Taser deaths lead to lost confidence in RCMP: Ujjal Dosanjh

The Liberal public safety critic has said that Canadians are losing confidence in the RCMP and deserve better.

In a telephone interview from Ottawa, MP Ujjal Dosanjh (Vancouver South) said that with 17 Taser-related deaths in the last four years, the RCMP’s image has “taken a hit” in the mind of the public.

“I believe that Canadians deserve to have a very high level of confidence and trust in our police forces,” he said. “And if we don’t actually engage in a public, independent, comprehensive revue of Taser use in the country, that kind of confidence will be difficult to restore.”

In a November 15 media release, Dosanjh called on the Conservative government to launch a “formal national revue” of Taser use in Canada.

“I believe that it is time that we look at all of our experience and talk to various experts in the field and come up with a standardized version of a protocol and rules for the use of Tazers,” Dosanjh later told the Straight.

On November 15, the Straight ran an editorial on its Web site that highlighted concerns for law enforcement accountability in B.C. Currently, the province’s coroner’s office is run by a former RCMP officer, who is only responsible to the solicitor general’s office, also run by a former RCMP officer.

When asked if such a system provides an impartial investigation into incidents involving the RCMP, Dosanjh denied that there was any cause for concern.

“I assume that when people are given those positions of responsibility, they live up to those positions of responsibility,” Dosanjh said. “There is nothing there to make me believe otherwise.”

From 1995 to 2000, Dosanjh served as attorney general of British Columbia, where his duties included providing legal advice to the provincial government.

Links:
Taser death in Vancouver and the similarities between B.C. and Iran
Taser death in Vancouver: authorities' arrogance led to man's unnecessary demise
Tips to avoid a Taser attack
The Robert Dziekanski Taser video