We have ways of making you talk

The Toronto Star reports that the officer involved here has pleaded guilty to uttering threats. How about armed assault? Abuse of authority? People swept up by the Toronto Police at the G8/G20 were charged with more serious crimes for a whole lot less. If soap bubbles can be considered assault, then how is this revolting threat of torture with a deadly weapon not aggravated assault?
We keep being told that Tasers are supposed to be a non-lethal alternative to guns, but again and again, we see stories of them being used as compliance weapons or torture tools.
As for the officer in question, he will be sentenced in June. Until then, he is on paid suspension and departmental disciplinary measures will not be decided until after the sentencing. As far as I'm concerned, the conviction should see him automatically dismissed from the police force and barred from doing any kind of security work.
The one bright spot I see in this case is that this gross misconduct came to light because another officer who was reviewing the in-car videos on another matter reported the offending officer to the department's professional standards branch, which handed the file over to the courts. Its about time the police started putting professional standards and proper respect for the law ahead of the unofficial thin-blue-line omerta that allows so much abuse to go on.
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When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout

Two thoughts on this video clip:

First, I see this kind of behavior every week. At my office, where some people need to work on their interpersonal skills and at the pool where I take my kids for swimming lessons, there is a bank of vending machines that sell canned coffee and soft drinks, bottles of cold green tea, water, sports drinks and, everyone's favorite -- ice cream. The room is stuffy and overheated and I'm there for a couple of hours along with all the other parents and the little brothers and sisters of the kids who are in the pool. I take my ipod and sit facing the ice cream machine and watch a succession of toddlers completely and utterly misplace their feces (occasionally this literally happens, but the diaper-throwing story is one for another day). I'm talking about two-, three- and four-year-old kids who see the ice cream machine and upon being denied a frosty treat, go straight to defcon 5 and launch the mother of all tantrums.

The duration record so far this year is held by a three-year-old girl who, being told she could not have a second ice cream, launched into a 35-minute fit of floor-pounding, screeching, purple-faced rage that culminated in running across the room and repeatedly kicking her mother (the kid, not me) before actually falling asleep/passing out from lack of air mid tantrum.

The intensity record was set by a three-year old boy who after jumping up and down hollering for a few minutes, ran straight into a concrete pillar in the center of the room and bloodied his nose, which seemed to calm him down a bit.

For the record, my kids, while they might occasionally whine, never threw tantrums when they were little. In fact, with one notable exception when I had to take my son outside and explain that no, he could not go to karaoke in the bar adjoining the restaurant and crying at the table wasn't going to get him anywhere, they have always been extremely well behaved where ever we go.

Second, the woman in the video is in the airport in Hong Kong. Its a good thing she's in a country that respects human rights as much as China. Imagine what might have happened if she had carried on like this in certain other places.

crossposted from the Woodshed

I guess the RCMP now has a "OO" section

This outrageous ruling just gave the mounties the licence to kill anyone who loses their temper, no questions asked. It's funny no one ever dies of hysteria when the cops aren't involved. I have family friends who are in the RCMP - I don't think of them as killers, but these four don't pause for an instant to try to calm the man, they just kill him. 

Watch the whole video--I insist--and tell me this guy deserved to die or that the police acted in a reasonable way. He had been there for TEN HOURS, couldn't read the signs to figure out where he was supposed to go to get out to the arrivals lobby and he DIED FOR IT!

I hope someday these officers, the judge and crown attorney involved travel to some far off foreign land, say China or Pakistan or even, oh I dunno, Poland  -- and get lost in the airport for hours and hours and what with the jet lag and the lack of sleep and the confusion and frustration and the fact that no one seems to speak English, I hope they finally throw down their suitcases and just lose it and start shouting. I hope it doesn't cost them their lives because they deserve to live a long, long time with that poor bastard's needless death haunting their conscience every waking moment.

The four horsemen arrive at 6:12, at 6:40 they taser Robert Dziekanski, for the first time. By about 9:30 he seems to be dead, and the Mounties never even try artificial resuscitation, in fact they don't even seem to be in any rush to try to get medical help for the man they have just murdered.

