Police use Taser on man outside event attended by Gov. Gen.
Last Updated: Friday, January 25, 2008 | 2:44 PM PT
CBC News
Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean got a dose of reality on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Thursday night when police used a Taser gun on a man outside the venue where she was attending a function.
Vancouver police surround a man who was stunned with a Taser Thursday night.
(CBC)
Jean was the guest speaker at a forum on urban arts in a gallery on East Hastings Street.
While the forum was going on inside, a man outside on the street in front of the gallery was stunned by a police Taser after he got aggressive with police officers, Acting Sgt. Steve Watters told CBC News.
Officers were trying to get the man off a busy road. He was in the middle of an intersection where he was almost hit by a bus, Watters said.
Police said officers were unable to control the man, so the stun gun had to be used to finally subdue him.
(CBC)
When he was approached by officers, the man challenged the police and put up his fists like he wanted to fight, Watters said.
Laura Keewakin, who witnessed the confrontation, said she saw the man arguing with another person on the sidewalk before he walked out onto the road. The man seemed agitated when officers tried to calm him down.
"The cops hit him first … [he] was walking backward and that's when the cops jumped on him and starting hitting him in the legs with a billy club," she told CBC News.
The man hit a female police officer and then other officers started to hit him, Keewakin said.
The Taser gun wire can be seen on the man's clothing. A police spokesperson said the officers involved followed proper guidelines.
(CBC)
Watters said the man hit the female officer several times.
"At a certain point, a police officer deployed a Taser. The gentleman was Tasered. He was arrested. We're proposing charges of assaulting a police officer," Watters said.
Asked if the use of the Taser gun was necessary provided that up to six officers were on top of the man, Watters said the officer who released the jolt followed proper guidelines.
"He was being very violent. They were having difficulty controlling him. When [an officer] deployed the Taser they were able to control him after that," he said.
