Canadian Senator Calls for Moratorium on RCMP Taser Use

A moratorium on Taser use by the RCMP should be imposed until everyone is assured that officers issued the weapons are properly trained, says Sen. Colin Kenny.

The appropriate time to use them "is ... when someone is threatened or someone is in danger," the chair of the Senate defence and national security committee told Canada AM on Tuesday.

Kenny said police may wish to consider a different type of Taser.

"There are Tasers that actually record a picture of what the Taser's aiming at, and they record it on a little tape and they record the sound."

This would make the officer think twice before using the Taser and would give a reviewing officer a record of what happened, he said.

Kenny said he was speaking in general terms and not specifically about the case of Robert Dziekanski, the Polish immigrant who died following a confrontation with police at Vancouver International Airport in the early-morning hours of Oct. 14.

Based on the findings of the review, the CBSA is taking immediate action on the following recommendations:

 
   1. The CBSA, along with other partners such as the Vancouver Airport Authority, will review procedures on services provided for international travellers and those waiting to meet them. 

   2. The CBSA will update its list of employees who can speak languages other than English and French. The CBSA will also review its interpreter services to make sure that the services are provided as quickly as possible. 

   3. More cameras will be installed to provide an expanded coverage of the CBSA’s area at Vancouver International Airport. 

   4. The Agency will explore options to have more patrols and security checks within the CBSA’s area.

   5. The CBSA will review its procedure to ensure that all persons referred for further examinations report to the secondary examination areas within a reasonable amount of time.

After initially co-operating with Burnside jail staff last Thursday morning, Howard Hyde struggled with guards twice in the minutes leading up to his death, say correctional officials.

 
On Monday, a Justice Department official released findings of an internal review into how staff at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility handled Mr. Hyde, who was pronounced dead at Dartmouth General Hospital shortly after the second struggle.

 
The 45-year-old had been Tasered 30 hours earlier by Halifax Regional Police during a struggle at police headquarters on Gottingen Street, where he had been taken to be booked for assault.