Shock first and ask questions later

Imagine you're a small town cop in the heartland of America. You're responding to a report about a teen walking on the expressway overpass - a driver was worried the kid might get hit by a car or something. You arrive to find the 16-year-old lying on the shoulder of the highway 30 feet below the overpass. Do you:


1. Call an ambulance
2. Render first aid
3. Order him to get up and taser him 19 times when he fails to comply because its hard to stand up with a broken spine.



Seriously, what kind of IQ/psychiatric screening process does one have to fail to be issued a taser as a cop these days? I'm sure the big strong cops with their nightsticks, pepper spray, heavy flashlights, pistols and body armor (and likely a trunk full of rifles and shotguns) were scared that the teenager might have been on drugs or something since he was raving incoherently- as you might if you fell off a bridge and broke your back - but surely it would have occurred to most people after the second or third jolt that something was amiss with the young miscreant

Remember not to lose your temper in an airport, or question the authority of a campus cop, or fail to spring to attention when ordered to do so by someone in uniform, or be a loud drunk, or the wrong color..... for a whole round up you can look here or check out some of the bloggers addressing the misuse of Tomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle today.

Hat tips to the General and Corrente and Pam's House Blend

Crossposted from The Woodshed

Another death; another TASER shot; and a note to CNN

Dear CNN: (Note the very professional colon)

Thanks for the link. (I'm sure it has expired by now). No, we are not the Best Canadian Blog. You're thinking of a recipe blog that also deals with airbrush art, baking gopher guts cookies and pisses their pants at the sight of anyone who has more than a Saskatoon suntan.

We, like other blogs in our little community, just write a lot of stuff. We try to be accurate, although, because we're a blog (and not a news outlet) our personal biases are not only permissible, but expected.

Which brings me to this in your 18 November 2007 report (which will be duly repeated and linked to for our readers after the break).

In reference to the death of Mr. Robert Dziekanski, you said this:

Last week, an airport security officer in Vancouver International Airport in Canada used a Taser device on a distraught 40-year-old man on his first airplane trip outside Poland. He died.

No. Despite the fact you have the "died" part right, you have made a few serious errors.

It didn't happen last week. The incident actually occurred on October 14th, 2007. Last week was when you first saw the video tape of the incident. It might have been worth noting in your report that the rightful owner of the video tape had to threaten legal action to get his tape back from the authorities. They wanted to keep it. So, it was a month after the event that you finally saw the incident on your screens.

It was not an airport security officer who shot the TASER. It was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who attended with three other members from the Richmond, British Columbia RCMP detachment - that city's police force. There is a considerable difference.

You then went on to quote the same press release from TASER International which I commented on here. In doing that, you gave TASER International the final word on their product without so much as a cursory fact check. It took me less than two minutes on an internet search to come up with information which not only contradicted the contents of that press release, but came up with other information which proves TASER International knows their weapon can cause death.

Do you pay your reporters? I mean, like, cash money?

So, I'm going to quote and link to your story, but I am going to attach a caveat: the accuracy, because of the source, may be in question.

-----------

Another TASER shot; Another Death

CNN is reporting that another man has died in police custody and that a TASER was used to subdue him.

A 20-year-old man died Sunday after being shot with a Taser device during a scuffle with a sheriff's deputy in Maryland, a spokeswoman for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said. Amnesty International blames dozens of deaths on police use of stun guns.

Cpl. Jennifer Bailey said deputies responding to a report of a fight in progress arrived at the location in Frederick, Maryland, just before 5 a.m. ET and found four people fighting.

A deputy used a Taser device on one of the men, who fell unconscious, Bailey said.

The man was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity was not immediately released, pending the notification of his family.

That's not enough information to form the basis for much, however, the way the report was written by CNN, quoting TASER International, the man was probably suffering, (in the middle of a brawl), from "Excited Delirium" (a condition not acknowledged by medical professionals) and was going to die anyway.

TASER International is outraged! OUTRAGED, I tell you!

TASER International has issued a press release in which they describe the actions they propose to take after the "irresponsible" press coverage received when one of their devices was clearly seen to be involved in an incident which resulted in the death of Robert Dziekanski. Some highlights:

This tragic incident appears to follow the pattern of many in-custody deaths or deaths following a confrontation with police. Historically, medical science and forensic analysis has shown that these deaths are attributable to other factors and not the low-energy electrical discharge of the TASER(r). Specifically in Canada, while previous incidents were widely reported in the media as 'TASER deaths,' the role of the TASER device has been cleared in every case to date -- including the widely publicized Bagnell in-custody death in Vancouver where the TASER device was cleared by an inquest jury.

That's nice. No such medical finding has been reached in this case so the statement to this point is non sequitur. TASER International does not know that their device was not responsible for the death of Robert Dziekansi, no more than I can know that it was. The history lesson they offer is pointless... and it appears flawed.

Cardiac arrest caused by electrical current is immediate. The video of the incident at the Vancouver airport indicates that the subject was continuing to fight well after the TASER application. This continuing struggle could not be possible if the subject died as a result of the TASER device electrical current causing cardiac arrest. His continuing struggle is proof that the TASER device was not the cause of his death.

That's not true.

Depending on the model, TASER delivers a high voltage charge at 18 amps in 10 microsecond pulses at 10 pulses per second. While that cycle is less than the 60 Hz found in household alternating current, the amperage and voltage are exceedingly high. TASER is counting on the low cycle rate to prevent it becoming lethal. However, a person with any cardiac, respiratory or neurological disorder will succumb to less than 60 Hz due to an interruption of an already weakened system.

But beyond that, the statement by TASER International appears to be absolute and such an absolute does not exist. People have been shocked by both AC and DC which caused immediate cardiac response but not total cardiac arrest. Someone receiving an electric shock can go into ventricular fibrillation which would then lead to a cardiac arrest. The person could still struggle before a cardiac arrest occurred. Further, many people have been struck by lightning, suffered a cardiac arrest, had a spontaneous restart of the cardiac function and then died later from a second cardiac arrest. So, the statement that Robert Dziekansi's ability to struggle proves that the TASER shots did not create a cardiac (or respiratory) problem because of the continued struggle is not accurate and is not proven.

Further, the video clearly shows symptoms of excited delirium, a potentially fatal condition marked by symptoms of exhaustion and mania such as heavy breathing, profuse sweating, confusion, disorientation and violence toward inanimate objects.

I knew this one was coming. "Excited Delirium" is a law enforcement construct. The only time the "condition" shows up is when someone dies in police custody. It is never used in other institutions such as hospitals and psychiatric care facilities. In fact, the "condition" does not exist in the eyes of the medical community. If it did it would show up in this publication as a mental disorder or this publication as medical disorder. Go ahead and look. You won't find it. In fact, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders would probably list it if there was any evidence to support its existence.

The overall driving force in the decision to include or exclude a potential diagnosis from the DSM is the availability of scientific data.

Which would suggest that there is insufficient or no scientific data to support the existence of excited delirium as a disorder causing death. TASER International is making an unqualified diagnosis of a condition that has no support from the medical community.

TASER International is transmitting over 60 legal demand letters requiring correction of these false and misleading headlines and will take other actions as appropriate. These unsubstantiated, false headlines mislead the public and could adversely influence public policy in ways which could place the lives of both law enforcement and the public at greater risk," concluded Tom Smith, Founder and Chairman of the Board of TASER International, Inc.

Gee Tom, now you're going to contribute to writer's cramp and carpal tunnel syndrome. Needlessly from the looks of it because you've already got a few "public policy" problems. It would seem this event and its global release comes right in the middle of a US Justice Department review of deaths involving TASERs and other stun weapons.

The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the deaths of up to 180 people who died after law enforcement officers used stun guns or other electro-shock devices to subdue them.

"These deaths raise a question in our mind that should be examined," said Glenn Schmitt, acting director of the department's National Institute of Justice. He said the review will initially focus on 30 deaths, including one from two decades ago.

Most of the deaths occurred within the past four years, corresponding with the mass deployment of stun guns to police departments throughout the country. A number of departments have re-evaluated their use of the weapons because of the fatal incidents.

