Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP – 18 June 2008 report
The Commissioner for Public Complaints made several recommendations regarding the use of tasers including:
- RCMP members with less than five years of operational experience should be prohibited from using Taser stun guns.
- Individuals who are Tasered about whom police have no knowledge of underlying medical conditions receive prompt medical attention, thereby possibly saving their lives.
Compliance Strategy Group Independent Review of the RCMP – June, 2008
Compliance Strategy Group (John Kiedrowski, Principal Consultant, Michael Petrunik and Ronald-Frans Melchers, Associate Consultants) conducted An Independent Review of the Adoption and Use of Conducted Energy Weapons by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police[ http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ccaps/cew/kiedrowski_report_e.htm] that was completed in June 2008, but only released under access to information and privacy around September 12, 2008. The report is available from the RCMP under access to information, but is censored (e.g., no recommendations). The report as released by the RCMP may be found on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation website www.cbc.ca. The Report reviews how the RCMP made the decisions to introduce the conducted energy weapons, training, policies and procedures, and accountability. The report is approximately 150 pages and provides an excellent analysis on how a police force adopted the Taser. The authors of the report argued that the police did not due their due diligences, is concerned abut training and the issues of accountability. The report also pointed out that the police in Canada have misclassified the taser as a prohibited weapon whereas under the criminal code it is referred to as a prohibited firearm, and refers to excited delirium as “folk knowledge”.