Trailblazing on Tasers

An editorial published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

THREE years ago, a mentally ill man died in custody 30 hours after being Tasered at an HRM police station. Howard Hyde’s heart stopped and he [pictured] had to be revived. The subsequent inquiry determined that it was a restraint hold — properly applied a day later by correctional officers — which caused his heart to stop forever.

Mr. Hyde’s death could have been avoided if he had been handled differently at every turn. Many Nova Scotians still suspect the Tasering was a contributing factor.

Ironically, they might be surprised to hear that many Quebecers were left wondering last week why Montreal police didn’t Taser a mentally ill man who allegedly charged them with a knife. Tragically, the suspect was shot dead instead, and an innocent bystander was killed in the crossfire.

We do not yet know the answers to these questions. If the officers believed they were in immediate, mortal danger, they would not have reached for a (generally) non-lethal weapon. Most likely, they were not armed with Tasers anyway — the Montreal force only has 42 stun guns on hand, compared to Toronto’s 700.

The use of Tasers, especially on emotionally disturbed people, is an emotional issue. But last week, Nova Scotia contributed something useful to the debate: the voice of reason.

In becoming the first province to clarify the rules of engagement in such circumstances, Justice Minister Ross Landry has found the right balance and created a model for other jurisdictions to follow.

We agree with Nova Scotia’s new guidelines that law enforcement officers should consider whether an agitated person is mentally ill and do everything in their power to de-escalate a confrontation, before deploying a stun gun.

We further agree with the precaution — although it’s not always practical — of calling paramedics to the scene before making the call to Taser a medically precarious or disturbed individual.

Most important, police as well as correctional and sheriff’s officers in Nova Scotia will be better trained to recognize signs of a mental illness.

The Hyde inquiry made the salient point that the jail guards didn’t know how to de-escalate confrontations. Better training is certainly the key to enforcing this province’s policy of minimizing harm to the mentally ill.

(edits@herald.ca)

Also see:

Nova Scotia Guidelines on Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs)

New guidelines a positive step

New Nova Scotia guidelines for stun gun use

An article posted yesterday by CBC News:

Nova Scotia has issued new guidelines for the use of stun guns and they go into effect immediately.

The guidelines call on police officers, court security and jails guards to consider whether a person is mentally ill before they use a shock to try to subdue them.

When confronting someone who is known to suffer from a mental illness, the officer or guard should only use a conductive energy weapon — more commonly known as a stun gun or Taser — as a last resort.

If there's a danger that shock could seriously hurt that individual, paramedics should be called to the scene before deploying a stun gun.

"We're educating not only the officers that are involved, but the health care services when an incidence occurs what the response should be," said Justice Minister Ross Landry [pictured].

Landry said Nova Scotia is the first province in the country to spell out when a Taser should be used on someone who may be mentally ill.

Officials with the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia are pleased.

"These guidelines direct the officer to make the best possible decision as to whether or not this individual... actually is affected by a mental illness and in crisis," said Stephen Ayer, the executive director of the society.

Ayer said the key to the new rules is proper training and awareness.

Image credit

Also see:

Stronger Guidelines for Conducted Energy Weapons

Nova Scotia Guidelines on Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs)

Conducted Energy Weapons (CEW) Fact Sheet (PDF)

Taser rules coming

An article published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

By The Canadian Press

New provincial guidelines on the use of Tasers by police in Nova Scotia have been approved and will be released soon, Justice Minister Ross Landry [pictured] said Thursday.

Three weeks ago, in response to an inquiry report into the death of a mentally ill Halifax man, Landry said the guidelines would be released within two weeks.

He now says he has reviewed and signed off on the guidelines and expects they will be made public within the next week or so.

Landry declined to say whether the rules would restrict Taser use against mentally ill people, but added that they would not be a major departure from national standards.

"We’re in line with the overall federal position," said Landry. "I think there are a couple of areas that we’ve probably tightened up ... and I believe it will meet our needs at this time."

The issue is a contentious one because the inquiry into the death of Howard Hyde recommended that Tasers not be used on emotionally disturbed people unless all attempts at de-escalation have failed.

Hyde died in November 2007 at a Halifax jail, 30 hours after police had Tasered him multiple times during a psychotic episode. But the inquiry concluded the Tasering did not cause his death.

