Does it Come With a Full-Auto Switch?

By BJ

You can bet some people aren't going to be too happy with these findings, even as they don't come as much of a surprise to me.

RCMP officers are likely to fire their electronic stun guns multiple times during an altercation, despite a policy that warns it may pose health risks, according to a joint investigation by CBC News/Radio Canada and the Canadian Press.

The media outlets, which analyzed the Taser-use forms RCMP officers are required to fill out if they draw a stun gun, also found multiple use of Tasers is increasing.

The data from 2002 to 2007 is heavily censored, but reveals that Mounties used their Tasers more than 3,000 times nationwide during the period. In more than 1,300 of those cases, officers fired their stun guns more than once.

The analysis also revealed that in nearly 18 per cent of the incidents, officers had fired three or more times.

. . .

The RCMP policy, in place since 2005, states that �multiple deployment or continuous cycling of the CEW [conducted energy weapon] may be hazardous to a subject. Unless situational factors dictate otherwise, do not cycle the CEW repeatedly, for more than 15-20 seconds at a time against a subject.�

. . .

But despite the new rules, the percentage of Taser incidents in which the weapon was fired multiple times crept up from 42 per cent in 2005 to 45 per cent in 2007.

The investigation also revealed that in 2,200 of the 3,000 RCMP Taser incidents between 2002 and 2007, the person the Mounties were dealing with was unarmed.[Emp Added]

It's clear that the Taser is being used more for pain compliance than for actual threats. A large part of that is due to the mistaken belief that they are next to harmless rather than potentially lethal. On the bright side, that last part may be changing:

A federal jury has held Taser International responsible for the death of a Salinas man in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday, and awarded his family more than $6 million in punitive and compensatory damages.

An attorney for the family called the verdict a �landmark decision,� and indicated that it was the first time Taser International had been held responsible for a death or injury linked to its product.

A few more cases like that, and police forces in North America may actually start paying real close attention to how their officers are using their toys.