A BC mountie who is suing Taser International certainly can’t be accused of having ‘ excited delerium’. 

The officer was a constable in Revelstoke in February, 2004, when he agreed to be exposed to the electrical discharge from a Taser device as part of an RCMP user certification course.

That had to hurt. As a matter of fact, it did.

The officer alleges that “as a result of the negligence of the defendants,” he sustained neck, back and leg injuries and a herniated disc that required surgery.

The defendants are alleged to have failed to warn the officer of “the dangers of an exposure to the Taser device” and of “recommending volunteer exposures” as part of the training course, despite the dangers, the court documents state.

As well, the lawsuit filed by Const. Husband claims that the RCMP officer who was the instructor of the user certification course was not properly trained.

Well, he is one of 10 police trainees that have filed suit against the company, 9 were and are in the US.  Guess who the Taser people are blaming. Him. It’s all his fault.

In the statement of defence filed by M.D. Charlton Co. Ltd., the Canadian distributor of “Taser conductive energy weapons,” the company alleges it was the negligence of Const. Husband that resulted in any damage or injury.

“Having volunteered for the exposure to the Taser device, the plaintiff failed to follow instructions with respect to such exposure,” says the statement of defence.

It also alleges that Const. Husband failed to take “reasonable care” for his own safety by positioning himself on mats and that he did not co-operate with “spotters” so that “he had the benefit of their support after his exposure to the Taser device.”

M.D. Charlton, which is based in Victoria, notes that it is not responsible for the “development, delivery or quality control processes” of the RCMP user certification training course.

The company denies any negligence and alleges that Const. Husband “ought to have known that voluntary exposure to the Taser device involved a risk of injury or damage,” and that he consented to that risk.

While Vancouver Police announced they  bought more Tasers for their trained officers, Newfoundland Constabulary announced there would be an immediate moratorium on their use. They began using them in 2000, only their tactical squad will have access to them until studies are completed.

Oh, look. The Canadian Taser distributor is based in Victoria, where the suspended police chief led a national ‘review’ on use of the weapon. The use of Tasers by BC police went up 57% from 2005 to 2006.
Did I mention the Canadian distributor is based there?

The RCMP constable has also included the Canadian distributor and the Attorney General of Canada in his lawsuit. The US Department of Justice commissioned a study in 2006 into 150 deaths involving Tasers. Taser International markets to over 7000 police forces world wide.

Getting it Right has been keeping track of the mounties and Tasers in BC.
Contrast his post on comments at The Blue Line Forum and pictures of the impromptu memorial at the Vancouver Airport shot by a Vancouver Sun photographer. With such polorized us/them thinking, I don’t think any inquiry is going to help prevent more deaths, improve communication, policy or procedures.