Federal guidelines say the use of stun guns should be avoided where possible on women known to be pregnant, the elderly, young children and visibly frail people. The rules also say that the weapons should not be used on a restrained subject or on a person in control of a moving vehicle.

There are no references to mental illness in the national rules, but Landry said it would be addressed in Nova Scotia’s guidelines. He didn’t elaborate.

Image credit

Fatality Inquiry Into the Death of Howard Hyde -- Live Web-Cast and Video Archive

Concluded on June 10th, 2010

Judge Derrick expects to complete her report later this year (2010).

The Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (SSNS) had standing at this inquiry and was represented by a total of five lawyers, all of whom were working on a pro bono basis. The SSNS thanks Blair Mitchell (lead counsel), Angela Byrne, Michele Cleary, Marion Ferguson, and Sharmi Jaggi.

Howard Hyde

Adapted from the Nova Scotia Department of Justice's Howard Hyde website:

Pursuant to the Fatality Investigations Act, S.N.S. 2001 C. 31

Presiding Judge:
The Honourable Judge Anne Derrick of the Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Inquiry Counsel:
Dan MacRury Q.C., Chief Crown Attorney for the Cape Breton Region

To view archived recordings the closing submissions, please click below:

HYDE INQUIRY ARCHIVE

Also see:

Hyde remembered fondly at close of inquiry

The Howard Hyde inquiry wraps up today (audio, mp3)

Restraint technique led to Hyde's death: lawyer

N.S. inquiry counsel recommends foregoing Tasers to restrain mentally ill

No Tasers on mentally ill: lawyer

Inquiry to wrap up in Nova Scotia jail death

Howard Hyde Inquiry

Focus on training, not terminology

An opinion piece published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

By Marilla Stephenson [pictured]

A DEBATE OVER whether so-called "excited delirium" is a valid condition is a waste of time. What is more significant — in terms of how police and jail guards react to it — is the risk of death for a person in this state and how to best respond when high-risk situations unfold.

Last week Justice Minister Ross Landry released a report from an expert panel struck to review the condition last year. The panel was formed in response to the 2007 death of Howard Hyde of Dartmouth. He died in custody after a struggle with police. He had been shocked with a stun gun by them 30 hours earlier.

A death inquiry, led by Judge Anne Derrick, is already underway and its outcome is separate from the report. A pathologist has already concluded that Hyde died of excited delirium — a condition the panel says would be better labelled autonomic hyperactivity syndrome (AHS) — and not from the stun gun shock he received the day before.

We can expect from the inquiry, at the very least, another truckload of recommendations targeting how first responders deal with mentally ill people. A doctor who checked out Hyde after he was shocked with the stun gun has already testified that she would never have released him to the police had she known he would not receive the psychiatric assessment she had requested. Hours later, he was dead.

Dr. Stan Kutcher, a psychiatrist at Dalhousie University, served as chairman of the panel. He told The Chronicle Herald in an interview that "the most important thing here is to realize that this is a medical emergency and that this situation requires the combined efforts of law enforcement and medical first responders."

Police and jail guards will get extra training to ensure they are better equipped to recognize the symptoms of AHS and to call in medical assistance in those circumstances, says Landry. This is one of the key recommendations in a report that contains many useful guidelines for moving forward towards better responses to people experiencing AHS.

Symptoms — which can lead to hyperthermia, cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death — include extreme agitation, aggressive behaviour, paranoia or delirium, incoherent and rambling speech, extraordinary strength, numbness to pain, and profuse sweating.

The report says that "mortality rates are increased in the presence of the signs and symptoms of excited delirium — even with medical intervention or in the absence of use of restraints by law enforcement."

The panel also found that "it is reasonable to consider that, when further stressed by physical struggle or the application and continuation of physical restraints (including the CED), an individual exhibiting the syndrome of excited delirium may be at increased risk for sudden death.

"Similarly, the pre-existence of a medical or psychiatric condition (such as a psychotic illness, pre-existing cardiac condition, delirium with or without the use of psychostimulant drugs) may increase the risk for sudden death in an individual showing signs and symptoms consistent with excited delirium."

