Taser photographer sues RCMP

[altiplano]

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[Driving Rain]

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007 ... 53-cp.html

OTTAWA - RCMP Commissioner William Elliott broke his silence Saturday on the Taser death of Robert Dziekanski, saying the four officers involved in the incident at Vancouver International Airport have been reassigned.

Elliott said he had not spoken publicly about last month's altercation until now because he wanted to let investigations run their course.

Staying out of the fray turned out not to be an option, with the public outrage that broke out after video footage of the incident was released this week. The video showed officers zapping the distressed Polish immigrant twice, and then physically subduing him on the floor. Dziekanski died at the scene.

"I recognize . . . that the RCMP cannot provide effective policing services without the support of the communities we serve, and I am concerned that growing misperceptions are eroding the public's confidence in the RCMP," Elliott wrote in a statement.


"I would like to make clear that this incident is being treated very seriously by the RCMP, up to and including by me as commissioner."
Elliott did not say how long the officers would be assigned to other duties.

But he defended the use of Tasers by the force, saying the RCMP "remains of the view that Tasers are effective law-enforcement tools and are safe in the vast majority of cases."

He took issue with some public comments that the use of Tasers are unjustified based on the likelihood of causing serious injury or death.

"We and other police services teach our officers that it is less likely to cause serious injury than other tactics."

Elliott outlined the investigations that are underway to get to the bottom of what happened to Dziekanski.

They include:

-An investigation by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team in B.C., involving investigators from the RCMP and four city police forces. This investigation will include everything that happened from the moment Mr. boarded his plane in Poland to come to Canada.

-An independent investigation by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

-An inquest by the B.C. Coroner's office.

-An internal examination of the RCMP's policies and procedures on Tasers.

Also on Saturday, Gary Bass, RCMP deputy commissioner Pacific Region, said in a statement he had invited Ontario Provincial Police to conduct an external and independent review of the investigation.

Elliott repeated the plea that other RCMP spokespeople have made over the past several days: don't jump to conclusions.

"The RCMP recognizes the video images recently made public are disturbing for anyone who sees them. We do not, however, believe that it is appropriate to draw conclusions based on these images alone. This serious event deserves a comprehensive and complete examination."

Elliott was named RCMP commissioner earlier this year after the resignation of Giuliano Zaccardelli. The force has been under fire for a number of high-profile fatal incidents, its handling of information related to Canadian citizen Maher Arar's deportation to Syria by the United States, and for an internal pension scandal, among other issues

The 4 cops have been re-assigned... well I feel better all ready.
Did they miss donut time?

[Cat Driver]

Why don't they have the Polish authorities hold an independent inquiry along side the Canadian ones.

That would put to rest the issue of cronyism and the public perception of letting the Fox investigate the killing in the chicken house .

[Driving Rain]

edit

[Wilbur]

What stupidity. "They should have waited to see if there really was a situation." Well, obviously the people there thought there was a "situation" or they wouldn't have called the cops in the first place. The guy with the camera thought he was witnessing a "situation" or he wouldn't have started shooting video long before the police arrived. YVR security obviously thought there was enough of a "situation" happening that they weren't willing to approach the guy.

I suppose if some irrational stranger started smashing a computer in your office you wouldn't call the police? You'd wait to see if there really was a "situation?" Or would you call the police, and when they arrived ask them to just talk to the vandal. It would be OK with you if the police didn't physically prevent him from doing anymore damage?

Anyone see the news tonight? It seems this guy wasn't just Joe Average from Poland comming to Canada for a better life. He has a prison record for armed robbery in Poland, and until very recently, was still involved with a substance abusing girl friend. Maybe the cops had correctly recognized the behaviour he was displaying as that of a violent person. I don't know about Polish armed robbers, but I can certainly say the Canadian armed robbers I've dealt with almost always seem to have anger management, impulse control, and anti-authority issues.

[Cat Driver]

, and anti-authority issues.

I have often wondered how one determines what a person has to demonstrate to be labeled " anti-authority " I have worked in a few countries where the authorities were brutal to say the least.

So tell us Wilbur if you were in say Darfur and someone exibited signs of being anti-authority would that make the person tazerable?

[Doc]

But. Wilbur, they did not know this at the time. They still killed an unarmed person. What do they call that again? Manslaughter?

