Police chief wants Tasers for all frontline officers

To think that Tom Kaye (Owen Sound, Ontario Chief of Police) continues to hold any credibility as the chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police committee on tasers just boggles the mind. It's embarrassing. Where do I register a no-confidence vote? "Hadn't read up on the Firman case?" Hullo!! Dr. Michael Pollanen attributed Firman's death to "cardiac arrhythmia PRECIPITATED BY ELECTRONIC CONTROL DEVICE DEPLOYMENT in an agitated man." Could it get any clearer? A coroner's inquest isn't going to change that outcome Tom. How can the chair of a taser committee in Canada NOT have "read up on" such a significant case? That's only one of your major gaffes in this interview (see below) - anyone whose been following along can identify all of them.

Tom, you're either a) TERRIBLY misinformed or b) you think the Canadian public is REALLY stupid. If you manage to push your agenda through, the Canadian public is in grave danger. How about doing the right thing and inviting some PUBLIC DISCOURSE/CONSULTATION? I know of several very well informed people who would be delighted to participate.

See also Excited-Delirium's post from February 2009 (some of us are keeping track of this crap): Look what we have to deal with

January 26, 2011
Scott Dunn, Owen Sound Sun Times

Owen Sound Police Chief Tom Kaye said he looks forward to the day when all frontline officers carry a Taser.

Kaye made the comments to reporters after presenting a report summarizing use-of-force incidents to the police services board Wednesday.

In 2010 there were 20 incidents, generating 27 reports, when force was used by city officers to a degree that met provincial reporting requirements. Such circumstances include drawing a gun with the public present, using any weapon on a person and using physical force causing an injury requiring medical attention.

A Taser was fired twice and displayed eight times in 2010, Kaye said. Sometimes officers used a mode that shows electricity crackling in the device, Kaye said.

Tasers were never used in the "push/stun" mode, in which the weapon was physically jabbed into someone, he said.

Kaye also chairs the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police committee concerning the controversial conducted-energy weapons, which an SIU official said caused a Collingwood man's death last June.

"It's our hope that every frontline officer at some point in time gets issued with a Taser," Kaye said.

Kaye's department is now tracking the use of the Taser both when it is fired, as required by the provincial government, but whenever it is drawn, which isn't a provincial requirement.

Officers started tracking where on the subject's body the Taser's metal probes strike, "so that we can use that to refine our deployment of Tasers in the future," he said.

"So we're looking to build our business case for government by tracking all of that information."

Special Investigations Unit director Ian Scott attributed the death of Aron Firman outside a Collingwood group home June 24 to the use of a Taser by and OPP officer. The officer was cleared.

He cited Ontario's chief forensic pathologist, Michael Pollanen, who attributed Firman's death to "cardiac arrhythmia precipitated by electronic control device deployment in an agitated man." He had underlying health issues which may have predisposed him to arrhythmia, Pollanen found.

Kaye downplayed any conclusion that Tasers kill people. He said he didn't know how that diagnosis could be made because Mr. Firman was found, Kaye understands, with vital signs absent.

"It's my understanding that if someone is already down and vital signs absent, you cannot tell in any subsequent medical examination or autopsy," that the Taser caused the death, "because there are no telltale signs on the heart muscle."

Kaye also said he hadn't read up on the Firman case and it remains to be seen what conclusions an inquest draws.

He said he knows more than six Ontario inquest juries, and six or eight others across Canada, have recommended all frontline police officers be issued a conducted energy weapon.

"I know that in the United States there are a number of their medical examiners that have made the same pronouncements.

"And in every particular case they've had to withdraw their cause of death as having been that because it's unsubstantiated."

Kaye said the national police chiefs' association position on Tasers is to wait and see what conclusion the Firman inquest produces.

Other Owen Sound Police Services use-of-force details Kaye provided:

• Guns were drawn and pointed at a subject four times, including one case in which two guns were pointed during the same arrest. Police did not fire their guns at a person last year.

• Twice a gun was drawn to deal with a vicious or dangerous animal, and twice a firearm was discharged to destroy an injured or sick animal.

• Hands were laid on subjects to gain control three times, a baton and pepper spray were used once each.

• There were 19 times no injury resulted to the subject or officer.

• None of the times force was used resulted in serious injury requiring reports to the Special Investigations Unit, the civilian arms-length police oversight agency.

Letter to the Editor: stun guns an effective policing tool

If only I had the time to fully respond to this load of crap!! This guy's obviously bought the company line - lock, stock and barrel.

Repeating the mantra of the brainwashed that the taser is a "less dangerous option than a firearm", he asks and answers the following question: "Does the deployment of a CED have the capability of avoiding serious bodily harm and/or death to all involved parties that might otherwise have led to the use of a firearm? Without a doubt -- yes." I would counter with a question and answer of my own: "Does the deployment of a CED have the capability of CAUSING serious bodily harm and/or death to ONE OR MORE involved parties that might otherwise NOT HAVE LED to the use of a firearm? Without a doubt -- yes."

January 7, 2009
Owen Sound Sun Times

Editor:

Recently, there have been many points of view expressed across the country, the province and the Owen Sound area regarding the pros and cons of Tasers.

Conducted Energy Devices (CED) are recognized by the global policing community as a valuable tool and a less dangerous option than a firearm. The CBC News study has identified pre-2005 models of the X-26 Taser that were recommended for re-testing. As a result, some police services have taken the step of testing those particular models. Currently, the X-26 Tasers deployed by the Owen Sound Police Services are a newer production line of this device and therefore were not part of the recommended re-testing. As well, it should be pointed out that the name Taser is a registered trademark name and although more popular than other such devices is still only one type of CED marketed throughout the world for military, law enforcement and, where permitted by law, civilian use.

Police officers are required to respond and intervene in a variety of situations involving the risk of violence, injury or death to members of the public and the police. Often these situations require immediate intervention, where the condition and emotional state of the subject is uncertain.

Police officers require a range of use of force options, often referred to as the use of force continuum, which include verbal commands, negotiation, physical restraint, intermediate force options, and deadly force. CED's are one such intermediate force option, which have been successful in reducing injury to officers and violent subjects as compared to other use of force options, including lethal force.

As a front-line supervisor with over 22 years of policing experience, what I can personally attest to is that next to the introduction of the semi-automatic handgun, the technology of the CED, has been potentially one of the top use of force options that have been made available to front-line policing over that time period. Any officer who has or will be forced into a potentially life-threatening situation should be permitted to utilize this device to assist with the peaceful resolution of the situation.

During my career, I have been critically shot in the line of duty, been forced to discharge my firearm in order to protect myself and have had immediate family members who are in the policing profession discharge their firearm in order to protect themselves and others. These are split second decisions that are made by front-line officers across the country on a daily basis. They are never taken lightly. Anyone that would express the thought that it is better to potentially have a loved one shot with a firearm versus deploying a CED has possibly missed why the device was introduced in the first place. Do firearms have the potential for taking a person's life when discharged? Absolutely! Will this affect the loved ones of the person(s) involved as well as the officer(s)? Unfortunately yes -- and it will for the rest of their days.

Does the deployment of a CED have the capability of avoiding serious bodily harm and/or death to all involved parties that might otherwise have led to the use of a firearm? Without a doubt -- yes.

Currently, the Police Association of Ontario (PAO) which represents over 32,000 police and civilian members supports the e of CED's as an occupational health and safety measure to reduce injury to members of the public, violent subjects and police officers; we support standardized training, reporting and accountability of the use of CED's; as well as the deployment to all front-line police officers after having received the approved training.

The public does require more information both for and against the use of such devices. At the same time the media needs to report with the same enthusiasm on the positives of how such devices can actually defuse situations and save many more lives on a weekly basis across the entire country when police officers are faced with potentially life-threatening situations.

In the meantime, police officers across the province will await the recommendations from the Canadian Police Research Centre on the safety of CED's for both police and the public and will continue to do the job that they have been sworn to uphold.

Bill Rusk
President
Owen Sound Police Association

Owen Sound tasers tested, chief says

IS THIS GUY FOR REAL???????? Can he REALLY be the vice-president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL TASER COMMITTEE CURRENTLY WRITING A BEST PRACTICES POLICY FOR THE DEVICES??????? Will he recommend that all police "MANUALLY LOOK AT" (whatever the hell that's supposed to mean) their tasers to ensure they are "working properly"?????? God help us all.

December 18, 2008
Posted By MARIA CANTON, SUN TIMES STAFF

The city's police chief says he has complied with a provincial request asking all police services in Ontario to test their Tasers to ensure they are working properly and to submit a stun gun inventory list as soon as this week.

"We manually looked at ours to ensure that they are working properly and we reminded all of our supervisors that there is a protocol that they have to follow," Tom Kaye said Wednesday.

"We check our (Tasers) every day. These are devices that need to be maintained and that is something we do on a very regular basis. We followed through with the request the day it was made."

The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services last week asked Ontario police services to conduct tests in response to a CBC report that found one Taser model, the X26 model made before 2005, was firing more electricity, up to 50 per cent more, than was specified by the U. S.- based manufacturer Taser International.

The report sparked a national debate on Tasers and prompted many forces, including the RCMP in several provinces, to take their conductive-energy devices to independent labs for testing.

None of the weapons tested were found to be working improperly, according to Kaye, who is also vice-president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the chair of the national Taser committee currently writing a best practices policy for the devices.

There are about 2,000 conductive-energy devices being used by police forces in Ontario. That list is yet to be broken down by model. Owen Sound Police Services has four Tasers, two X26 models and two M26 models, which are carried only by sergeants.

The provincial request does not require police services to report back to the province that they actually tested their Tasers, something Tony Brown, a spokesperson for Community Safety and Correctional Services, says they felt was an unnecessary step.

"It is the ordinary responsibility of police services to make sure their equipment works properly. We have every confidence they will carry out the examination and testing of Tasers as requested by the ministry," Brown said Wednesday.

"The request was made in view of some reports that indicated that there may have been issues with the older Tasers."

The province is also conducting its own review of Taser use and according to Brown, a report should be released early in the new year.

More than 20 people have died in Canada after being jolted with a Taser, which can deliver up to 50,000 volts of electricity. However, many of the deaths have been attributed to "excited delirium," a heightened state of distress in which a person acts agitated, violent, tends to sweat profusely and is seemingly impervious to pain. Often, the victim's heart begins to race and eventually stops.

The city's police force plans to replace its older model Tasers in the new year.

Letter to the Editor: Kaye should test tasers

December 13, 2008
Owen Sound Sun Times

Editor:

Is Tom Kaye for real? According to the news I've heard, including this very story (in the Sun Times), several people's deaths have indeed been linked to the use of Tasers.

So either he's clueless or the Canadian public is being horribly misinformed by the news media.

And then he says that emotion and humanity have no place in the setting of public policy -- well, if there's no humanity in public policy I'd say we're in a really bad way.

I also find it shocking that he has no plans to test the four Tasers Owen Sound police have, especially considering that two of them are the questionable models that may be dangerous. How much effort would this take?

I guess he'd call me hysterical, but as a mother of two young men (fortunately law-abiding) I would rather my sons be shot in the leg with a real gun than Tasered in an attempt to subdue them.

This story was a real headshaker. I had to reread it a couple of times to make sure he said what I thought he said.

Pretty scary stuff.

Stephanie Mordeen
Wiarton

Letter to the Editor: Police Commission needs to step in on taser issue and test stun guns

December 13, 2008
Owen Sound Sun Times

Editor:

There is an old saying : "None are so blind as those who WILL not see." One need only look as far as Owen Sound Police Chief Tom Kaye for a prime example. No sooner had an unbiased CBC study of Tasers come out that indicated older models often fire overcharged voltage, than Kaye was out defending Tasers once again, including Owen Sound's older models which were the subject of the study. He stubbornly refuses to test this city's Tasers. So what is wrong with this man? It's one thing to adhere to one's belief, but to do it blindly is sheer folly.

