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Mounties Curbing Taser Use After Deaths Of 3 People

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The Associated Press

Published: December 15, 2007

TORONTO - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Friday that it will restrict its use of Taser stun guns in response to a watchdog agency report that officers were firing them too often.

Three people have died recently in Canada after being shocked by Tasers.

The police force said it will more clearly define the type of behavior that would prompt an officer to use a Taser, limiting it to situations in which "a subject is displaying combative behaviors or is being actively resistant."

The previous policy allowed officers to use a Taser when a person's behavior was deemed threatening.

"The RCMP recognizes the need to take action on the issues raised in the report and is committed to making immediate improvements in a number of areas," RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said.

The police use of Tasers came under review after the three recent deaths.

Robert Dziekanski died Oct. 14 after police zapped him with a stun gun. Police said they used the Taser after he began acting erratically at an airport.

Last month, a 36-year-old British Columbia resident died four days after the province's police used a Taser on him because, they said, he was acting erratically in a store.

A Nova Scotia man died the same week, 30 hours after being shocked with the Taser by Halifax police at a jail where he was being held on assault charges. Police said he became violent as he was being booked and tried to bolt.

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