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| TASER International issues threats |
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| Defendants lose bid to dismiss Canada Line suit |
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| Some things TASER International does not want you to know |
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| Manitoba Premier calls public inquiry |
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November 21 update: At least seven more people have died after being stunned with TASER weapons since Robert Dziekanski's death was captured on video. They are Donald Clark, Asheville, North Carolina (Oct. 14), Quilem Registre, 39, Montreal, Quebec (Oct. 17), Stefan McMinn, 44, Hendersonville, North Carolina (Nov. 2), Jarrel Gray, 20, Frederick, Maryland (Nov. 18), Christian Allen, 21, Jacksonville, Florida (Nov. 18), Jesse Saenz, 20, New Mexico (Nov. 18) and Conrad Lowman, Jacksonville, Florida (Nov. 20). Every one of these men left behind a loving family, but none of their deaths were captured on videotape.
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November 22 update: A 45 year old Nova Scotia man, Howard Hyde, has died today after being Tasered the day before.
November 29 update: Another man is dead after being Tasered. The latest casualty is Ashley Stephens, 28, of Ocala, Florida.
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In keeping with its bullying tactics, TASER International Inc. of Scottsdale, Arizona says that it has issued 60 "legal demand letters" over the media's interpretation of the events shown on this video, which depicts Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski dying after being approached and Tasered by four RCMP officers on October 14, 2007:
Here's what Chairman Tom Smith said:
"We are taken aback by the number of media outlets that have irresponsibly published conclusive headlines blaming the TASER device and / or the law enforcement officers involved as the cause of death before completion of the investigation. These sensationalistic media reports completely ignore the earmark symptoms of excited delirium shown in the video. TASER International is transmitting over 60 legal demand letters requiring correction of these false and misleading headlines and will take other actions as appropriate. These unsubstantiated, false headlines mislead the public and could adversely influence public policy in ways which could place the lives of both law enforcement and the public at greater risk," concluded Tom Smith, Founder and Chairman of the Board of TASER International, Inc.
On November 7, 2007, lawyers representing the Defendants City of Vancouver, the Attorney General of British Columbia, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, RAV Project Management Ltd. and InTransit BC Limited Partnership applied to strike the claims of the Plaintiff Susan Heyes Inc., dba Hazel & Co., as disclosing no reasonable claim. Their applications were dismissed by Mr. Justice Pitfield of the BC Supreme Court, meaning that the case can proceed forward. The Action (No. S054152, Vancouver Registry) is anticipated to proceed to trial in November of 2008.
The decision dismissing the applications sparked this exchange in the Legislature between MLA Gregor Robertson, a champion of small business, and Hon. Kevin Falcon, Minister of Transportation:
"G. Robertson: Yesterday this government paid lawyers to fight off the Cambie small business seeking damages in the B.C. Supreme Court from the devastating impact of Canada line construction. The lawyers actually attempted to have the merchants' case thrown out on a technicality. So not only is this government destroying the small businesses, but they're denying them their day in court. The judge, thankfully, ruled against this government and its Canada line partners, and the case will be heard.
My question to the Minister of Small Business and Revenue: how do you feel about writing big cheques to lawyers to continue your fight against small businesses rather than fairly compensating those merchants directly?
Hon. K. Falcon: The member well knows that we're not going to comment on cases before courts…
Interjections.
Hon. K. Falcon: …but there's more to come.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members.
Minister, just take your seat.
Hon. K. Falcon: The best part is to come.
Mr. Speaker: Please take your seat.
[1410]
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members, let's listen to the answer.
Hon. K. Falcon: I will say this. There is one big cheque we sure did write, and that was a cheque for $435 million to build the Canada line that they
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opposed. And I can tell you that our biggest problem with that project is going to be all the NDPers trying to cram up on the stage and claim credit when that opens.
more>>
TASER International, Inc., the Scottsdale, Arizona public company (NASDAQ: TASR) that makes the controversial stun gun of the same name, wages an aggressive and misleading PR campaign to persuade the public that its product is safe. It has enlisted law enforcement members in its promotional efforts, giving many of them cash payments and stock options. TASER International executives dress in funereal black and hold flashy promotions, like the poker and Playboy parties advertised below:
Is there substance behind the glitz? The death of a law-abiding Polish immigrant at Vancouver International Airport, the sixth man to die in British Columbia after being Tasered, has again raised some public concerns about the weapon's safety. Here are some things that TASER International and its customers would prefer remain unreported:
At least 286 people in North America have died since 2001 after being stunned by the TASER's 50,000 volt discharge. Many of these cases involved multiple applications of electrical energy applied in "drive-stun" mode.
According to a study reported in the peer-reviewed journal NAFE entitled "Forensic Engineering Analysis of Electro-Shock Weapon Safety" (December 2005, p. 19), "we can conclude the Taser M18 M26 can be lethal when used in the drive-stun mode of operation and can kill when contrasted to the reference criteria contained in commercial consensus standards and in other scholarly publications".
TASER and the law enforcement community often point to other factors that they say actually cause death, such as drug or alcohol use or a phenomenon they have coined "excited delerium", which is not a recognised medical condition.
They have not explained why a number of domestic animals, including dogs and pigs, died after being shocked. One such livestock fatality occurred earlier this year in Spokane, Washington, where a loose cow was repeatedly Tasered by sheriffs until it collapsed and died.
Tasers are arguably being overused by police. They have reportedly been used to shock children as young as six (in Florida) and an 82 year old woman was recently shocked in Chicago. Amnesty International studied 271 fatalities and found that the victim was unarmed in all but 22 of the cases. Most of these victims were no risk to anyone. Clearly, Tasers are taking, not saving, lives.
Are the scales of justice tilted in favour of police officers?
Manitoba Premier Gary Doer has confirmed that he will call a public inquiry into a case that has enraged many residents of that province. Derek Harvey-Zenk, a former Winnipeg police officer who caused a fatal car accident after a night of drinking with his colleagues, will serve no jail time after a plea bargain was reached in his case recently. The sentencing judge was extraordinarily candid in expressing his concerns that the handling of the case afforded preferential treatment to the accused. A transcript of his reasons for sentencing can be accessed by clicking below:
