Dont Tase Me Bro! Dont Tase Me!

Taser electronic stun guns are a form of torture that can kill, a UN committee has declared after several recent deaths in North America.

“The use of these weapons causes acute pain, constituting a form of torture,” the UN’s Committee against Torture said.

“In certain cases, they can even cause death, as has been shown by reliable studies and recent real-life events,” the committee of 10 experts said.

Three men, all in their early 20s, were reported to have died in the United States this week, days after a Polish man died at the Vancouver, B.C. airport after being Tasered by Canadian police.

The man, Robert Dziekanski, 40, fell to the ground and died after the police officers piled on top of him.

There have been three deaths in Canada after the use of Tasers over the past five weeks.

The company that makes the weapons has said that similar deaths have been shown by “medical science and forensic analysis” to be “attributable to other factors and not the low-energy electrical discharge of the Taser”.

The UN committee made its comments in recommendations to Portugal, which has bought the newest Taser X26 stun gun for use by police.

Portugal “should consider giving up the use of the Taser X26,” as its use can have a grave physical and mental impact on those targeted, which violates the UN’s Convention against Torture, the experts said.

SOURCE:

• News.com.au

CHILLIWACK, BC – A B.C. man was fighting for his life in hospital Tuesday after a police confrontation involving the use of a Taser the day before.

RCMP in Chilliwack, B.C., say they used pepper spray, batons, and an electric stun gun known as a Taser to subdue a man who appeared to be acting aggressively at a rental store.

Witnesses told CTV British Columbia that the man had been driving erratically before entering the business. They add that he became extremely agitated when he learned that police had been called.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Peter German said that when police arrived on the scene, “They encountered a very aggressive individual and the members, as we are informed at this point and time, were engaged in a very difficult struggle to control this person who was combative and aggressive.”

When none of the police tactics worked, the two Mounties who initially responded had to call for back-up.

The 36-year-old man was taken to a local hospital after police subdued him. He was initially conscious and talking, but his condition worsened overnight.

The man is listed in extremely critical condition with cuts to his head.

The RCMP noted, however, it is not clear what led to the man’s current medical condition.

The Mounties have been in the middle of a public firestorm since mid-October when a Polish immigrant died after a Taser incident with police.

A video recording of the incident released last week showed that RCMP officers used a Taser on Robert Dziekanski within 30 seconds of confronting him at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14.

Although there is no evidence to suggest that either Dziekanski’s injuries or those of the man in Chilliwack were the direct result of Taser use, the Mounties noted Tuesday that they will reconsider the use of electric stun guns if research warrants.

“Should we ever be provided with any credible research or evidence that it shouldn’t be used, we would certainly be in favour of a moratorium for its use,” said Gary Bass, the RCMP Deputy Commissioner for the Pacific Region.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced on Tuesday that he will appoint Paul Kennedy — the head of the Public Complaints Against the RCMP — to review the use of Tasers by the Mounties.

SOURCE:

• CTV.ca

VANCOUVER, BC – Below is an eyewitness’ video recording of Robert Dziekanski dying after being stunned with a Taser by RCMP Police on Oct. 14 at Vancouver International Airport.

Dziekanski arrived at Vancouver International Airport as a would-be immigrant about 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 — a Saturday. Between the primary customs post and the secondary checkpoint, he went missing.

He apparently sat forlornly near the baggage carousel not understanding what he should do or where he should go until about 10:30 when he finally found his way to the second customs post.

After this second interview with border officers he was cleared to enter Canada, but remained in the secure arrivals area until about 1:15 a.m. when he became agitated.

CHICAGO – Chicago’s Police Department is investigating an officer’s use of a Taser last month on an 82-year-old woman who was swinging a hammer when police arrived.

Officials with the city’s Department on Aging went to Lillian Fletcher’s home Oct. 29 to make a welfare check, and called police when they saw Fletcher in a window swinging a hammer back and forth, police spokeswoman Monique Bond said Tuesday.

Officers arrived and in an attempt to subdue Fletcher one of them used their Taser, Bond said. The department is trying to determine if the officer violated department policy regarding the use of stun guns.

Fletcher’s granddaughter, Traci Taylor, told the Chicago Sun-Times that her grandmother suffers from schizophrenia and dementia.

“My grandmother is easily confused,” Taylor told the newspaper, adding that the elderly woman can be belligerent but is about 5 feet 1 and no more than 160 pounds.

“I just don’t think they should be Tasing 82-year-old women. That’s ridiculous,” Taylor said.

Police departments around the country have come under fire for the use of Tasers following several deaths.

The human rights group Amnesty International USA has voiced concerns that police departments are starting to use tasers more routinely rather than in cases of serious danger.

Taser use by police drew national attention recently when police stunned and arrested a University of Florida student after his fervent, videotaped outburst at an event with Sen. John Kerry in September.

SOURCE:

• Breitbart

NORTH BRADDOCK, PA – Two North Braddock police officers will not face criminal charges for allegedly Tasering a resident in his home while he was asleep.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said yesterday that the investigation by county police determined there was no criminal matter to be pursued from the July 28 incident in which police Officers Gerard Kraly and Lukas Laeuricia Tasered Shawn Hicks while he was asleep on his couch.

Mr. Zappala said the incident was referred to the FBI to review for possible civil rights violations.

According to North Braddock police, Officers Kraly and Laeuricia arrived at Mr. Hicks’ Stokes Avenue home around 2 a.m., alerted by a silent security alarm at his home. Mr. Hicks said the officers used Tasers on him after he showed them identification proving he lived in the home.

Mr. Hicks’ attorney, Joseph Williams, said his client will pursue civil action.

SOURCE:

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette