Man Dies After Winnipeg Police Uses Taser

by James Turner; Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - Winnipeg Free Press
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=3f18559...

WINNIPEG - A man died Tuesday after being shocked with a Taser by Winnipeg police in a back lane behind a city home.

Investigators had taped off a large area to investigate the incident Tuesday evening.

A police spokeswoman said it was the first time a suspect has died after a Winnipeg officer has used an "electronic control device."

"The male was conveyed to hospital in critical condition and has since succumbed to his injuries," said Const. Jacqueline Chaput.

"Our homicide unit has been called to investigate the matter, as is protocol in any officer-involved fatalities."

A witness told reporters he could see police trying to revive the man before paramedics arrived.

The confrontation began after an earlier incident, possibly involving a break-in of a vehicle.

Behind the home, two squad cars were parked, blocking in what appeared from a distance to be a black Chevrolet Suburban.

According to one eyewitness, a young man in a blue jacket and baggy jeans walked through the parking lot of a tire store shortly before 4 p.m. followed closely by a black car.

The owner of the store, who identified himself as Dave, said the man walked calmly across the street, turned around and began giving the occupants of the car the finger.

Dave said he lost sight of the man as he headed east up the street. The black sedan followed the man.

Shortly after, a fire truck passed by and turned up the back lane, the witness said.

This all happened in the matter of about 30 seconds, Dave said, adding he found it strange how quickly an ambulance appeared on scene.

"It seemed awfully fast for an ambulance to be showing up," he said.

The fatality in Winnipeg is the second Taser-related death in Canada this year. Jeffrey Marreel died June 23 in Norfolk County, about 130 kilometres southwest of Toronto, after being Tasered by Ontario Provincial Police.

Since 2003, there have been 21 Taser-related deaths reported in Canada. More than 300 people across North America have died as a result of Taser use.

Four people died in Taser incidents last year. The death of Robert Dziekanski after being stunned by RCMP at the Vancouver Airport in October 2007 unleashed a global firestorm of controversy about police use of Tasers after an amateur video of his death struggles was distributed over the Internet.

Quilem Registre, 39, died in Montreal in October, 2007 after being stunned by police. He'd been pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving.

Robert Knipstrom, 36, of Chilliwack, British Columbia, was killed after struggling with police in November, 2007. Police used pepper spray, the Taser and a baton to subdue him.

Howard Hyde, 45, of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, died about 30 hours after being stunned by police in November, 2007. A paranoid schizophrenic who had stopped taken his medication, he'd been arrested for assaulting his girlfriend.

The RCMP's watchdog released a report last month saying he wants stricter guidelines on the use of Tasers but did not recommend an outright ban or moratorium on the weapons.

Earlier this month, Nova Scotia placed an immediate interim restriction on the use of Tasers to "situations of violent or aggressive resistance or active threat that may cause serious injury" to a police officer, the subject or the public.

The measure was one of 16 recommendations contained in the second part of a ministerial review of Tasers released by Nova Scotia's Attorney General and Justice Minister Cecil Clarke.

With files from Canwest News Service and Global News

© Winnipeg Free Press 2008