Stun guns linked to two deaths in four days

A 40-year-old Polish construction worker, on the first flight of his life, agitated by a misunderstanding, lay dead hours after arriving at Vancouver International Airport. He had set off more than a day earlier from a tiny Polish village, excited to see his mother. The tragedy has touched off a national furor over the causes of his death. Canadian policing authorities are under growing fire for use of Tasers after what critics say were two unnecessary and preventable deaths in Canada that came just days apart. Tasers, also called "stun guns," are handheld devices that deliver a jolt of electricity up to 50,000 volts. Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski was Tasered within 24 seconds of being confronted by police in the early morning hours of Oct. 14 at the Vancouver International Airport, according to witnesses. He had grown agitated while waiting for his mother for 10 hours at a baggage carousel. Dziekanski had never been on an airplane before and did not know that he needed to leave the secure area and go to the arrivals area to meet his mother. After Dziekanski reportedly went into a fit of rage, police were called to the scene. A cell phone video shot by a bystander was seized by the police and is now the subject of a legal case to have it made available to the public. On Friday, a Mounties spokesperson said the video would be returned, although the bystander, Paul Pritchard, says he will continue to pursue it in the courts. A toxicology report showed that Dziekanski had no drugs or alcohol in his system when he stopped breathing and died shortly after the confrontation with police, the family's lawyer says. There have been 17 deaths in Canada since 2003 and more than 50 in North America from Taser use by law enforcement authorities. Police argue that Tasers give officers the option of not using deadly force, such as a gun. "It's a vexing issue for society in general. Police use them for the most part without fatalities and argue that they are an important area of the use-of-force spectrum. There are certain circumstances where they could make the public safer by not having to resort to a gun," said Murray Mollard of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. "The question is what are the kinds of scenarios that they are being used right now and what is the training provided? The Taser is used more often than guns and there is a real worry that Tasers are reverted to too quickly on the part of officers. We have taken the position that there should be a moratorium on their use because of the deaths and risks associated with them." Other options available include pepper spray, negotiation or non-lethal physical force. Taser International, the US company that manufactures the weapons, argues on its website that, "Independent medical and scientific experts have determined Taser devices to be among the safest use-of-force options available." The company argues that over 100,000 police officers have volunteered to take hits from the Taser without any deaths. Studies, however, have concluded that Tasers can increase the risk of cardiac arrest for people with heart conditions. Quilem Registre, an intoxicated Quebec man who was stopped for a traffic violation on Oct. 14, died three days after being repeatedly Tasered. The investigation into his case is still pending. RCMP Staff Sergeant Peter Sherstan told the CBC that, "The RCMP's position is that Tasers are a less-lethal alternative. There are still risks. There could be a situation where a person hit with a Taser could fall and hit his head. But we have to balance that out. We have several cases where if Tasers weren't present, guns would have been the alternative." For the third quarter of 2007, revenues for Taser International were $28.5 million, the second consecutive quarter of record revenues and a 56 percent increase over the same quarter of the prior year, according to a company press release. Fifteen percent of Taser International's business is outside of the United States. A 2004 study by Amnesty International found that, "Tasers have been described by many police departments as 'filling a niche' on the force scale. However, Amnesty International is concerned that deployment of Tasers, rather than minimizing the use of force, may dangerously extend the boundaries of what are considered 'acceptable' levels of force." Amnesty says that there may be limited circumstances under which Tasers might be considered an alternative to deadly force, but that evidence suggests that measures such as stricter controls and training on the use of force and firearms can be more effective in reducing unnecessary deaths or injuries. In the report, Amnesty International also reiterated its call on federal, state and local authorities and law enforcement agencies to "suspend all transfers and use of electro-shock weapons, pending an urgent rigorous, independent and impartial inquiry into their use and effects." There is currently a coroner's inquest being held in to the death of Robert Dziekanski. The Polish embassy has been pressing the Canadian government to be more forthcoming with information.