Police Too Quick To Taser?

On April 7, 2011, an eleven year-old boy was tasered by Prince George (BC) RCMP following his suspected involvement in the stabbing of a 37 year-old man at a group home. Immediately following the incident, little was known or released about what prompted the police to taser the boy. Six months later, it was discovered that the boy in fact suffered from a heart condition, bipolar disorder and hearing impairment. During the incident, the RCMP was negotiating with the boy to come out. The boy appeared in a second-story window with what appeared to be a knife. He ran the object along his sweatshirt, arms and hands. The RCMP then witnessed the boy make cross-like gestures, which stood as a last straw for the RCMP before they decided to taser him when he came out. The boy negotiated for some clothes and when he came out, he was tasered. It was later seen that the boy did not have a knife in his hands, but rather, a pen. 

At first glance, it seems that the RCMP were out-negotiated by an 11 year-old boy who faced mental health problems. Rather than calmly or alternatively trying to negotiate with the boy, or perhaps find out more about his situation, the RCMP resorted quickly to using a taser. It is understandable that the RCMP were trying to protect the boy from himself and from themselves. However, by using a taser so quickly, they failed to consider the potentially fatal side effects, in particular on the boy’s heart condition. The RCMP also failed to verify whether the boy in fact was holding a weapon at all before deciding to taser him.  It begs the question of whether this 11 year-old boy really posed a threat to the RCMP at all.

Given the boy’s mental health condition, of notable interest would be to look into whether the RCMP has been provided with adequate training in handling situations of this nature. It is possible that the RCMP misinterpreted the boy’s signals or the boy was unable to comprehend the RCMP officers’ demands. Would this then be sufficient grounds for the RCMP officers to resort to tasering the 11 year-old boy? It is tough to see in any situation involving an 11 year-old why the RCMP would resort to tasering. It is even more compelling in this situation where the boy faced several mental health disorders.

An investigation was launched into the conduct of the Prince George RCMP officers involved. In charge of the investigation was the West Vancouver Police Department (WVPD), headed by Chief Constable Peter Lepine, a former RCMP officer. Of particular concern here is who is acting as a check on the power of the RCMP? From what it seems, the WVPD is not an entirely independent unit, and thus cannot really provide an “objective” inquiry into the RCMP. The issue of tasering is already contentious – can the RCMP be held truly accountable for their actions if investigated by the WVPD?

In the end, it was declared by the WVPD that the conduct of the Prince George RCMP did not violate the Criminal Code. However, few details of how this decision was made were given. Consequently, how can we as the public be satisfied with the results of this investigation? Although the initial story caused mass public discourse and debate, the results of the inquiry into the RCMP has seemed to go undetected. The detailed considerations that went into the WVPD investigation were not made transparent to the public. The length of time between when the incident occurred, and when more details were provided (6 months later) seems entirely unreasonable and did not allow for the public to remain informed.    

It is also important to note that separate investigations by independent groups were also launched, including that of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, and one by well-known BC Representative for Child and Youth, Mary Turpel-Lafond working alongside the BC Ministry of Child and Family Development. Results of these investigations have yet to be released but perhaps when they are, they will shed a more objective light on the situation.

Posted by Audrey Wong (Windsor Law)

Ottawa Police Service Launches Another Probe into Possible Excessive Use of Force

Amid details that use-of-force applications by the Ottawa Police went up 55 percent in in 2010 and as the Ottawa Police Service is still wading through the aftermath of the mistreatment of Stacy Bonds, another probe into the actions of Ottawa police officers is under way.

An internal probe has been launched into an incident that culminated in a police officer punching an Ottawa man several times while he lay on the ground during the early hours of the morning on January 29,2011 in the ByWard Market area of Ottawa.

While accounts differ about details leading up to the police take down and why the man was subdued, those interviewed seem to agree that the police appeared to use much more force than was necessary in the circumstances, particularly one officer’s decision to restrain the main by punching the man’s face and head.  This has caught the attention of Police Chief Vern White.

Though no public complaint has been filed, Chief White has launched an internal probe, or a “chief’s complaint” to the professional standards section of the Ottawa Police Service, to identify the officers involved and more fully investigate the circumstances for the arrests.

The video has emerged as the Ottawa Police Service recently tabled a report to the Police Services Board on the use of force by officers, which indicates that the use of physical force has tripled between 2009 and 2010. While the report suggests that increased training on transition between force and other options has contributed to a greater willingness to use alternative responses, the recent series of high profile incidents of violence have done little to reinforce the public’s confidence in their police force.

Chief White has vowed that a full investigation will be done into the matter, and that “in cases where an officer is found to be in violation of [their oath of office], discipline will be sought”.  It remains to be seen how this will impact community relations with the Ottawa Police Service and the use of force as the number of incidents continue to rise.

How do you think the Ottawa Police Service can regain public confidence?  How does this intersect with police accountability and/or training?

