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.

August 16, 2008 update: 60 more people have died since Robert Dziekanski after being Tasered by police, including five Canadians…

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”.

There is no way of knowing whether individual Taser weapons meet the manufacturer’s specifications. As there are no Canadian safety testing standards of any kind for the devices, it is entirely possible that some weapons discharge much more electrical energy than they are supposed to, and that police officers are unwittingly killing people as a result.

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 delirium”, which is not a recognised medical condition. TASER International says so-called “excited delirium” is a potentially fatal condition. Here are some questions: How many people have died of “excited delirium” in the last five years in situations that did not involve law enforcement? Do people only reach potentially lethal levels of excitement or delirium when they are accosted by peace officers?

The proponents of Tasers 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 involved in taking, not saving, lives.

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.

Mr. Speaker: Member has a supplemental.

G. Robertson: It is absolutely deplorable that this government is letting the situation degenerate into a legal battle with small businesses. It is totally disrespectful of these hard-working families and of the whole province’s small business community. It’s also a horrendous waste of taxpayer dollars. The Premier and his Transportation Minister led the charge on the Canada line project from day one, and they created this mess.

Will the Transportation Minister stand up in this House today, show some leadership again and lead the funding partners in compensating the small businesses on Cambie?

Interjection.

Mr. Speaker: Member.

Hon. K. Falcon: You know, it’s always interesting when I listen to these opposition members, because so often what they say on that side is very different from what they did when they were in government. But the members might want to remind themselves that under the NDP, they also were building a rapid transit line. They may recall that. It was called the Millennium line.

I understand there were a number of small businesses that were impacted pretty dramatically, which were appealing to that government for exactly the support that he’s now espousing. It’s a mockery, Mr. Speaker, because they did nothing when they were in government.

I can tell you that what we are doing is building a line that will take 100,000 people a day out of their cars and into rapid transit. They opposed it. They’re going to try and claim credit on opening day, and they will not get that benefit.”

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:

Sentencing Transcript (PDF)

“A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money”… Senator Everett Dirksen

“…it’s going to run professionally. This will be built on time and on budget…Count on it.” Premier Gordon Campbell, November 8, 2004

According to the report of the BC Auditor General released today the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project is now budgeted at $883.2 million, a mere $388,200,000.00 over the original cost estimate of $495 million.

The race is now on in earnest to determine which provincial government can waste more taxpayers’ money on a marine mega-project, Glen Clark’s NDP (fast ferries) or Gordon Campbell’s Liberals (convention centre). So far the NDP is ahead by a nose, having frittered away $435 million on the fast ferries. However, as the Auditor General pointed out, there is no guarantee that the total cost of the convention centre expansion will come in at $883.2 million, and there is over a year to go before all the bills are tallied up.

Can the Liberals bridge the gap of $47.2 million? I’d say, given the history of this project, with six increased estimates to date, it’s a lock. A better question is whether both governments can reach an even billion in taxpayers’ money wasted on these two nightmares. Senator Dirksen, may he rest in peace, would be proud.