Tasers potentially lethal, RCMP head tells MPs

A revised RCMP policy that restricts how officers can use Tasers recognizes the stun guns can cause death, especially when fired on "acutely agitated" individuals, the head of the Mounties said Thursday.

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott told a House of Commons public safety committee in Ottawa that the force introduced the policy on conductive energy weapons, or CEWs, to officers in June 2008.

"The RCMP's revised CEW policy underscores that there are risks associated with the deployment of the device and emphasizes that those risks include the risk of death, particularly for acutely agitated individuals," Elliott told the committee.

Under the amended policy, an officer is only permitted to use a stun gun if he or she is in physical danger or the public is in danger.

It means Mounties can no longer shock people who are simply "actively resistant" to officers' orders, the commissioner said.

"We've now made it very clear that the only time the use of a Taser can be justified is where there is a threat, either to our officers or members of the public," he told reporters after his appearance before the committee.

The RCMP has more than 1,100 Tasers in use by more than 3,000 officers. In the wake of several high-profile incidents involving Tasers, critics and the RCMP's civilian watchdog accused the Mounties of relying on the weapons too much in policing and firing them on people who pose no threat.

Arizona-based Taser International, which makes virtually all the stun guns currently being used by police forces, has said its products — which are intended to incapacitate people with an electric shock — have a higher safety margin than Tylenol.

Elliott told reporters Thursday that stun guns are a "serious use of force," but added he believes the weapons are "far, far less lethal and far, far less dangerous" than conventional firearms, based on the experience of his force, other police agencies and available scientific data.

"I do not think there is any evidence that Tasers kill but certainly we have had some incidents where shortly after a Taser was deployed individuals died," Elliott said, "and certainly there is a distinct possibility that the deployment of the Taser and the experience generally contributed to the individual's death."

The Mounties haven't spoken to the supplier about what the force's policy should be, he said.

In January, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, a civilian oversight body, announced it would investigate every case in which a person died after being jolted by an RCMP Taser.

Paul Kennedy, the commission's head, said the probe would cover about 10 deaths, but the exact number of cases to be examined had yet to be determined because the commission lacked a precise count.

Change brought in last year, commissioner says

Elliott dismissed suggestions by members of the committee that the force had delayed informing politicians and the public about the new policy.

"I think that the media certainly has been advised on numerous occasions over the last several months with respect to the changes that we were adopting," he said.

He noted Parliament has been suspended twice since the policy was introduced, preventing him from briefing MPs on the changes.

"There was no committee for us to provide the update to," he said.

The old policy instructed police to follow the standard use-of-force framework, which outlines when certain approaches are warranted. In the past, RCMP officials have said the policy meant an officer could use his or her own discretion to decide when to deploy a Taser.

"I certainly think that there are incidents that, if they occurred today, a Taser will not be used, where if they occurred some months ago, a Taser would be used," Elliott said.

No cause for concern, MPs told

Elliott also said 60 RCMP stun guns have been tested since the CBC and Radio-Canada reported in December that an independent test of Tasers manufactured before 2005 found some of the devices produced a higher level of electricity than the manufacturer promises.

Of the 41 Tasers tested by a U.S. laboratory commissioned by the broadcasters, four delivered significantly more current than Taser International says is possible. In some cases, the current was as much as 50 per cent stronger than specified on the devices.

Elliott said the force's own independent tests have so far turned up no cause for concern, but he would keep MPs informed as testing continued.

In response to the CBC/Radio-Canada report, Taser International said the U.S. laboratory tests commissioned by the broadcasters are "flawed."

The Canadian Medical Association has raised concerns in the past about police departments relying on the manufacturer's claims of safety, and has called on police departments to open their databases to researchers.  

'It's a dangerous world out there'

RCMP officers are still required to report each stun gun firing or threat to fire, as well as to justify the use as a reasonable and necessary response to a threat to an officer or to public safety, he noted. 

The force is committed to submitting quarterly and annual reports on Taser use incidents, the commissioner said.

The commissioner also said officers will now refresh stun gun training each year instead of every two years, but the RCMP did not adopt the all-party committee's call to reclassify the stun gun as an impact weapon.

Elliott said that's because it's already considered a prohibited firearm with clear policy restrictions for its use. He said the contentious weapons save lives.

"It's a dangerous world out there, and our officers are called upon to respond to situations involving threat with alarming regularity," he said.

Police use of Tasers has generated intense public concern after Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died at Vancouver International Airport more than a year ago. An RCMP officer shot him with a Taser shortly before his death.

British Columbia called an inquiry that has also been looking at the use of Tasers and the circumstances surrounding Dziekanski's death.