Taser use to continue in Manitoba

Manitoba has no plans to stop using Tasers in the wake of the death of a Polish immigrant who was shocked by an RCMP Taser last month at the Vancouver International Airport.

Justice Minister Dave Chomiak said it's too early to draw conclusions about the incident, which returned to the spotlight Wednesdayafter an eyewitness's video recording was released to the public.

Chomiak said he did not think the video told the whole story, and a moratorium on the use of the devices would rob police of a useful tool.

"When you look at the alternatives to Tasers, you're faced with a situation of often lethal force or Tasers, and I think the conclusion… of both the RCMP and municipal police forces has been that the option of Tasers is a more viable option," he said.

Chomiak said Manitoba's police services have not indicated to the Justice Department that they would like a review of the use of Tasers, and he is leaving it to them to do so.

Taser used on more than 150 Manitobans

Mounties in Manitoba have used Tasers since 2001.

RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Line Karpish said officers receive two days of training on the weapons, and they are issued to detachments, not to individual officers.It is up to officers to determine when they should be used, she said.

"Since they've been introduced, they have been widely used," she said."Lives have been saved in critical incidents where a higher degree of force may have been required."

Winnipeg police have used Tasers about 150 times since their introduction in the fall of 2006, said Coun. Gord Steeves, chair of the Winnipeg's protection committee.

"As a result of recent events, we have reviewed all of our situations of use," Steeves said.

"Obviously, they have a physical effect when you use them, but we don't have any evidence that shows someone's been harmed physically long-term or even medium-term by the use of Tasers."

Winnipeg police officers most often use Tasers when a person must be subdued but there is no significant risk to life, Steeves said.

Manitoba's Law Enforcement Review Agency, which investigates complaints against on-duty police officers in the province, received one complaint in 2006 and seven so far in 2007 about the use of Tasers.

'Lethal consequences' possible: lawyer

Winnipeg defence lawyer Greg Brodsky said he's worried police do not realize the damage Tasers can cause.

"People using Taser guns think of them the same way they do as mace or some debilitating thing, and don't appreciate the lethal consequences," he said.

"You don't assume when you mace somebody that they're going to have any permanent injury, so you're not as careful. And people don't appreciate that potentially the Taser gun is not just stunning people, it… can kill them."

In light of the Vancouver death, Brodsky hopes police forces will make changes to the amount of voltage Tasers use or the guidelines for deploying them.