Canada's federal police force failed to do enough research on the dangers of Taser stun guns before they approved the weapons for use, according to a recently released report.
The report was ordered by Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Bill Elliott following last October's incident involving Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who died after he was Tasered by police at Vancouver International Airport. The incident drew international attention after a videotape of his death showed police Tasering a non-combative Dziekanski.
The review was finished in June, but only made public on Friday.
Tasers are a pistol-shaped weapon that deliver 50,000 volts of electricity into a person's body. The result is excruciatingly painful, usually causing a person to fall to the ground.
More than a dozen people have died in Canada after being hit with Tasers in the past four years, according to Amnesty International. However, the Arizona-based manufacturer of Taser guns, Taser International, says the devices have never been conclusively linked to any deaths in Canada.
The independent report concluded that RCMP officials relied too heavily on information provided by manufacturers when they developed their own stun gun policies and training programmes.
"While manufacturers understandably need to provide (and are entitled to do so) information to potential customers or clients as part of their marketing and promotion efforts, the policing community needs to be assiduous in assessing the manufacturer's information," stated the report.
The report adds that police did not treat the stun gun as a "prohibited firearm"-- its proper legal classification and slams the use of the term "excited delirium," which is used by police officers to describe combative, resistant suspects.
It said "excited delirium" is not a recognized medical diagnosis, and is merely an excuse to justify firing the 50,000-volt charge.
The report, which was prepared by a group of independent consultants led by John Kiedrowski of the University of Ottawa's criminology department, urges the federal government to set national standards for Taser use by all police forces across the country under its power in the Criminal Code to regulate firearms.
The RCMP said on Friday it was studying the report, but had already taken steps to improve its policies on the use of the gun.
