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| Innocent when you dream |
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| Taser-related death in Winnipeg |
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| Holidays |
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I am back after a (well-deserved) month long holiday abroad that included attending Tom Waits' gig in Prague. I somehow ended up a few rows from the front, dead centre, seated between Vaclav Havel and a famous Hollywood actor. Life in Vancouver can seem pretty pedestrian after an experience like that...
I also went to Lord's for the third day of England's test against South Africa, which ended in a draw, and to a bunch of golf courses around Royal Birkdale, where I was fortunate to be able hoist Paddy's Claret Jug...
News is coming in that yet another young man has died after being blasted by a police TASER. By my count, this latest fatality is the 355th TASER-related death in North America.
It is difficult to come to any conclusion but that a TASER is like a 50,000 volt lightning bolt: in the majority of cases the recipient experiences enormous shock and excruciating pain but sometimes, as with lightning, the victim's heart stops and he can't be revived.
It is unbelievable to me that this weapon was introduced to Canadian police without any public consultation or independent safety testing and that policy-makers continue to dither about whether to remove it from the police arsenal until adequate testing and research has been done. One thing is certain; as long as police use the weapon, more people will die.
Cameron Ward will be on holiday and away from the office until July 21, 2008. Please contact him by e-mail during this period, as he will be checking for messages periodically.