Now, before old Tom there starts to wail that this was brought about by the bad press TASERs are receiving because of the Dziekansi incident, understand that the US DOJ review was initiated in June 2006 and a report is expected in 2008. At the time the review was started, TASER International was named in 49 law suits alleging either wrongful death or personal injury. In fact, it was law enforcement agencies who asked DOJ to conduct the review after an increased number of deaths occurred when stun guns were employed.

No. That's not all. It seems that TASER International knows their weapons possess a lethal capacity.

Taser International, which makes weapons that fire up to 50,000 volts and are used to incapacitate a person, also said it would no longer claim in its consumer literature that its guns "left no lasting effects".

The voluntary concessions come after the attorney general of Arizona, where Taser is based, launched an investigation earlier this year into claims made by the firm about safety studies carried out on its products. It is among nearly two dozen states that have started action against Taser products in recent months.

And the kicker. (Emphasis mine)

Mr Smith also said that Taser uses the term "non-lethal" as defined by the US Department of Defence - which does not mean the weapon cannot cause death, but that it is not intended to be fatal.

Other changes include substituting the phrase "leave no lasting after-effects" to "are more effective and safer than other use-of-force options".

So TASER International used a US Department of Defense definition for a product in a non-military application. After being seriously harangued by various states, including the one their head office is lodged in, they admit that the weapon can cause death.

There is another little bit of information which should cause those who attend rallies, protest marches and other such events to take note. The tear gas used to disburse crowds is actually CS gas, an irritant. Although described as non-persistent, I can tell you from personal experience in training that it stays on your clothing and skin for some time. So this bit of British research could be something to keep in mind.

Government researchers have discovered that, if the suspect has been in contact with CS gas - a chemical irritant used to incapacitate - there is a 'serious risk' the person will catch fire when a taser is used. The flaw is particularly significant, police sources have told The Observer, because officers would normally be required to use CS gas to resolve a situation before employing a more extreme device such as a taser.

A Home Office investigation into the safety of 'less-lethal' weapons fired the taser at mannequins covered in CS gas. In two of seven tests, they caught fire. 'In both cases, the flames produced were severe and engulfed the entire top half of the mannequin,' says its report, 'Less Lethal Technologies - Initial Prioritisation and Evaluation'.

Isn't that special. Smith doesn't mention that anywhere on his website. And he certainly didn't mention it in the bullshit spewed out in his press release.

Welcome to Canada : We speak English, French, and Taser

And no, we are not even remotely close to being done with this yet.

Daev at Designated Protest Zone gives such a good synopsis of the state-sponsored execution of Robert Dziekanski that I'm just going to pillage the whole thing :

"The terminal was basically empty, the man never posed any sort of danger to anyone (least of all four armed cops), the police readied their tasers before entering the area near Mr. Dziekanski and assessing the situation, addressed Dziekanski only in English after they had been told he did not speak the language, tasered him at least twice (the second time after they climbed on top
of him) even after Dziekanski appeared relieved at the officers' intial appearance, applied their full body weight to Dziekanski's midsection (which can be deadly after being tasered due to respiratory muscle paralysis), and then made no attempt to revive him beyond checking for a pulse after he went totally limp.

No thanks for the Vancouver International Airport for treating Dziekanski like some sort of caged animal for 10 hours and offering zero assistance."

And even with 8 minutes of video evidence, the RCMP have the unmitigated gall to trot this out:

"What I urge is that those watching the video, take note of that. Put what they've seen aside for the time being. And wait to hear the totality of the evidence at the time of the inquest," Carr said."

Daev ends with this biting bitter quote from Cartman at EnMasse :

"Fuck this shit. The police killed a guy because he was emotional and was breaking STUFF. They can take it out of his airport improvement fee."

Update : HOLY SHIT
From Tim in comments at creekside and Neil here :
Introducing the TASER XREP, a projectile taser with a range of 100 feet that fires from a 12-gauge shotgun.
A "microprocessor controlled optimal electrode selection technology" checks 20 times a second for the best electrode connection to achieve the greatest incapacitation. It is expected that the victim will grab at it which closes another connection to prevent him/her from letting go and shocking the victim further.
100 feet? 100 feet! That's crowd control.
Cross-posted at Creekside