There has been two taser deaths recently in Canada. Blogger wmtc has more.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has issued a call for a moratorium on Taser use:
Friday, October 19, 2007 – Amnesty International called yesterday for a moratorium on the use of Tasers following the second Taser death in Canada this week.
Quilem Registre, 39, died in Montreal yesterday.
He was Tasered on Sunday, the same day that Robert Dziekanski, 40, was Tasered at Vancouver International Airport, where he died a few minutes later.
The two deaths bring to 17 the number of people who have died in Canada after being shocked with a Taser. In many cases the men had illegal drugs in their systems, and pepper spray or other restraints were used as well as the Taser. “The events this week really show a necessity for a comprehensive understanding of this weapon,” said Amnesty spokesman John Tackaberry.
He said Amnesty wants use of the weapon suspended “until there are adequate comprehensive studies that deal with all of the aspects of the physical and medical impacts.”
Quebec’s Public Security Department yesterday asked a working group studying the use of Tasers to move up the presentation of its report, originally due in December.
The RCMP Public Complaints Commission asked in 2006 for a comprehensive report on police use of Tasers, citing concerns over how the 50,000-volt device is used.
“In our annual report we reported about the use of Tasers and our concerns about its appropriate use,” said commission spokesman Nelson Kalil. He cited concerns Tasers may be used to prod people along rather than when officers are at risk.
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said yesterday the RCMP and Canadian Police Association are reviewing the use of Tasers.
Day said that since their introduction in 2001, Tasers have been used by the RCMP about 4,000 times, and at least as many times by other police forces in Canada.
Some related links:
In the U.S.
In the U.K.
In New-Zealand. Their site is currently being updated though.
A very disturbing video
Taser deaths – enjoy your police state!
Speaking of tasers
Tasered while asleep
Deadly Dudley
Painful videos from Getting It Right
Go
Police! Police! Can’t you help me?
More Taser-related deaths … within days of each other!
More links from Buckdog
Video not Taser creates inquiry
Tasers kill but do they actually save lives?
UN Committee: Taser guns torture and kill
This is an issue that should worry many if not most of us. People with mental illnesses, those suffering from epilepsy, men suffering from “rage attacks” [now diagnosed as "Intermittent Explosive Disorder" or IED that incidentally may be linked to heart diseases] are particularly vulnerable. Pregnant women and children do not seem to be immune to being tasered either. I shall keep this post active in the front page. Do feel free to add links to any relevant document in the comment section.
