Tasers and excessive force...

With the recent violent taser shock that lead to the death of polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski out of Vancouver some calls for the banning of tasers have been heard.

I decided to watch the video for myself to form my own opinions before I watched any more media dribble.

Yes Mr Dziekanski is clearly agitated, probably drunk, and in a certain manner threatening. But it is also clear that he was not a clear and present threat to the police, the people around him, or anyone's property. He was a nuisance, yet was willing to clearly follow police orders to stand up against a window as they circled him.

What happened next is confusing to say the least. Without provocation he was tasered twice. And while he writhing on the ground in agony, for whatever reason, RCMP officers felt he was still enough of a threat that they moved down on top of him to restrain him.

This was at the very minimum poor judgement. At worst it was malicious, and a huge abuse of power that should be prosecuted as such.

2 comments:

  1. And you would have dealt with it how?

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  2. How 'bout this: Leave him alone behind the glass until he does something to warrant it.

    He wasn't hurting anyone, and he sure wasn't destroying anyone's property.

    As soon as he did one or the other that's the point where force is justified.

    Encircling and tasering a drunken idiot, that besides some foul language isn't doing anything against anyone else, who's following your orders, and who's been detained in customs for hours doesn't seem a smidgen excessive to you?

    Have you watched the video? At what point was he a threat to those RCMP officers?

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