Posted by Jeremy Tatum (Windsor Law II)

Windsor Police Service takes the lead on understanding and responding to homophobic violence

Last summer, in two separate incidents, three gay men in Windsor were violently assaulted and subjected to homophobic slurs. Their cases are currently before the courts with one of the accused charged with public incitement of hatred, a crime that is rarely charged.

The Windsor Police Service has responded by implementing mandatory training on understanding and responding to homophobic violence. According to Helen Kennedy, executive director of EGALE, the WPS is the first police service in Canada to fully implement its training recommendations. The proposal has been welcomed by all members of the service including the Windsor Police Association.

The training comes at a fundamentally critical time as reported hate crimes against the LGBT community are on the increase and gay men, in particular, are at greater risk of being violently assaulted in a hate crime than members of religious minorities and racialized communities. See "Hate crimes against gays doubled in Canada". Moreover, LGBT hate crimes remain under-reported and under-classified.

Hopefully, similar training is occurring in other segments of the criminal justice system. For example, section 718.2(a)(i) of the Criminal Code permits judges to increase a sentence for a crime motivated by "bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar factor." Unfortunately, this section has been rarely used by Crown Attorneys or applied by trial judges. See, for example, the case of Aaron Webster who was brutally beaten in Stanley Park in British Columbia. On this front, things may be changing. In British Columbia, for example, a new Crown policy relating to section 718.2(a)(i) came into effect on October 12, 2010. It requires Crowns to lead any evidence that a crime was motivated by hate and make 718.2(a)(i) submissions in cases where "there is a reasonable likelihood that the court will make a determination on sentencing that an offence was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate ...." Of course, this still requires training to ensure that the cases are properly identified.

On March 11, 2010, LEAP is hosting a conference entitled Accessing Justice and Accountability in Policing. One of the issues that will be addressed is policing issues relating to the transgendered community. Constable Christine Schulz of the Ottawa Police Service and one of Canada's first transgendered police officers will be speaking.

Posted by Professor David M. Tanovich

Should police be given mandatory training to deal with mentally disordered individuals

On August 13th 2007, Constable Lee Chipperfield, a member of the Vancouver police department, killed Paul Glenn Boyd, a 39-year old animator. The police were responding to a call regarding an assault in progress. Boyd had assaulted an officer with a bicycle chain and lock and despite warnings to drop his weapon and get on the ground, Boyd advanced toward the other officers including Chipperfield. Chipperfield open fired on Boyd, shooting him nine times, the final one being a fatal shot to the head. Two years after Boyd’s death, Chipperfield was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Boyd suffered from mental illness. Last month, experts at the coroner’s inquest into the shooting of Boyd suggested that it was possible he was psychotic. His psychiatrist, Dr. Margaret Duke, testified that she had seen him 4 days before his death and said he had been suffering from bi-polar disorder and post-manic depression. He was functioning, but not properly administering his medication and as a result was a concern to Duke.

The inquest into the shooting of Boyd made 9 recommendations aimed at ensuring this type of incident would not occur again. One recommendation centered on the types of weapons police use in such situations. The jury recommended that all police officers be equipped with non-lethal weapons such as beanbag guns, or tasers. This is salient given the fact that Chipperfield said he felt that Boyd was at risk to attack him or someone else and that the police had “run out of options”.

The major recommendation, which came from the inquest however, was that the police department should have additional mandatory training to learn how to deal with mentally disordered individuals. Such training could help some officers recognize symptoms of mental illness and become equipped with the necessary tools to deal with those situations – not simply resort to using their guns. The question then is – would this actually have an effect in cases like this one? Will an officer that chooses to shoot a man 9 times without attempting other measures actually pause to put their training into effect? It might be just as important to look at police culture, how officers are trained at a more basic level, and how their training might be used in the future to mitigate that initial instinct to reach for lethal weapons.

What do you think? Should resources be allocated to fund special training for police officers to learn how to deal with mentally disordered individuals? Will this start a ripple effect for other such groups who feel that police forces should have better capabilities in dealing with their issues?

Posted by Melissa Crowley (Windsor Law I)

Windsor police chief apologizes for conduct of officers in arrest of two Muslim men

Two weeks ago, the Windsor Police Service, acting on the request of the RCMP, arrested two Muslim men in Windsor pursuant to an extradition warrant. The men are suspected of relatively minor offences (fencing stolen computers) although apparently the offences are linked to an organized crime ring in Detroit.

During the arrest, the wife of one of the suspects was frisk searched by a male officer (there are no female officers with Windsor's Emergency Services Unit). It was this that led to concerns raised by the Islamic community in Windsor.

The Windsor Chief issued a bold and courageous apology for the conduct of his officers.

The Chief has pledged to revise his force's sensitivity training to ensure that this does not happen again as well as to try and promote female officers to this elite group of officers.

For a further discussion of the circumstances surrounding the frisk search, the relevant constitutional law and the implications of the Chief's apology, see Professor Tanovich's op-ed in the Windsor Star entitled "Police Chief's apology will go a long way".