That is the nub of the issue: People who suffer from mental illnesses that end up in a state of excited delirium are at an increased risk of death. While police and jail guards may well be the people who are first required to be on the scene of such a situation, additional training is clearly needed to ensure they know when it is paramedics, rather than restraints and a physical struggle, that is more likely to bring a safe outcome to the situation.

Police officers and jail guards are often in very challenging, high-stress situations, where public safety, their own safety and the safety of the person they are trying to subdue must be judged at lightning speed.

They must be provided with every tool possible to make the right decisions in those moments. If that means more training to properly assess, arrest and/or subdue people with mental illness, then it should happen as soon as possible. Calling for medical assistance should be considered a first option, not a last resort.

Even one Howard Hyde outcome is one too many.

Also see:

Vulnerable targets

Taser guidelines: Adopt B.C. blueprint

An editorial published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

IT ISN’T the first report on Taser use and abuse, and it won’t be the last. But retired B.C. judge Thomas Braidwood’s 546-page tome on the sub­ject deserves to be adopted as the gold standard for law enforcement and policy makers nationwide.

Mr. Braidwood has become a fixture in the na­tional news firmament as he presides over the in­quiry into Canada’s most infamous Tasering fiasco — the videotaped confrontation that led to the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver airport in 2007. Part 1 of his analysis, Restoring Public Confidence: Restricting the Use of Conducted Energy Weapons, was released last week. The second phase of the inquiry, focusing on the circumstances of Mr. Dziekanski’s demise, has been adjourned until late September.

In his report, Mr. Braidwood finds no shortage of actors to upbraid. In a stinging rebuke to Taser International Inc., he asserts that Tasers can in­deed kill — a reasonable conclusion, given the stun gun’s track record, that is still firmly rejected by the weapon’s manufacturer.

Mr. Braidwood also finds fault with the B.C. gov­ernment for adopting Tasers without independ­ently testing them first and for the lack of uniform standards governing their use. But, significantly, he does not advocate shelving them. We agree with this view: Overall, Tasers can do more good than harm if they are deployed with restraint.

On that score, Mr. Braidwood sets an eminently sensible threshold that the stun gun use should be confined to violations of criminal law, not provin­cial or municipal statutes. Furthermore, offering “active resistance" to a police officer — running away or mouthing off — should not be considered a Taserable offence. But if a subject is inflicting or threatening bodily harm, then Tasering is justified. Uniform standards and clear rules of engagement should help eliminate the use of the Taser as an easy compliance tool and prevent outrageous acts such as the Amherst police subduing an obstrep­erous diabetic last year over the objections of para­medics who had called for assistance.

Also of particular relevance to Nova Scotians following the inquiry into the death of schizophren­ic Howard Hyde in Halifax police custody, was the warning that Tasering “an emotionally disturbed person is, in most cases, the worst possible re­sponse."

For police officers who have been issued a Taser, it does makes sense to have a defibrillator handy too, although this could be an expensive proposi­tion. In all, there are 19 recommendations in the report, which B.C. has pledged to immediately adopt. The findings should also be embraced by every other jurisdiction and the RCMP, which, in fairness has tightened its Taser-use protocols.

Certainly, Nova Scotia need look no further than the Braidwood report for inspiration to establish its own provincewide guidelines.

Bold emphasis in the text of the editorial is mine.

Also see:

Safe use is key

B.C. stun gun report applies here, too

An opinion piece published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

By Marilla Stephenson [pictured]

WHILE THE DEATH of Howard Hyde in a Dartmouth jail remains an incident of confusion and contradiction, the report from a British Columbia public inquiry this week was crystal clear: stun guns can kill.

The fatality inquiry called into Hyde’s death by the Nova Scotia government and the B.C. inquiry are different in many ways but they also have much in common: both deal with the death of a disturbed man who had earlier been Tasered by police officers.

The two men died about a month apart in 2007.

Robert Dziekanski died on the floor of the arrivals area of the Vancouver International Airport in October 2007 after officers used a stun gun to subdue him. The Polish man, who spoke no English, had been wandering the terminal for hours before becoming disruptive and exhibiting erratic behaviour. The RCMP were called in to deal with him, eventually delivering five Taser shocks before he collapsed and died.

