Ontario man dies after being hit by Taser

by Barry Artiste | June 23, 2008 at 07:43 pm

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Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor
A report released recently about the R.C.M.P. recommended officers with less than 5 years experience should not be given a taser. One assumes the Ontario Provincial Police are not interested in following these recommendations. But then who knows the whole story when one is a combatant and the other is trying to stop a situation obviously out of control.

An Ontario man is dead after Ontario Provincial Police used a Taser after they said the man became combative and disturbed others.

The OPP said the incident happened at about 10:30 a.m. Monday after police responded to a call of a disturbance in Norfolk County, about 130 kilometres southwest of Toronto.

The Taser incident reportedly happened at the beach hamlet of Turkey Point, which is a three-kilometre long sandy beach onlake Erie popular for fishing and hiking. The hamlet is home to very few year-round residents.

"During the encounter police deployed a conducted energy weapon," provincial police said in a statement Monday.

Officers said ambulance personnel attended the scene and the man was taken into police custody. He was then transported to the Norfolk County OPP detachment, where he collapsed.

Officers said they administered first aid until the ambulance arrived.