Inside Vancouver
Tased and Confused
By Danielle Egan published May 1, 2008
The room is nearly deserted. Ten or so officers from the drug squad were scheduled to be here at the RCMP Richmond detachment this morning to attend an eight-hour Taser-use recertification course that’s mandatory every three years. (Prior to 2004 policy changes, this was done annually.) But last night, Mounties took part in an international crime bust that led to the arrest over 100 and the seizure of kilos of drugs and an arsenal of weapons. Only two officers show, bleary-eyed and chugging coffee.
While their colleagues finish paperwork or head home to sleep, Sergeant Mike and Sergeant Gene (no last names, since they work undercover) are pushing through with their Taser recertification. Their initial two-day training included “exposure” to the Taser’s zap. That used to be required, but because some officers have experienced adverse reactions, it’s now only strongly recommended.
My big shock is that Corporal Gregg Gillis, the RCMP’s use-of-force expert, has allowed me to attend at all. In October, Polish tourist Robert Dziekanski died at YVR after being Tasered twice. Since 2003, 17 deaths in Canada—six in B.C.—have been linked to Tasers, though they’ve never been singled out as the cause of death. With a coroner’s inquest into Dziekanski’s death set to begin sometime this spring (meant to start in May, it’s been delayed by the police investigation), and a provincial probe also in the works, a December 2007 interim report from the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP cites usage creep and recommends stricter regulations and Taser-use protocols, including a redesign of training programs.
Adrian Tarasoff, our trainer, begins the PowerPoint presentation by discussing stun and probe modes. “Stun mode is used for pain compliance,” he says. “Goal-oriented people, or those under the influence of drugs, can work through that pain.” A Taser in probe mode—used on Dziekanski—is “the only less lethal weapon that works on goal-oriented individuals.”
“It feels like sticking your finger in an electrical socket,” offers Gene, who has fired his Taser only once in seven years with the Mounties. Mike, with 12 years under his 35-pound belt, says he once drew his Taser on a “naked female.”