Hyde died 30 hours after he had been Tasered by Halifax Regional police officers in November of the same year. The medical examiner ruled that his death, after a scuffle with guards at the jail a day after being arrested, was a result of "excited delirium" caused by paranoid schizophrenia.

The fatality inquiry into the Hyde case has different parameters from the B.C. inquiry. Judge Anne Derrick has not been tasked to assign blame in her findings.

In B.C., former judge Thomas Braidwood found that stun guns can kill or cause serious injury. As a result, the B.C. government has ordered the use of stun guns to be "severely restricted," but stopped short of an outright ban on the weapons, which have often been used to bring unruly suspects under control.

"Conducted energy weapons are unique — they are the only weapon designed to cause intense pain and to incapacitate through an electrical current," Braidwood said at a Vancouver news conference.

In releasing his report on Thursday, Braidwood noted that Tasers were introduced without prior independent government testing, relying instead on information from the manufacturers, the Canadian Press reported.

Braidwood issued 19 recommendations, including that police only use the weapons when someone is causing or is about to cause bodily harm. He said 25 people have died in Canada after being subjected to electrical shock from a stun gun.

He undertook a detailed review of existing research into Tasers. He concluded they are a better option for police than guns, noting the threat of a Taser has enabled some police forces to resolve up to 80 per cent of incidents.

But he also found that they can cause heart irregularities and are an especially high-risk weapon for those who are medically or emotionally compromised, particularly if they receive repeated shocks.

"Deploying a conducted energy weapon against an emotionally disturbed person is, in most cases, the worst possible response," said Braidwood.

Among his recommendations is a call for additional training to help police officers deal with emotionally disturbed people.

These findings will be of particular interest to the family and friends of Hyde, who have heard testimony at the Halifax inquiry from police officers and medical officials that seems, at times, at odds with common sense.

The inquiry has been told of procedural errors relating to Taser use by the officers involved in the incident, acknowledgement that written reports about Hyde’s time in custody are in conflict with what appears on security tapes, and a written doctor’s order that called for Hyde to receive a psychiatric assessment.

That never happened. Communication about Hyde’s condition appears to have been minimal among the police, medical staff who cared for Hyde after he was initially Tasered, and corrections staff. While the confusion that existed is apparent from testimony at the inquiry, there seems to have been little effort made to seek clarification.

One day later, Hyde was dead. Suggestions that jurisdictional limitations and ignorance of proper procedures may have prevented Hyde from getting the help he needed are far from good enough.

Bold emphasis in the text of the article is mine.

Also see:

Hyde lawyer: Adopt Taser guidelines

New Taser rules for B.C.

An article posted online yesterday by CBC.ca.

The B.C. government will restrict the use of stun guns by police, following the release of a report by the Braidwood Commission in Vancouver on Thursday.

Effective immediately, all police, sheriffs and corrections officers in B.C. have been directed to severely restrict the use of conducted energy weapons, in accordance with recommendations from the inquiry, Solicitor General Kash Heed said.

The B.C. government also will immediately raise the threshold for use of the electric stun guns to match former judge Thomas Braidwood's recommendations.

That means Tasers should only be deployed when all of the following criteria are met:

• The officer is enforcing a federal criminal law.

• The subject is causing bodily harm or will imminently cause bodily harm.

• No lesser-force option has been or will be effective in eliminating the risk of bodily harm.

• De-escalation and/or crisis intervention techniques have not been or will not be effective in eliminating the risk of bodily harm.

• In addition, the government will move to ensure all police using stun guns have access to defibrillators, said Heed.

Conducted energy weapons will now undergo regular testing and police will be required to report all use of the weapons to the province, said the statement.

In addition, B.C. will work with the federal government during contract negotiations to incorporate Braidwood's recommendations into future contracts with the RCMP for policing in the province.

Report based on speculation, says Taser manufacturer

Meanwhile, both the provincial RCMP and the Taser manufacturer issued written statements in response.

Taser International Inc. of Scottsdale Ariz., said it appears that "politics has trumped science."

It said the recommendations in the report are based largely on speculation and ignored key facts.

It is the opinion of Taser International, the statement said, that the inquiry's recommendations do not "meet the realities of modern day law enforcement."

The RCMP, however, said it welcomed the report from the first phase of the Braidwood Inquiry.

The force said it would "review and assess the findings, conclusions and recommendations" in the report.

