Former RCMP commissioner says Mounties should stop using tasersThe Canadian Press September 3, 2008 at 10:09 PM EDT
The former head of the RCMP says the national police force should stop using tasers. Giuliano Zaccardelli said in an interview with CBC broadcast Wednesday night that he supported the use of the stun guns while he was commissioner because they were simply “another tool.” But he said given the recent controversy surrounding the weapons, which unleash 50,000 volts of electricity, he has reconsidered his position. “I have been watching with some great dismay over the last while in terms of what's going on with the tasers in Canada,” Mr. Zaccardelli said in the CBC interview, conducted in Lyons, France, where he is a senior official with Interpol. “I'm not sure that having tasers is worth the negative impact that it has on police forces in terms of public perception.” “I think we should stop using it”.
Mr. Zaccardelli said after reviewing one particular incident while he was commissioner, which he did not identify, he considered stopping the use of tasers but was talked out of it by his deputy of operations. “But I actually came close to taking it away.” He said there should at least be a moratorium on the use of tasers for several years “so that we can see the difference.” The use of the stun guns has been highlighted since Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski died after RCMP officers shocked him with a taser at the Vancouver airport in October of 2007. Cellphone video of the incident taken by a bystander was broadcast around the world and concerns were expressed in the force that it could escalate into an international incident. Received on Wed Sep 3 22:58:31 2008