Restrict Taser use, commission urges RCMP

The RCMP should immediately begin to better control its use of Taser devices, says a report issued today by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP.

One recommendation - among 12 in the document - says Taser applications should be restricted to the ranks of corporal and above in urban environments and to constables with at least five years’ experience in rural settings.

Another recommendations calls for the designation of Tasers as an “impact weapon” and limits on use to situations in which individuals are "combative" or are posing a risk of “death or grievous bodily harm.”

The report also urges the RCMP to instruct its members to immediately seek medical attention after a subject has been “Tasered.”

The Final Report Concerning the RCMP’s Use of the Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) [Taser] follows the in-custody death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver International Airport on October14, 2007.

The 12 recommendations and an executive summary of the final report can be viewed by clicking here.

The following RCMP new release responds to the report.

************************* RCMP initial response to release of the final Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP report on RCMP use of the Conducted Energy Weapon

The RCMP welcomes the final report of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) on RCMP use of the Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW).

We are pleased to note that Mr. Kennedy supports the continued appropriate use of the CEW.

The report provides valuable information and analysis and helpful recommendations.

We will act on the recommendations as quickly as possible to provide clearer direction to our members, to further restrict situations in which the CEW can be deployed, and to develop and implement measures to enhance accountability and to promote officer and public safety.

We agree with Mr. Kennedy that the RCMP must properly instruct our members to appropriately deploy the CEW in an operational setting and account for our use of the weapon.

We have already implemented or begun implementation of much of what Mr. Kennedy has recommended.

In fact, as he noted, in some areas we have gone further than he has recommended.

The specific steps to be taken to adjust our policies and practices in response to the recommendations will need to appropriately consider the diverse and geographically dispersed communities we serve and the RCMP’s operational imperatives.

We have already committed to continue to work with the CPC as our work progresses and to provide the Minister of Public Safety and the CPC with updates as amendments are drafted and implemented to our policies and training standards.

We will continue to examine our use of force regime as further information becomes available.

We look forward to the results of further processes and research underway to examine CEW related issues.

We will also pursue discussions with the provinces and territories for which we provide police services under contract and with the broader policing community, including through the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

Our objective is to achieve agreement on a National Use of Force framework that may be endorsed by police forces across the country.

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