[Driving Rain]

Cat Driver wrote

I have often wondered how one determines what a person has to demonstrate to be labeled " anti-authority

Aren't Harley riders all anti-authority?.... Well thats the perception
anyway. Doc, don't you ride a Harley?

[2R]

The hardest arrest a policeman will ever have to make is arresting a crazy person .Police are often injured making those kinds of arrests.These guys were called to arrest a person having a psychotic episode.Millions of people have used Vancouver airport without throwing shit around and scraring other passengers and security people.
These brave police knew this that they risked injury from a crazy person and they still went .When everyone else was backing away these guys went in .
It was not easy or pretty and some things could have been done better .But do not forget who would you want coming to your house at three in the morning if you have a burglar .These brave police or some social worker ???

[Cat Driver]

These brave police or some social worker ???

What difference would it make if the social worker was armed with a tazer?

[2R]

I doubt you would get a social worker out of their bed at three in the morning unless their house was on fire .

[CD]

Here's how it's done in Texas - no messing about with a Taser:

News Coverage To Pasadena Burglar Shooting
Man Kills Suspected Intruders While Protecting Neighbor's Property

[the_professor]

From what I saw, he turned away from officers. This is undisputed. As to what his hand gestures meant... might I suggest that those who believe turning away is giving up watch again. Turning away from a cop is not a good idea. Think about it, if you turn away, you are moving away. You have the opportunity to run, and have full access to anything on the front of your person while they cannot see.

He was turning away in response to one of the RCMP officers pointing at the counter that he was standing next to. The RCMP officer pointed at the counter, the guy threw his hands up in the air, and turned around to walk towards the counter in compliance with the officer's instruction.

[the_professor]

You can defend the process all you want but the public caught the RCMP lying about what happened...

The RCMP have been caught lying again. And lying about an incident that is on tape.

Nobody on here can possibly imagine the bullshit the RCMP pulls when there isn't video evidence and/or witnesses available to counter their official story.

Like Ian Bush, shot in the back of the head by an officer while they were alone in the detachment, with the video camera disabled. Oh and by the way, the officer supposedly shot Bush in the back of the head while Bush was laying on top of the officer. It is absolutely outrageous.

The RCMP are a goddamned national disgrace.

[the_professor]

Bottom line. Three cops murdered an unarmed man.

Four cops. FOUR.

Sorry, that's four cowards. Only a coward, armed with multiple weapons (along with three colleagues) would need to use that kind of force on a non-threatening suspect.

[Walker]

Look at that, for once I agree with the Professor!
Now then the real question is where should the country go from here? I think most would agree a criminal investigation into the officers is warranted, however what else would be logical? What sort of investigation and house cleaning would be warranted for the RCMP? What about that senior guy who lied to the media, perhaps he should be facing charges? Maybe make an example of them just like we did with the airborne? (jk)


On another note:
http://www.thorshield.com/prod01.htm

Now if you wanted to be an enterprising individual you would figure out how this shit is made get a mill in the Philippines to rattle off a few hundred thousand meters of the stuff for pennies on the dollar and make T shirts that you sell in every mall across the country. Then donate the revenue to MSF or some such charity…

[xsbank]

This stinks as bad as the Keystone Kaper - by all means, pillory the pilot/cops, then go after the management and their culture and make it plain that you can't do crap like that in Canada.

If this keeps up, lets go for the no-border thing and just let the Americans have us. We really aren't any different from them and we might as well just get on with making money and doing all the important things in life, like shopping.

I am totally disgusted. Whipping women for being raped? Stand by.

[Rudder Bug]

And abused people tend to be ashamed, some will never talk about it, kids for instance. What a rotten world

[Sheila]

This stinks as bad as the Keystone Kaper - by all means, pillory the pilot/cops, then go after the management and their culture and make it plain that you can't do crap like that in Canada.

If this keeps up, lets go for the no-border thing and just let the Americans have us. We really aren't any different from them and we might as well just get on with making money and doing all the important things in life, like shopping.

I am totally disgusted. Whipping women for being raped? Stand by.

Makes you wonder what the heck were doing lying on our couches, watching football games? Just kidding.

xsbank, it's funny you said this, I was thinking something like that too. There is a spillover happening in security and I don't like them making us get passports by January 2008. It's all part of their security and policing and its a very serious development, imo.

Did you hear the news abut the Canadian banks, this weekend? I don't like whats happening over there.

Banks' credit losses could hit $400B US, Goldman Sachs says
Last Updated: Friday, November 16, 2007 | 3:49 PM ET
CBC News
Losses in the credit market could wind up hitting $400 billion US and financial institutions may cut their lending by $2 trillion US, according to an economist with Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Jan Hatzius, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs in New York, said the cut in lending, if it took place in the span of one year, could tip the U.S. economy into recession. If the drop happens over two to four years, it would produce "very sluggish growth," he wrote.

"The macroeconomic consequences could be quite dramatic," Hatzius said.

In a report dated Thursday, Hatzius based his calculations on a "conservative" estimate that banks, brokerages and hedge funds would reduce their lending by 10 times their capital losses.

"The response to those kinds of risks is to lower interest rates, and we think the Fed will lower interest rates,'' Hatzius told Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs expects the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by one-quarter of a percentage point on Dec. 11.

Banks and brokerages, including several in Canada, have already revealed billions of dollars in losses stemming from the beleaguered U.S. housing market and the global credit crunch.

[Driving Rain]

On another note:
http://www.thorshield.com/prod01.htm

Now if you wanted to be an enterprising individual you would figure out how this shit is made get a mill in the Philippines to rattle off a few hundred thousand meters of the stuff for pennies on the dollar and make T shirts that you sell in every mall across the country. Then donate the revenue to MSF or some such charity…

I don't think that would be a great idea. If you were wearing this stuff as soon as the cops figured the Tazer was non effective out would come the night sticks or the Glocks.

Banks' credit losses could hit $400B US, Goldman Sachs says

Last Updated: Friday, November 16, 2007 | 3:49 PM ET
CBC News
Losses in the credit market could wind up hitting $400 billion US and financial institutions may cut their lending by $2 trillion US, according to an economist with Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Jan Hatzius, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs in New York, said the cut in lending, if it took place in the span of one year, could tip the U.S. economy into recession. If the drop happens over two to four years, it would produce "very sluggish growth," he wrote.

"The macroeconomic consequences could be quite dramatic," Hatzius said.

In a report dated Thursday, Hatzius based his calculations on a "conservative" estimate that banks, brokerages and hedge funds would reduce their lending by 10 times their capital losses.

"The response to those kinds of risks is to lower interest rates, and we think the Fed will lower interest rates,'' Hatzius told Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs expects the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by one-quarter of a percentage point on Dec. 11.

Banks and brokerages, including several in Canada, have already revealed billions of dollars in losses stemming from the beleaguered U.S. housing market and the global credit crunch.

Interesting read apparently the Loonie,Euro and the Real are bearing an unfair burden because of this.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2007/ ... 45-ap.html
are bearing brunt of currency crisis

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS





KLEINMOND, South Africa - Currencies including the Canadian dollar, the euro and Brazil's real are bearing an unfair weight in the global currency crisis, the director of the International Monetary Fund said Sunday.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Strauss-Kahn there is concern that "some countries have on their shoulders a much larger part of the burden than they should - the Canadian dollar, the euro, the Brazilian currency" - an indication that the organization of the current monetary system "isn't exactly in line with what you expect."

The Canadian dollar closed at $102.67 US on Friday after scaling as high as $1.10 the week before.

The global imbalance, driven partly by the huge current account deficit of the United States and higher commodity prices, has produced large current account surpluses and boosted currencies in several emerging economies, especially China.

Strauss-Kahn refused to be drawn in on the criticism surrounding China's tightly controlled yuan, led by the United States as the American dollar slumps to historic lows.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, meanwhile, told reporters on the periphery of the G20 summit in South Africa that the discussions among finance ministers and Central Bank governors included the currency issue, "but we did not specifically point a finger at any particular currency."

"The currencies need to be in such an equilibrium where it facilitates trade," she said.

"The view of the IMF is that the move in the dollar appreciation is in the right direction," he said. "On the other hand, there are currencies that did not move as we would expect, maybe countries with large currency account surpluses."