The statement said the RCMP believes that Tasers, when used appropriately by officers who are well trained, can be a useful tool that contributes to officer and public safety.

Braidwood made a total of 19 recommendations to the B.C. government.

The commission inquiry was called after the death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who was stunned by RCMP officers at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 13, 2007. The commission finished its first phase of testimony in May.

Also see:

Tasers need stricter control, B.C. inquiry finds

VIDEO: Thomas Braidwood releases preliminary findings from Taser inquiry (Runs 15:43)

Judge: Tasers can kill

Hyde transfer order confused cop

An article published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

Note instructed police to ensure mentally ill man got psychiatric help, inquiry hears

By Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

An inquiry into the death of a mentally ill Nova Scotia man who died in jail is zeroing in on a police officer’s flawed interpretation of a form that instructed police to ensure Howard Hyde received psychiatric help.

Hyde, a 45-year-old musician who suffered from schizophrenia, was arrested on Nov. 21, 2007, amid a domestic dispute and was later taken to the Halifax police station, where he was Tasered twice while trying to escape.

The inquiry has heard that Hyde stopped breathing after he was shocked a second time, but he was revived by an officer who performed CPR and then taken to hospital. Const. John Haislip, a rookie officer at the time, testified that his supervisor, Staff Sgt. Don Fox, told him to make sure Hyde was taken to court once he was cleared as medically stable.

Haislip testified that Fox told him Hyde was in hospital for treatment of possible physical injuries, not mental health issues.

"He advised me that he had not been brought there for that; that if he was medically stable and medically cleared, then we had a duty to get him to court," he told the inquiry.

The doctor who examined Hyde, Dr. Janet MacIntyre, determined he was well enough to be discharged, but she included a note on a Health Information Transfer form that made it clear police should return Hyde to hospital if he did not receive a psychiatric assessment.

Haislip testified he was aware that once Hyde was turned over to sheriff’s officers at the court or correctional officers at the jail, he would no longer be in his custody. He admitted that it was unclear to him who would be responsible for getting Hyde to a psychiatrist. He said the doctor’s instructions, which referred specifically to police doing the job, probably should have been changed.

When asked if Fox’s directions had left him confused, he responded: "I guess it’s fair to say, yes."

The transfer form is a key piece of evidence in the inquiry.

Earlier testimony from other Halifax police officers indicates there was a general lack of understanding of how the form was supposed to be used, who was supposed to fill it out and what authority it provided.

Const. Steve Hillier testified that he didn’t even know the form existed until Tuesday, even though he was Haislip’s partner on the day Hyde was released from the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre.

Hyde was eventually taken back to the police station for booking.

Haislip said he relayed MacIntyre’s instructions to a senior officer at the station, but he was given no assurances they would be acted on.

The officer said he assumed officials would see the form and get Hyde assessed.

However, Hyde was later transferred to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, where he died the following morning after struggling with correctional officers.

Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer listed the cause of death as excited delirium due to paranoid schizophrenia. He concluded the use of the stun gun was not a factor.

In earlier testimony, another officer said he placed his right foot on Hyde’s back for more than 30 seconds as officers struggled to restrain him after the multiple Taserings at the police station.

Const. Christopher MacMahon said he didn’t lift his foot off Hyde until another officer said it appeared he had stopped breathing and was turning blue.

MacMahon insisted he did not place any pressure on Hyde’s back as three other officers struggled to control him in a hallway off the station’s booking room.

He said he wanted to stop Hyde from attacking the officers.

"I placed my right foot on his back should he flip over," he explained. "I put it there as a precautionary measure should he roll over and try to resist."

After watching a surveillance video of the incident, MacMahon estimated he kept his foot on Hyde’s back for 37 seconds.

Outside the hearing room, Kevin MacDonald, a lawyer for the Hyde family, said it would be reasonable to assume Hyde was out of breath after struggling with the officers and any amount of weight placed on his torso could have affected his breathing.

"I believe that is significant," he said.

"Mr. Hyde had just been through quite a struggle and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say he was out of breath and any amount of weight on Mr. Hyde’s torso when he’s in the prone position, with hands cuffed behind his back and feet up towards his rear end — I think that is a significant issue."

Hyde’s struggle with police began after a special constable told him he had to use a serrated cutting tool to remove the string that was holding up his shorts.

Photograph of the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre courtesy of the Capital District Health Authority.

Limited scope

A letter to the editor published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

The current investigation into the death of Howard Hyde is being conducted under the Fatality Investigations Act of Nova Scotia and is not a public inquiry under the Public [Inquiries] Act of Nova Scotia.

The difference is not merely a play on words because the outcomes can be completely different. Under the Fatalities Act, the findings of Judge Anne Derrick shall not contain any findings of legal responsibility. The judge may make recommendations to the Attorney General to help prevent whatever caused the death of Mr. Hyde from happening to someone else, but the scope of the inquiry is not as in-depth as a public inquiry would be.

In a public inquiry such as the Nunn Commission and the Westray Mine disaster, the scope of the inquiry was much more in-depth and a public inquiry is usually requested by the government.

The public should be better informed as to the difference between a fatality inquiry and a public inquiry. The main issues in this fatality inquiry are centered around the use of a Taser and how Mr. Hyde was treated while suffering from a mental illness.

A public inquiry should have been called by government because of the current controversy surrounding Taser use and mental illness awareness. This incident may have been the opportunity to equal the Nunn Commission in its recommendations, which went to government for implementation. This fatality inquiry is not a public inquiry and therefore will be limited in its findings, which is unfortunate.

Jim Hoskins, Halifax

Audio recordings: Taser victim was shot twice

An article posted June 18th by thespectrum.com:

ST. GEORGE - Audio recordings of a Tasering incident that resulted in the death of Brian Cardall [pictured], age 32, released Wednesday by his family, indicate that the man was shot twice with the weapon and apparently stopped breathing at the scene.

The incident began when Cardall's wife, Anna, called police dispatch and said her husband was having a "serious psychosis."

The couple was stopped on state Route 59 on their way home to Flagstaff, Ariz., when the incident occurred.

Cardall's wife can be heard telling the dispatcher her husband was running in the road, had taken his clothes off and was trying to direct traffic.

"I'm really scared he's going to jump in front of a moving car," she is heard saying.

The recordings captured officers ordering Cardall to "get down on the ground ... police officers, get down on the ground, now."

Cardall is heard responding: "This is a standoff - don't shoot me."

A clear pop sound is heard followed by an unidentified officer saying, "Taser deployed."

The recording continues as an officer commands Cardall to stay on the ground. Then, the Taser is deployed again.

Officers go on to tell Cardall's wife to get back in the car and take care of her baby. She is heard saying, "Thank you so much. ... please let him be OK."

Officers are heard talking about how Cardall wasn't breathing.

An officer in the recording says, "He (Cardall) went down, now he's not breathing, no pulse." It continues with officers talking about the Taser deployment.

To read the entire article, please click here:

Also see:

Cardall Family Releases 911 Recordings

Family mourns 'remarkable soul'

Walsh: Police search for a defense in death

RCMP halts use of older model Tasers after B.C. decision

An article posted June 1st on CBCNews.ca:

The RCMP is pulling all older model M-26 Tasers from service nationwide after the B.C. government announced Monday such weapons don't meet the manufacturer's specifications.

B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman ordered the province's RCMP service to pull all 578 of its older-model M-26 Tasers from service after testing showed the same models used by municipal police forces, sheriffs and corrections officers didn't meet the manufacturer's specifications 80 per cent of the time.

The province's decision prompted the Mounties to issue a statement from Ottawa saying the force is removing all its M-26 stun guns from active service "until each unit can be tested."

To read the entire article, please click here.

Also see:

Nova Scotia RCMP pulls older Tasers out for testing

Mounties pull some Tasers

Photograph by Jim Slosiarek / The Gazette / Canadian Press.

Hyde fatality inquiry to be webcast

An article posted today on CBCnews.ca:

The inquiry into the death of Howard Hyde [pictured], the Dartmouth man who died in a Nova Scotia jail 30 hours after he was shocked with a Taser, will be broadcast live on the internet.

It will be the first time a fatality inquiry in Nova Scotia will be visible to people outside the hearing room.

Lawyers agreed to the webcast on Tuesday.

Kevin MacDonald, who represents Hyde's sister, said it would give Hyde's father a chance to follow the proceedings from his home in the U.S., and also provide Nova Scotians with a front-row seat.

