RCMP use Taser on Chilliwack man during arrest
B.C.'s top Mountie has concerns officers could become 'Taser shy'
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 | 11:48 AM PT
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
Video
- Deborah Goble reports for CBC-TV (Runs: 1:33)
- Play: Real Media »
- Play: QuickTime »
External Links
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window)
A Chilliwack, B.C., man was subdued by a Taser on Monday, just hours after the province's top Mountie said he was worried his officers won't use Tasers when they need to in light of angry public reactions to the death of Robert Dziekanski.
RCMP officers went to a business located in the 45800 block of Airport Road in Chilliwack at around 3:30 p.m., where a man was reportedly acting erratically in the store.
A handcuffed man is loaded into an ambulance after RCMP used a Taser, pepper spray and their batons to subdue him at a store in Chilliwack Monday afternoon.
(Iain McIndoe)
The 29-year-old man became "extremely agitated, aggressive, and combative with the two responding officers," according to Const. Lea-Anne Dunlop, a media relations officer with the Upper Fraser Valley RCMP.
A violent struggle ensued and numerous methods of intervention — including pepper spray, Taser and baton — were used to try to subdue the man, Dunlop said.
He was arrested and taken to custody after several other backup officers arrived and assisted in controlling him, she said.
"The male did sustain injuries and has been transported to hospital for treatment of his injuries, as well as to assess his mental state," Dunlop said in a press release Monday evening.
Chilliwack RCMP's Serious Crime Section is investigating this incident, she said.
On Monday afternoon, Gary Bass, commanding officer of the RCMP in B.C., said he's worried that his officers could become "Taser shy" following public criticism over the use of a Taser on Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who died at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14.
A police officer demonstrates the use of a Taser gun.
(CBC)
Bass told CBC News on Monday that he's "concerned officers won't use Tasers for fear of having the same thing happen and force a new public outcry."
Withholding Tasers as a tool, and without evidence that a conducted energy weapon was responsible for Dziekanski's death, could put other people and RCMP members at risk, Bass argued.
"We are going to issue a directive to officers regarding the 'use of force' continuum that Tasers still fit in there," Bass said.
He said he would not want officers to respond with "more lethal force," meaning resorting to batons or guns.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria, B.C., native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Surrey RCMP seek hit-run driver
- Police are looking for a light-coloured Chrysler with damage to the driver's front side after a pedestrian was hit in Surrey, B.C., early Sunday morning. more »
- B.C. man who scaled Everest returns home
- A Vancouver man who climbed the world's highest mountain is back home and talking about the adventure. more »
- Fort Langley restaurant damaged in fire
- A sushi restaurant in Fort Langley, B.C., was damaged in a fire early Sunday morning. more »
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria, B.C., native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
- B.C. NDP calls for unity in fighting coast guard closure
- Surrey RCMP seek hit-run driver
- B.C. man who scaled Everest returns home
- Fort Langley restaurant damaged in fire
- Passengers' families sue for fatal B.C. plane crash
- B.C. Coast Guard Auxiliary gets new name
- Tsunami motorcycle heading to Harley museum
- Psych ward escapes worry neighbours
- Gang forum honours Surrey 6 victim
A handcuffed man is loaded into an ambulance after RCMP used a Taser, pepper spray and their batons to subdue him at a store in Chilliwack Monday afternoon.
A police officer demonstrates the use of a Taser gun.
