both the circumstances of Dziekanski's death as well as the policies that govern the use of tasers by the B.C. police. In the midst of this, The Vancouver Airport Authority announced changes to airport security as well as customer service in December of 2007 ( Sutherland, 2007). Testimony for the case is still continuing today. media type="youtube" key="IPe_hf7aBXM" height="344" width="425" The Robert Dziekanski Incident

Quilem Registre
Half way across the country, Quebec would also see a similar event as the one that took place in Vancouver. Less than a week after Dziekanski's death, Quilem Registre ended up in the hospital, where he would die overnight after officers were forced to use a taser. The prior Sunday, police had brought into custody an intoxicated Registre for traffic violations. During his questioning, police had reported Registre becoming hostile, where they were left with no choice but to use the stun gun to keep him under control (CBC, 2007). The incident sparked much criticism from Amnesty International, whom called for a moratorim on taser use (CBC, 2007). Beatrice Veaugrante of Amesty's Quebec Branch was quoted in saying "the weapon is used too often against people who are not armed and don't pose a threat" (CBC, 2007). She continued by claiming that there has yet to be an independent study in Canada about the safety of stun guns. As a result of the incident, Public Security Minister Jacques Dupuis ordered a Quebec legislative group currently studying the government's police towards tasers, to hand in their findings as soon as possible (CBC, 2007).

Statistically
These two noteworthy cases are just a few of the countless incidents where police felt the need to use the device. Since 2006, the number of officers armed with stun guns has doubled in Toronto, which has resulted in their use 404 times during 368 incidents throughout 2007 (Doolittle, 2008). Although the number may be staggering itself, taser use by the RCMP is reported to have doubled as well since 2005. The CBC has reported that throughout the country, mounties have drawn upon the weapon over 1400 times in 2007 compared to 597 counts in 2005 (The Toronto Star 2008).

Against Youth
More recently, the questioning of police use of stun guns was brought to mind when reports of a 15-year-old female who be tasered while in police custody. The teenage girl, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was brought into police custody after being arrested for Underage drinking. She was left in a jail cell to wait for an upcoming court hearing. During her incarceration, patrolling officers observed the girl picking the paint of the cell walls. After their request for her to stop was ignored, the officers proceeded to enter her cell, pin her down and shoot her with a stun gun (CBC, 2009). The police in question defended their actions as defense by claiming the teen attacked them during their confrontation. However, the victim's father says there was no evidence of violence on his daughter's part when he viewed the station's security footage. The incident has caused the daughter and father to sue the OPP for half a million dollars. Ontario Child Advocate Irwin Elman expressed that the officer's actions were unfitting and that "the use of the taser was not proportional to the need to protect, I guess, the paint on the wall" (CBC, 2009). Irwin's further comments echoed those of Amnesty International before, and said that police should "suspend their use of stun guns on youth until more information is known about their effects" (CBC, 2009). The female in the story is just another of the numerous minors that have been struck by stun guns, as many as 90 people under 16 since 2001. Many instances across Canada have caught the public's attention and caused concerned regarding the protocol of the taser. New Brunswick banned the use of stun guns on young prisoners after a teenage female was stunned twice while in a Saint John prison (CBC, 2009).

Police Views
The questionable police use of tasers is on the rise, and when an instance occurs, public outcry seems to resemble the same thing. Why continue using it when its effects are still typically unknown and when exactly is the appropriate time to use a stun gun. According to Toronto police defensive tactics trainer Sgt. Tom Sharkey, there are a few basics that must be followed when using a stun gun. The basics include to never use them on a child, pregnant woman or the elderly, never apply on the face or neck, never when the perpetrator is holding a more powerful weapon or between the wheel, and only when the subjective is assaultive (The Toronto Sun, 2008). Aside from these very basics, RCMP Cpl. Greg Gillis states that an officer must use his own discretion to decide when to deploy a taser (CBC, 2008). Stun gun use then falls upon the assessment of the officer, and there seems to be good reason to why it would be an appropriate tool of choice. RCMP Emergency staff member Sgt. Peter Sherstan states that tasers are a less-lethal alternative. While they should not be labeled non-lethal, if they were not present, guns would have been the next alternative (CBC 2008). This compliments that Canadian police say that stun guns have saved over 400 lives since their introduction to the police arsenal in 1999. Stun guns allow officers to maintain aggressive individuals without killing them. As well, tasers take away the chance and concern that a stray bullet may kill an innocent bystander (CBC 2008). Gillis claims with a firearm, there are only two outcomes, permanent injury or death. With a taser, it can reduce these outcomes gradually and replaces them with temporary paralysis ( Henry, 2008). Day also stresses the importance of tasers. He claims that stun guns are a "necessary tool to help defuse a situation where somebody is at risk of hurting others" (Henry, 2008). Many officers also noted that the taser has been used as a deterrent when dealing with unlawful citizens. Just the knowledge of knowing it is there can be enough to restrain any abrupt behaviour (CBC, 2008). Tom Smith, of Taser International, also had insight in regards to the increase of taser related death/injury when addressing a public taser inquiry. Smith claims that while stun guns were generally safe, they are not risk free. He continued by claiming that were is a big distinction between a taser causing death and it being a contributing factor (Joyce, 2007). Smith adds that he feels that tasers were being used "where they were never intended be used", and suggested that be a repositioning of stun gun use that was "higher up on the use-of-force continuum" in the inquiry's final report (Joyce, 2007).

On The Rise
It isn't difficult to see that there is a rise in the reporting of taser related injury and death at the hands of law enforcement. What may be more difficult to tell however is if these stun gun uses are indeed justified. While the use of the weapon is up to the full discretion of the officer, the lack of more proper guidelines surrounding its use is continuing to cause stir among people. Without more solid rules surrounding, the media is left to report more stories with looser taser warrants.