Special prosecutor consider charges against Mounties in Dziekanski Tasering

Finally, the sanitization looks like it will come to an end.   Of interest is report of survey that says "70% of Canadians support charging the officers".  I guess the other 30% worked with the RCMP.

This news follows another shocking email disclosure on June 17 that RCMP brass did not really consider the "Apology" an apology - they were merely parsing their words in the same manner Bill Clinton sliced and diced the meaning of "sex with that women".

“Even though the word ‘apology’ worries some, we are not apologizing for the actions of specific members or saying anything about specific actions. I am apologizing for the loss of her son and where the [RCMP Commissioner] says we could have done better, from my perspective, that relates to the fact we had to revise our policy and training…. Let me know if I can explain any further as it is important the membership gets the right message as to what we are trying to do [here].”

And now, we have the liberal citizens of Toronto up in arms about the tactics of the Police and RCMP during the G8/20 Summit.   They let anarchists engage in violent rampages for a full day before clamping down with characteristic enthusiasm.  I agree with Chris Selly's interpretation - did we really need to spend $1.2 bn for this mess?

Reach out and touch someone

It looks like we are on the same track for once as America.   Now that the holidays are over, I hope some kind of response will occur Re: The BRAIDWOOD Inquiry.  Similarly, the non-replacement of RCMP watchdog - Robert KENNEDY, the commissioner for public complaints against the RCMP reinforces this idea.  2011 may be the year we swap our Military in Afghanistan for the RCMP across the country.

The use of Tasers as compliance tools — means for compelling behavior — has generated a huge amount of protest. For many, the famous “Don’t Tase me, bro” incident, in which student Andrew Meyer was Tasered at a political debate, signaled an alarming new form of oppression. 

Perhaps the distinguishing feature of the Taser, compared with other forms of enforcing compliance, is that it can be used with one finger. Police have always been able enforce their wishes using batons or manual force, but a Taser is a much easier option, and perhaps this makes it more prone to abuse. Whether it’s zapping an unruly student protester, an uncooperative 11-year-old or an abusive driver, the trite observation that power corrupts may have some truth here.

Also, these developments:

A new electroshock weapon being developed by Taser could zap people up to 175 feet away — and keep on applying pain for as long as three minutes in a row. Which is pretty tough to take, since it only takes a second or two of shocks to make most people cry out in agony.

The new 40mm projectile resembles a super-sized version of the shotgun-fired XREP Taser projectile. And like the XREP, it will attach itself to the target and incapacitate him or her with a series of electric jolts.

The new projectile might continue shocking for as long as three minutes. The duration of the shock is also likely to be a significant issue.  In Taser training, a one-second shock is administered. It has been described by those experienced the test. “It was brutal - like sticking your finger in a socket over and over and over again. I screamed in pain as he zapped me. I screamed some more after it was over,”.  The standard Police Taser gives a five-second shock for each trigger pull.

Perhaps it's not surprising that Taser Int'l has also developed this product to go with new taser sales - the Axon Headcam.   At the ned of a shift the officer just downloads the day's work onto a secure server run by Taser.  Oh and there is a optional "kill switch" to stop recording activities that the officer wants to keep private.

Should the RCMP be regionalized?

Today the Dzienkanski Inquiry was given the final submission of lawyer Walter Kosteckyj, representing Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski. He urged the inquiry commissioner, Thomas Braidwood, to recommend that the RCMP's use-of-force training model to be scrapped.

Two weeks ago the B.C Police Chief Association asked for Independent Reviews of Police Complaints similar to Alberta’s SIRT (Serious Incident Response Team).

Two months ago, a Crown Prosecutor resigned from the Braidwood Inquiry because she failed to realize she has "exculpatory" evidence in her possession since April 2009 that contradicted a senior RCMP officer's sworn evidence to the inquiry. His email claims the 4 officers at the scene had planned to taser Mr. Dzienkanski before arriving at the situation at the Vancouver Airport.

In his sumation, Lawyer Walter Kosteckyj suggests that more than anything the employees at the Vancouver Airport have been taught to ignore passenger questions (a typical bureaucratic passive-aggressive mannerism) and that a single odse of common-sense anywhere in the tragic farce that led to Mr. Dzienkanski would have gone a long way to saving his life.

Post Zaccardelli , can there be any doubt that the RCMP has ceased to accountable and effective to the many citizens who need their services.

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