All B. C. law enforcement agencies and its RCMP, the N. B. police forces, and many other municipalities think testing is a good idea. One can only wonder if Kaye is totally unmonitored by the Police Commission in this city -- where are they on this issue?

For Kaye to suggest that there has not even been a "casual" relationship between the deaths of 25 Canadians after Tasering is blind pig-headed nonsense, to put it bluntly.

To accuse myself and others of relying on emotion and compassion is self-delusional on his part, not that I mind being tarred with the brush of compassion. By the way, tell that to the widows and children of those who died after being Tasered, be it from excited delirium or not.

The fact of the matter is, without the Taser, and with common sense and some psychology, these deceased would still be alive today, and probably getting help for their problems, or be incarcerated if that is applicable.

It is well time that Chief Kaye opens his eyes. We are not some deep southern backwater and we do not appreciate being treated as such. I urge the Owen Sound Police Commission to sit down and talk to Chief Kaye about close-mindedness and willngness to listen to the opinions and advice of others -- be they cops or JUST civilians. Who knows, he might just see the light.

Tim Thompson
Annan

Kaye stands behind Tasers

December 9, 2008
Posted By MARIA CANTON, OWEN SOUND SUN TIMES

The city's police chief says he has no plans to test the service's four Tasers despite a report that claims some early models fire up to 50 per cent more electrical current than billed.

The report prompted the RCMP to announce it will test a cross-section of its devices.

Chief Tom Kaye calls the public attention devoted to Tasers emotional "hysteria" and has instead opted to bump up the release date of a national "best practices" document on the much-maligned police tool in an attempt to educate the public about the science behind the device.

"Nobody, anywhere has ever been able to link one of these devices to anybody dying, ever. That's a fact. And I realize that the people who are opposed to them and want them banned don't appreciate the fact that science is not on their side and they have nothing else to argue except humanity and emotion, but that shouldn't be used to set public policy," said Kaye, who is also vice-president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the chair of the national Taser committee writing the best practices policy.

"Given the hype that continues around this, we need to put this report out soon and into the hands of the public. They need to be reassured that we are looking at these things and we certainly take them very seriously, but we need to show the truth behind the devices."

The committee originally planned to release the document in late spring, but is now aiming for mid-January, due in part to a scientific review commissioned by the CBC and Radio- Canada that concluded four of the 41 model-X26 guns tested fired more electrical current than manufacturer Taser International said was possible.

Kaye says the testing was faulty, explaining that the devices must be spark-tested daily, an act that charges or warms up the device, something that wasn't done during testing for the CBC. The CBC, however, defends its testing method, stating Taser International protocol made no mention of spark-testing.

Owen Sound Police Services has four Tasers, two of which are the X26 models that were the subject of the CBC report. The other two are newer M26 models. In Ontario, only sergeants or tactical team officers can carry conductive energy devices. There are five sergeants with the city police.

"There's still no evidence that excessive voltage can be transferred out of the device. The higher voltage is in a separate ignition system that doesn't transpose itself into an electrical current that can travel down the wires to the darts," said Kaye.

Tasers, which can deliver up to 50,000 volts of electricity, have been under intense public scrutiny since the death of Robert Dziekanski, who died at the Vancouver International Airport after RCMP used a stun gun to subdue him in October 2007. The incident was captured on video by a witness and broadcast across the country.

Many of the deaths that have occurred after someone has been Tasered have been attributed to "excited delirium," a heightened state of distress in which a person acts agitated, violent, tends to sweat profusely and is seemingly impervious to pain. Often, the victim's heart begins to race and eventually stops.

Amnesty International has repeatedly made calls for a total ban on Tasers.

But Kaye maintains that, "at the end of the day, there is not one piece of scientific evidence . . . that has linked a Taser, even casually, to the death of any individual anywhere."

"We don't plan on doing any testing. There's nothing to indicate that our Tasers are malfunctioning . . . and what we're doing is reiterating to our people that they have to follow the protocols, but certainly nothing would indicate to us they're not," he added.