I am writing this letter to express my concerns regarding
the increasing reports of misuse of the taser weapon in a
growing number of policing services within Canada.
This weapon is intimidating, cruel, capable of inflicting
torturous pain and is potentially lethal.
For those who disagree with the assertion the taser is deadly,
dispute this with the families of the victims who have
mysteriously died shortly after being tasered.
Unless anyone of these victims was a direct and imminent threat
to the life of a police officer, none of their alleged offences
deserved a circumvention of their Canadian and human rights
resulting in either cruel and unusual punishment or the risk of
termination of their lives.
A growing number of reports are indicating that the taser is
increasingly being used as a "weapon to threaten" and a "pain
compliance tool" within our citizenry, while often ignoring
other safer, less harmful and dignified methods of intervention
or apprehension.
Unfortunately, this is a position we are quickly finding
ourselves in and is certainly inconsistent with Canadian values
and United Nations standards.
I do recognize our police officers often place their lives at
risk when dealing with truly dangerous situations. I completely
support the use of firearms as their ultimate defence in
the event their lives are directly threatened.
However, since the issuance of the taser as an alternative to
their firearm, documented reports and resultant lawsuits are
now clearly indicating its alleged indiscriminate misuse
including torture, cruelty, degradation and electrocution of
ordinary citizens.
Being educated in the electrical engineering field, I am well
versed on the dangers of electricity and how differently it
affects every person who comes into contact with it. Electrical
current flows through every individual differently as each one
of us has a different "resistance" to the flow of electrical
current. The location on the body and how the shock is applied,
often determines why some survive electrocution and others die.
A dose of electricity may paralyze the respiratory organs and
damage the central nervous system in even the healthiest of
victims.
The immediate or eventual cause of death, however, is usually
an interruption of heart action. This potential for lethal
damage is exacerbated when the victim has a pre-existing
medical or respiratory condition.
According to the Canada Safety Council, "Even a relatively
small shock can cause cardiac arrest in someone with a weak
heart."
Make no mistake; if you are being "tasered", you are being
exposed to "electricity" with 415 times the electrical force of
your typical 120-volt GFCI household electrical outlet.
Tasering is intense "electric shock." Any form of non-medically
controlled and administered electrical shock always has the
real potential for electrocution.
To put it into perspective, the GFCI protected electrical
outlets that we all have in our homes is deemed necessary by
our government regulated Canadian Electrical Code in order to
prevent any possibility of electrocution and damage to the
human body. These "ground fault circuit interrupter" devices
are designed to stop the flow of electrical current at a
threshold of five milli-amps at 120-volts of electricity. They
work very well and protect us from electrical shock, and as
such are the law.
Yet, other government agencies we employ to "serve and protect"
are given the right to legally impale the flesh of another
human being with a device that delivers an excruciating 50,000
volts (415 times higher) and 150 milli-amps (30 times higher)
of dangerous electrical current.
The taser's original justification was accepted by the public
under the premise that it was to be used as a "last alternative
non-lethal option" to the police revolver. In many
jurisdictions this is obviously no longer the case as they have
escalated taser use way beyond its original intent with plans
to further equip more officers, thus increasing the risk of
it's misuse within the general public.
The taser is frequently being misapplied and as such,
shortcutting accepted "continuum of force" guidelines for
routine interventions. And since it's a potentially lethal
weapon, contrary to what the so-called manufacturer's sponsored
experts will have you believe, it is now playing a part in both
unnecessary "cruelty to humans" and a contributing role in
taking the lives of our fellow Canadians who might otherwise be
alive today.
This weapon, if used only as a substitute to deadly force,
could be an acceptable alternative choice as originally
intended, but it's obvious well documented misuse poses far too
many risks to the public's health, dignity and life and as such
should be banned until independent thorough studies have been
completed.
According to the international standards set out under the
United Nations code of conduct for law enforcement officials
and the basic principles on the use of force and firearms by
law enforcement officials, force should only be used as a last
resort and that officers must apply only the minimum amount of
force necessary to obtain a lawful objective.
Increasingly, Amnesty International reports are showing the
misuse of tasers being used to secure compliance in routine
arrest and non-life threatening situations, including use
against persons not actively resisting arrest, and against
non-violent protestors.
In a number of these cases, the treatment by police officers is
in clear violation of international standards prohibiting
torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. How many
more people need to be mistreated worse than animals, to such
cruel, inhuman, invasive and punitive treatment for the sake of
expedient compliance?
How many more lives unnecessarily need to be lost before we
wake up and accept the fact that the so-called non-lethal
tasers are directly or indirectly mysteriously killing our
fellow human beings?
G. Fleury
Sudbury
