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Taser report: Heart paddles for police vehicles?
Keith McCaskill
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WINNIPEG police are considering the idea of placing defibrillators in patrol cars, but otherwise aren't making many changes in the wake of the Braidwood report into Taser use.
Late in the summer, city council asked the Winnipeg Police Service to formally respond to 19 recommendations about Taser use made by B.C.'s Braidwood Inquiry, which looked at the way police deploy energy weapons in the wake of the 2007 death of Polish tourist Robert Dziekanski, who was Tasered several times by RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport.
On Monday, Winnipeg police Chief Keith McCaskill and use-of-force expert Const. Hank Bergen told city council's protection and community services committee the Winnipeg Police Service already complies with most of the Braidwood recommendations governing Taser use.
Most of those recommendations involve protocols for the use of Tasers, which Winnipeg police officers deployed 68 times in 2008, and the way Taser information is downloaded and recorded following their use. McCaskill said the Winnipeg Police Service was already monitoring Taser use more closely than other Canadian police services.
But Winnipeg police have made some changes as a result of the Braidwood report. For example, the Winnipeg Police Service has already stopped zapping trainees with projectile electrodes at a distance, following a recommendation to stop deploying them in training situations.
But Winnipeg police undergoing training may still be stunned with the devices in "drive-stun mode" -- that is, without the projectiles -- on a voluntary basis, McCaskill said.
"We think it's important our officers understand what these weapons can do to people," he said.
The Winnipeg Police Service also is exploring the idea of placing defibrillators in patrol or supervisor vehicles, as recommended by the Braidwood report. While Taser-related medical emergencies remain rare, defibrillators may be of use in a variety of other medical situations, McCaskill said.
But the police plan to outright ignore two of the Braidwood recommendations: One calling for Taser use only to enforce Criminal Code violations, and another recommendation to only use Tasers in situations where officers are certain a suspect will cause some form of bodily harm.
In the heat of a moment, a police officer may only have a second or two to decide whether to use weapons and may not be able to make a quick decision if he or she has to consider factors other than the immediate threat, Bergen said.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 10, 2009 B1
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