RCMP admit dangers of tasers and establish new policy for use and training

On February 12, 2009, RCMP Commissioner William Elliot appeared before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security to update them on changes to RCMP taser policies and training following the release of Standing Committee's June 2008 Report.

The RCMP now acknowledge that tasers or Conducted Energy Weapons, as they are now called, can be deadly particularly in cases of "acutely agitated individuals." As a result, enhanced training and policies on use were put into place in June. According to the new policy, tasers can only be used "where it is necessary to do so in circumstances of threats to officer or public safety." In addition, officers are required to report all uses of the taser including cases where it is drawn but not used.

Whether these changes will reduce the use and deaths associated with what Commissioner Elliott refers to as a "useful weapon" remains to be seen. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association has called for a moratorium on the use of tasers.

It will be interesting to see what impact the changes have on the recommendations that will be produced once the Braidwood Inquiry in Vancouver is completed. The Braidwood Inquiry was established following the death of Robert Dzierkanski at Vancouver's International Airport in October of 2007. Dzierkanski was tasered five times.

Posted by Professor Tanovich and Robert Tarantino

Ontario Court of Appeal restores custodial sentence for court officer who assaulted a young person in his custody

In R. v. Byrne, 2009 ONCA 134, the Ontario Court of Appeal restored a 90-day custodial sentence for a court officer with the Toronto Police Service who assaulted a teenaged girl whom he was transporting to court. The trial judge had concluded that in addition to a breach of trust, the officer falsely arrested the victim and then colluded with his partner, a trainee officer, to write a false report. He also tried to impede a subsequent police investigation.

The Court of Appeal relied on its earlier decision in R. v. Feeney, [2008] O.J. No. 4464 (C.A.). Feeney involved four court officers with the Toronto Police Service who were convicted of assaulting a prisoner in the cells of Old City Hall courthouse. The officers had viciously assaulted the victim after handcuffing and shackling him because he had spilled his juice on one of the officers. As in Byrne, the officers attempted to cover up what they had done including falsifying reports.

Posted by Professor Tanovich

Toronto Police Service ordered to release data on police stops

In Toronto Police Services Board v. ( Ontario) Information and Privacy Commissioner, 2009 ONCA 20, the Ontario Court of Appeal restored a decision of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario granting Toronto Star reporter James Rankin access to Toronto Police Service’s data stored on the Criminal Information Processing System (CPIS) and the Master Name Index (MANIX). Rankin wanted the information to follow up on his 2002 series on racial profiling and had applied for access by relying on s. 2(1) of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M. 56 (“the Act”). As noted in the judgment "his purpose in seeking the information is to test the Board's claim, in response to an earlier series of articles he wrote, that the Police do not engage in racial profiling."

The Toronto Police argued that they did not need to release the information because it was not a “record” within the meaning of the Act, and that even if it could be deemed a record, that it would be too costly to produce as it would require their staff to create an algorithm in order to free the database of personal identifiers.

The Court rejected these arguments, applying a broad interpretation of s. 2(1) of the Act, in arguing that this “approach – one of presumptive access – reflects the fact that, because municipal institutions function to serve the public, they ought in general to be open to public scrutiny.”

Posted by Laroux Peoples