[Driving Rain]

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007 ... 54-cp.html

OTTAWA - Three out of four suspects stun-gunned by the RCMP were unarmed, indicates a review of 563 cases that shows Tasers are often used for compliance rather than to defuse major threats.

A Canadian Press analysis of Taser incidents reported by the Mounties reveals that more than 79 per cent of those zapped were not brandishing a weapon.

In just over one-fifth of cases, the suspect had a knife, bottle, club or other weapon.

The figures, compiled from hundreds of partially censored pages filed by RCMP officers, highlight police preference for the 50,000-volt tool that helps them control dangerous situations with usually minimal injury.

But they also suggest a pattern of use by the Mounties as a quick means to keep relatively low-risk prisoners, drunks and unruly suspects in line.

Electronic guns have come under intense international scrutiny since the sudden death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant whose videotaped ordeal at the Vancouver airport last month has been flashed around the globe. He died after being hit twice with a Taser and subdued by the RCMP.


The national police force is reviewing its Taser policies and procedures and is to report to Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

The 606 incidents analyzed by The Canadian Press took place between March 2002 and March 2005, the latest data available from the RCMP under the Access to Information Act. (In 43 cases, officers removed a Taser from its holster but did not fire.)

Most incidents by far were recorded in western Canada where the RCMP leads front-line policing. Many involved First Nations.

A request for more recent reports of Taser use has gone unanswered by the Mounties for more than a year despite a complaint to the federal information commissioner.

RCMP Cpl. Gregg Gillis is the force's expert on Taser training and excited delirium - the mysterious condition of heart-pounding agitation used as a kind of catch-all label by those who can't otherwise explain why a growing number of people have died soon after being zapped.

The Taser is the best option police have to gain control without causing injury or having to draw their guns in the most serious situations, Gillis said in an interview.

"But it also is an appropriate option for us in other circumstances," he said. "We want to get quick and effective control, but we want to do it in a method that causes the least amount of harm."

Tasers are an "intermediate device," he said. "Where an officer would consider using other tools like (pepper) spray or potentially a baton, the Taser can be assessed as a tool to be used in those same sort of circumstances."

Asked about the dozens of reports that suggest police used Tasers against unarmed suspects whose behaviour prompted only verbal interventions before they were stunned, Gillis stressed the need for context.

The censored documents released to The Canadian Press offer "one portion of a total report," he said. "I'd want to go back and read the continuation report and (officers') notes of what led up to this."

The RCMP routinely blanked out incident details and names of suspects before disclosing the forms. In many cases the on-duty Mounties did not completely fill in the reports.

Gillis stressed that Tasers subdue suspects without the bruising of a baton or the widespread contamination of pepper spray - pain-based tactics that don't always work during adrenaline-pumped psychotic episodes.

In 105 cases, RCMP officers stunned prisoners they had detained - the vast majority of them unarmed, many of them native.

Inmate advocate Kim Pate, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, says the wide use of Tasers in non-life-threatening cases is "a travesty."

Stun guns were initially billed as a police alternative to lethal force, she said in an interview.

"What we're seeing is that they're using them in situations to subdue, gain compliance or perhaps even punitively when someone has reacted in ways they don't approve of."

Amnesty International has repeatedly called on police to suspend using what it calls "electro-shock weapons." It cites 17 deaths in Canada and more than 280 in the United States.

"Although coroners have attributed most such deaths to other causes, the Taser was found to have been a cause or possible contributory factor in more than 30 of the deaths," the human rights group said in a statement last week.

For its part, Arizona-based Taser International says of its device: "Specifically in Canada, while previous incidents were widely reported in the media as 'Taser deaths,' the role of the Taser device has been cleared in every case to date."

The six-level police force protocol begins with officer presence and builds in intensity to verbal commands; empty-hand control techniques; use of pepper spray, batons or Tasers; less-lethal force such as weapons that fire bean bags or rubber bullets; and finally deadly force.

RCMP officers in Chilliwack, B.C., fired a Taser at a prisoner in the detachment cells on Jan. 21, 2003 after only verbal intervention, says one report.

"We don't want to fight with you. Just step into the cell and go to sleep," it says of an officer's commands before the unarmed inmate was jolted. "I don't want to use it, and you don't want me to either. Just go in."

The abbreviated and censored report notes that the officer involved "feels strongly that the Taser was once again a success. No one was injured."

An officer guarding RCMP cells in Pukatawagan in northern Manitoba warned an offending prisoner this way: "Let me introduce you to the Taser. It is able to produce 50,000 volts of electricity. Co-operate with us and you will not be stunned."

Nonetheless and without further noted intervention, the unarmed suspect was touch stunned - a close-range Taser zap that some have likened to leaning on a hot stove.

Similar incidents are cited repeatedly throughout the documents where it appears stun guns are used as much as a convenient tool of compliance as they are to control truly threatening situations.

The reports also indicate the powerful weapons are not the injury-free alternative proponents claim. Several burns and lacerations are described, along with head injuries as Taser targets struck the floor.

"Upper probe penetrated bone matter," noted one officer after an unarmed suspect jolted for causing a disturbance in rural Ponoka, Alta., was hit with the small but sharp energy-conducting Taser hooks.

"Probe twisted on impact. Required additional force to be removed."

A suicidal Prince George, B.C., resident threatening to end it all with a butcher knife was hooked in the upper left lip when police responded with a Taser zap on July 9, 2003.

Gillis of the RCMP says, for now, the Taser is the safest weapon even for the most agitated suspects.

"The best available medical evidence at this point - and we've done extensive consultations ... is that the Taser does not place these people at increased risk. What does place them at increased risk is prolonged and elongated struggles where they resist.

"If anything, we know that the other tools that we use place them at greater risk."

Gillis stressed that police themselves have a vested interest in ensuring officers are properly trained to use the safest weapons when appropriate.

"At the end of the day, we're members - and our families - of the very same community, and are subject to the same use of those tools by law enforcement officials."

Gillis says he hopes that before he leaves policing the Taser will be replaced "by something that's better, more humane and more effective. That's my goal. But for right now, I support the use of the tool because it's effective when it's used properly."

-


Figures on Taser use based on reports filed by the RCMP


OTTAWA - Number of events reviewed: 606

Dates: March 2002 to March 2005. Majority from 2004.

Number of events by province and territory: B.C. 230; Alberta 95; Saskatchewan 152; Manitoba 21; Ontario 1; New Brunswick 9; Nova Scotia 8; P.E.I. 21; Newfoundland and Labrador 27; Northwest Territories 10; Yukon 11; Nunavut 21.

Number of events in which Taser used: 563

Number of events in which Taser unholstered but not used: 43

Number of events in which suspect unarmed: 445

Number of events in which suspect armed: 118

(Source: Canadian Press analysis of RCMP Taser use reports)

[Doc]

So, basically, if I'm pulled over by a cop while picking my nose at a stop sign, it gives him the god given right to zap me with 50,000 volts? Never mind the effect it may have on whatever medical condition I may have, or that my pace maker may stop working, if he considers my flicking boogers in his direction, a threat, he can go ahead and kill me? (Make no mistake here, children....these things can and DO kill!!)
Am I alone in thinking these things ought to be removed from the streets?? I mean, if they're zapping people that are unarmed at a ratio of 3:1, they shouldn't even be allowed to carry the things. We, as citizens are not allowed to carry any kind of weapon with which to defend ourselves, but our police can zap US at will?? This BLOWS!

Interesting, how Ontario has had ONE taser "event", while the rest of the country seems to be absolutely "taser happy"!! Except Quebec, who's taser instructions were only in English?

[Driving Rain]

Don't have an epileptic seizure in Georgia.


In Gwinnett County, Georgia, an un-edited police videotape shows 31-year-old Deacon Frederick Williams being struck with a TASER five times in 43 seconds, just 4 minutes after being led into the jail.

He was handcuffed behind his back and in leg restraints, following an epileptic seizure at his home; an ambulance was called by his wife and son, but the police arrived first. His last words were: "Don't kill me, man. Don't kill me."
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 6772642906
Of course no charges were laid by the county DA he even refused to show this tape a police tape at that to a grand jury.
I found this tape to be very disturbing.

[Driving Rain]

Interesting, how Ontario has had ONE taser "event",

Doc that's because they are RCMP stats. The OPP and the Muni Cops love the thing just as much as the Mounties

[Doc]

Those numbers are only from the RCMP's use of tasers? Holy CRAP! It's way worse than I thought! That's just insane!