"The public are interested," said MacDonald. "The inquiry's going to be held in Halifax. But for the webcast it really would be closed off to many members of the public, even in rural Nova Scotia."

Halifax Regional Police used a Taser to subdue Hyde, 45, after responding to a domestic abuse complaint on Nov. 21, 2007. He was taken to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth, where he died 30 hours later after struggling twice with corrections officers.

Last fall, Nova Scotia's chief medical examiner ruled that Hyde died of excited delirium due to paranoid schizophrenia, and declared his death accidental.

MacDonald said Hyde's relatives have many questions.

"The family wants to know what those people did and why they did it, or why they didn't do what they didn't do?" said MacDonald.

There are also issues about mental-health crisis intervention, said Blair Mitchell, the lawyer acting for the Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia.

"Everyone's concerned about the Taser. Everyone is concerned about the use of force and the use of restraint, particularly in the case of a person in a situation of distress," said Mitchell.

Lawyers and court officials will meet again in June to discuss procedural issues, though Judge Anne Derrick won't hear from witnesses until early July.

Derrick can make recommendations relating to any matter that arises during the inquiry.

Also see:

From CBC News: Nova Scotia at Six:

In the fall of 2007, Howard Hyde died 30 hours after he was tasered by Halifax police. Now an inquiry into his death is about to begin. Jim Nunn speaks with Dan MacRury, the lawyer for the inquiry. (To view, please click here; runs 3:14, requires RealPlayer.)

Hyde inquiry online

Inquiry into death of man Tasered in police custody to be streamed on web

Watchdog questions RCMP’s Taser use

An article published in today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

Caution urged when using stun guns on young people, mentally ill

By Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The RCMP complaints commissioner says the Mounties should be more careful about using stun guns on young people and the mentally ill.

In a final report on RCMP Taser use last year, Paul Kennedy also says the force’s tracking and analysis of incidents still needs improvement.

The findings come 10 months after Kennedy, chairman of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, called on the police force to rein in Taser use and better monitor how officers use the potent device.

In his report Monday, the RCMP watchdog said there has been commendable progress on his 22 recommendations to the force, "however, more needs to be done in order to alleviate many of the concerns repeatedly expressed by the commission."

To that end, the commission is working with the RCMP on member training, reporting and policy development "with the view to providing a more in-depth analysis of the RCMP’s progress on all of the recommendations."

Some of the commission’s figures, released in a preliminary report last week, show the Mounties were far less likely to fire their Tasers last year. Use dropped 30 per cent from a peak of 1,583 incidents in 2007.

The statistics suggest police officers were more cautious about firing the stun guns following a public furor.

A B.C. inquiry is probing the case of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died in October 2007 after he was stunned five times with an RCMP Taser at the Vancouver airport.

The RCMP says it has limited Taser use to situations involving a threat to officer or public safety.

The new Mountie policy warns officers that Taser use carries a risk of death, particularly for agitated people.

But Kennedy says it’s too early to tell whether the changes will address the issues he’s outlined. "While the revised policy is a positive step forward, the commission remains concerned."

The report flags two specific groups — young people and the mentally ill.

"It is not that (Tasers) should never be used with these groups, but rather, that there should be a higher threshold for usage where these subjects are concerned. This higher threshold is not always observed."

It says the RCMP still appears to define "at-risk populations" as acutely agitated and delirious people and, before using the Taser, the force needs to consider those experiencing mental health crises or people who’ve taken large quantities of drugs or alcohol.

"This is problematic as there is a higher statistical likelihood that these persons will die in police custody and therefore any effort made to mitigate this outcome should be adopted by the RCMP."

The report also notes that while members reported that use of the Taser avoided the use of lethal force — that is, a conventional gun — in over half of the reports, "there is reason to be suspicious of this figure."

In many cases, the summaries of these Taser incidents "did not support the members’ statement" that lethal force would have been used if not for the Taser.

Finally, Kennedy said the RCMP has not fully addressed how it will tackle the issue of under-reporting by members who use stun guns — a problem identified in his previous report. And while the force has begun to share Taser usage reports with more people inside the force, it is not clear how the information is being incorporated into training.

The RCMP had no immediate comment on the report.

