Update: The dead man has been identified as Robert Dziekanski, 40, a new immigrant from Poland. He had no criminal record and had no drugs or alcohol in his system. A passerby took a video of the incident and gave it to RCMP investigators who told him they would return it the next day. The investigators have now refused to return the videotape.

Two more people have died after being Tasered-Donald Clark of Asheville, N.C. on October 14th and Quillem Registre of Montreal, Quebec on October 17th-bringing the total number of fatalities to 285.

……

An unidentified man died after he was Tasered by RCMP at the Vancouver International Airport early this morning. He is at least the 283rd person to die in North America after being shocked with the Taser’s 50,000 volt electrical output. Sixteen of those deaths have occurred in Canada since 2003, and the latest is the sixth BC fatality. The RCMP has been involved in eight of the Canadian deaths.

The police will investigate this incident themselves and clear the Taser of any responsibility, perhaps blaming the unfortunate man’s death on “excited delirium”, which is not a recognised medical condition.

The Taser was quietly introduced into Canada in 2000, without any public debate or prior independent safety testing. Although electric fences and cattle prods must undergo rigorous tests before being sold, the Taser is subject to no such control.

The list of Canadian fatalities:

1. April 19, 2003: Terrance Hanna, 51, Burnaby, BC (RCMP)

2. July 22, 2003: Clay Willey, 33, Prince George, BC (RCMP)

3. Sept. 28, 2003: Clark Whitehouse, 34, Whitehorse, Yukon (RCMP)

4. March 23, 2004: Perry Ronald, 28, Edmonton, Alta.

5. May 1, 2004: Roman Andreichikov, 25, Vancouver, BC

6. May 13, 2004: Peter Lamonday, 38, London, Ont.

7. June 23, 2004: Robert Bagnell, 44, Vancouver, BC

8. July 17, 2004: Jerry Knight, 29, Mississauga, Ont.

9. August 8, 2004: Samuel Truscott, 43, Kingston, Ont.

10. May 5, 2005: Kevin Geldart, 34, Moncton, NB (RCMP)

11. June 30, 2005: Gurmeet Sandhu, 41, Surrey, BC (RCMP)

12. July 1, 2005: James Foldi, 39, Beamsville, Ont.

13. July 15, 2005: Paul Saulnier, 42, Digby, Nova Scotia (RCMP)

14. December 24, 2005: Alesandro Fiacco, 33, Edmonton, Alta.

15. August 30, 2006: Jason Doan, 28, Red Deer, Alta. (RCMP)

16. October 14, 2007: Robert Dziekanski, 40, Richmond, BC (RCMP)

17. October 17, 2007: Quillem Registre, 39, Montreal, Quebec