OTTAWA - RCMP policy changes acknowledge that Taser stun guns can kill - especially "acutely agitated" suspects - and will now restrict their use to cases involving threats to officers or public safety.
RCMP Commissioner William Elliott says the new rules clearly set out that Mounties can't zap suspects for simple resistance or refusing to co-operate
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Sudden death following use of conducted energy weapons is a concern to human rights groups, including Amnesty International. In Canada, a high profile homicide was video taped by a witness. It involved 4 RCMPolice applying Taser strikes 5 times to an unarmed man then preventing immediate emergency treatment. The man died within moments and the video tape went viral. That and more than 20 other deaths led RCMP to revise Taser guidelines to limit use of the weapons. This article gives background to the controversy.
In the U.S., Amnesty International counts about 400 people dead after being struck by Taser weapons. The group says the guns are not non-lethal and are easy to abuse as in cases involving children, the elderly and mental health patients.