statism watch

Jim Bronskill, Sue Bailey, CP
May 12, 2008 04:30 AM

Polish immigrant’s name, number of times he was stunned, name of shooter, all inked out

OTTAWA–The RCMP call it Occurrence No. 2007-34748.

Millions of people around the world know it as the infamous Taser zapping at Vancouver International Airport last October that sparked so many questions about Robert Dziekanski’s death.

The Mounties have stripped any new answers from a heavily censored report on the high-profile stun gun incident, obtained by The Canadian Press and CBC under the Access to Information Act.

Dziekanski died in the early hours of Oct. 14 after RCMP used a Taser on the 40-year-old Polish immigrant and pinned him to the airport floor. Police fired the electronic stun gun’s metal probes less than 30 seconds after arriving on the scene to confront an agitated Dziekanski, who earlier had tossed a small table and computer monitor in frustration. (He spoke no English and had spent about 10 hours there, expecting to be met by his mother.)

Opposition MPs and human rights groups have criticized the RCMP for suppressing details of Taser cases, including injuries suffered by people stunned and whether they were experiencing a mental health crisis at the time.

The national police force has gone even further with the Dziekanski report, deleting data it routinely releases in other cases.

…

The RCMP did not return a phone call yesterday seeking comment on why it censored more data than usual. The deletions may, however, be due to the fact the Crown is still deciding whether to lay charges in the case after completion of a homicide probe.

Liberal public safety critic Ujjal Dosanjh said the RCMP should tell the public whether Dziekanski was armed and “how many times Mr. Dziekanski was stunned,” he said in an interview yesterday. “Why would that be a problem, unless that was a fact in dispute?”

Taser International Inc. chair Tom Smith and Dosanjh are slated to testify today at a British Columbia inquiry into Taser use.

Full Story

CBC News
Last Updated: Monday, May 12, 2008

The Tory government announced a multi-billion-dollar 20-year plan to strengthen Canada’s military, which includes the purchase of new aircraft, armoured vehicles, ships and helicopters and a goal to expand the Forces to 100,000.

Referring to it as the “Canada First Defence Strategy,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the long-term investments in the military could reach costs of up to $30 billion.

“If a country wants to be taken seriously in the world, it must have the capacity to act. It’s that simple,” Harper said Monday speaking in Halifax. “Otherwise you forfeit your right to be a player. You’re the one chattering on the sideline that everyone’s smiles at, but no one listens to.”

Harper said this strategy will focus on replacing some of the military’s core equipment fleets, including destroyers, frigates and different types of aircraft that will end their operational life over the next 20 years.

The plan will also seek to boost the strength of the regular Forces from 65,000 to 70,000 and the reserves from 24,000 to 30,000.

“Renewal of the Canadian Forces is the most pressing priority,” Harper said, adding the average age in the military is rising.

Harper said the plan will also improve surveillance of land and coastal borders, bolster support for civilian authority in the event of natural disasters and provide security to major national events like the 2010 Olympics.

Full Story

CBC News
May 12, 2008

Despite protests calling for a ban on the treatment, electroshock therapy is frequently used by Canadian psychiatrists to treat severe depression.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) estimates that last year, the procedure, which dates back to 1938 and involves passing electrical currents though the brain to trigger seizures, was used more than 15,000 times in the country.

The figure has remained virtually unchanged since 2002, CIHI says, showing that the popularity of the procedure remains strong.

A report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal last week shows the procedure is commonly used to treat drug-resistant depression in seniors.

However, critics of the procedure believe its usage should be stopped, and it is a painful procedure that leads to brain damage.

On Sunday, about a dozen protesters rallied in Ottawa, calling for a ban of the procedure.

Protest organizer Sue Clark-Wittenberg had electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) 35 years ago, and says it has kept her from getting an education and a good job.

“The bottom line is electroshock always damages the brain. Electroshock always causes memory loss,” she says.

ECT survives calls for ban

Dr. Nizar Ladha, a psychiatrist based in St. John’s, has been using ECT for three decades. He says the procedure does induce seizures, but they’re not painful and don’t cause convulsions.

“As an effective and lifesaving treatment, it rates right up there with the discovery of penicillin,” he told CBC News.

Ladha says he has seen ECT help fight depression and prevent many suicides.

The Canadian Psychiatric Association argues that ECT is safe and effective, though the Canadian Medical Association says it can cause memory loss.

But Dr. Paul Breggin, a New York-based psychiatrist, is in a minority of psychiatrists who says the procedure should be banned.

“We’re treating human beings as if they are a very crude machine which can be battered back into shape.”

Still, Dr. David Goldbloom, a psychiatrist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, predicts it will become even more popular, having survived numerous calls to ban it and two provincial inquiries.

“Each time the conclusion is the same — that the balance of evidence supports retaining this to try to help people with depression.”

Source | See Also: Taser group’s chair to defend stun guns at public inquiry |  Chicago study calls Taser’s safety claims into question | Officer injured in Taser demonstration

CBC News
Last Updated: Monday, May 12, 2008

The RCMP plans to install hundreds of closed-circuit television cameras for security during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, CBC News has learned.

Under the plan, cameras would be placed at approximately 100 Olympic sites, including both athletic and public celebration venues.

David Loukadelis, British Columbia’s privacy commissioner, said he has been assured the images from those cameras will be available only to key people.

Using extraordinary measures to keep diplomats and athletes safe is reasonable for a special event, said Loukadelis, but he is concerned that once the Games are over, those cameras might remain and become a unreasonable infringement on everyday privacy rights.

“I would be reluctant [if] the surveillance equipment gets left behind and starts getting used for ordinary law enforcement purposes,” Loukadelis told the CBC.

Following the Olympics in Sydney, many closed-circuit TV cameras were left in place after the Games were finished, Loukadelis warned.

The 2010 Olympics will run from Feb. 12-28. Events will take place across Metro Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.

Full Story

CBC News
Last Updated: Monday, May 12, 2008

The chair of Taser International is expected to defend the safety record of his company’s stun guns on Monday, when he appears at a public inquiry examining police use of the weapons.

Tom Smith, who will testify before Justice Thomas Braidwood in Vancouver, has insisted publicly that Tasers have been tested on 600,000 police officers and more than 400,000 ordinary citizens like himself, and no serious health complications arose.

The inquiry was called after the Oct. 14 death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who was shocked by a Taser used by RCMP officers at the Vancouver airport. Dziekanski’s ordeal, caught on videotape by a civilian witness, unleashed international outrage.

…

Monday’s testimony comes after a San Francisco cardiologist and electrophysiologist brought forward damning evidence against Tasers at the inquiry on Friday, testifying that the stun guns pose potentially fatal heart risks by inducing cardiac arrhythmia.

Dr. Zian Tseng said any normal, healthy person could die from a Taser jolt if the shock was given in the right area of the chest and during the vulnerable point in the beating of the heart. He said the number of jolts a person receives increases the likelihood he or she will suffer serious health problems.

He stressed the risk of death is far greater if there is adrenaline or illicit drugs coursing through the body, or if the person has a history of heart or other medical issues, and he stressed that there needs to be more real-world studies on the use of the weapon, instead of using healthy police officers to test the device.

Tseng said that when he started researching Tasers three years ago and made his findings public, he was contacted by Taser International officials, who asked him to reconsider the statements he was making to the media.

“They even offered to support [my] research, to give me grant funding,” Tseng said, adding he declined the offer to remain independent.

Full Story | See Also: Chicago study calls Taser’s safety claims into question | Officer injured in Taser demonstration