Tasers can be lethal, pathologist testifies

Tasers can be lethal but they are also used hundreds of times a day without killing anyone, a forensic pathologist testified Tuesday at a public inquiry in Vancouver looking into use of the weapons.

It is difficult to make a direct connection between a Taser and a cause of death, but there is no question the weapon can be a contributing factor in a sudden death, Dr. John Butt testified.

The weapon is deployed about 600 times a day in North America without such consequences, Butt said.

The Braidwood inquiry is looking into the use of Tasers following the death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant, at Vancouver International Airport last fall.