Hilary Homes, a human rights campaigner with Amnesty International Canada, says there is a lack of clarity about RCMP policy on Taser use.

"Until there is clear policy, and a demonstration that that clear policy is followed, there simply won’t be the confidence that the police would like to see in their own work."

‘While the revised policy is a positive step forward, the commission remains concerned.’

Also see:

News Release – CPC Chair Releases In-Depth Analysis of 2008 Conducted Energy Weapon (Taser) use by the RCMP

RCMP Use of the Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW): January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 (March 31, 2009)

RCMP shocked 16 people five times or more last year

'Excited delirium' killed Tasered man

An article published in the March 27th edition of the Edmonton Journal:

Critics say supposed cause explains nothing

By Ben Gelinas, with files from Laura Drake

A crazed man brought down by a police Taser last October died from what the medical examiner calls excited delirium caused by drugs.

Trevor Grimolfson [pictured], 38, was hit twice by the Taser after he attacked a man who came into his Stony Plain Road tattoo parlour and then smashed up a nearby pawnshop. Witnesses said Grimolfson was combative, violent and couldn't be calmed. After he was hit with the Taser, police handcuffed him. He soon lost consciousness and was declared dead in hospital.

"The cause of death was excited delirium brought on by drugs he'd taken," Alberta Justice spokesman David Dear said.

No further details on the ruling were released.

A representative from the medical examiner's office could not be reached for comment.

Asked about excited delirium, Michael Webster, a police psychologist who gave testimony at the inquiry into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver's airport, said that "it's a fantasy.

"Police and medical examiners have taken something that was initially descriptive and have made it into something prescriptive. And that's where the controversy comes from, because it's just not a diagnosis, nor is it a cause of death."

Webster said the vast majority of physicians, psychologists and psychiatrists do not recognize that excited delirium exists.

"I would challenge your medical examiner to show me excited delirium in that corpse."

It is Webster's opinion that the continuing diagnosis of excited delirium as a legitimate cause of death further drives a wedge between law enforcement and the majority of the medical community.

Alberta's chief medical examiner has been outspoken in his belief that excited delirium is a legitimate condition. Someone in the state could die without being touched or even when alone. It seems to have nothing to do with the method of restraint, Dr. Graeme Dowling told the Canadian National Committee for Police in November.

"They may die in spite of what we do."

Dowling said that it wouldn't be uncommon to need six to eight police officers to restrain someone in an excited delirium, as it is characterized by abnormal strength.

Following Grimolfson's death, the use of a Taser promptly became the public focus.

The medical examiner's ruling "once again shows that when these arrest-related deaths occur, jumping to conclusions is the wrong way to go," Taser International spokesman Steve Tuttle said. "We have seen this time and time again repeatedly, and it has sadly affected public opinion."

The Arizona company has been under intense public scrutiny in Canada since Dziekanski's death was captured on amateur video.

Tuttle said that incident ignited something that borders on hysteria in this country.

"We call it a crisis in Canada."

A fatality review board will determine whether a fatality inquiry will be recommended in Grimolfson's case.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team which looks into deaths involving police is still investigating.

Alberta Solicitor General spokesman Andy Weiler said no one from the response team will comment on the medical examiner's report until the investigation is complete.

Looking for answers

From today's edition of The Chronicle Herald:

Fatality inquiry opens into death of man who collapsed in jail 30 hours after Tasering

Philip McLean [pictured] went to the first day of an inquiry into Howard Hyde’s death with one thing on his mind — a call for a total ban on the use of stun guns.

"I knew Howard and to me he wasn't a violent person and I feel like the use of the Taser is the wrong thing for anyone in general, really I’m against it," Mr. McLean told reporters at Halifax provincial court, where the inquiry opened Wednesday morning.

Mr. Hyde died on Nov. 22, 2007, shortly after collapsing at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth. The 45-year-old, who had schizophrenia, had been shocked with a stun gun some 30 hours earlier during a disturbance at the booking desk at Halifax Regional Police headquarters.

Mr. Hyde had been arrested and charged with assault stemming from a domestic dispute. His girlfriend, Karen Ellet, said at the time that he had stopped taking his medication.

Mr. McLean remembered Mr. Hyde as a friendly and intelligent gentleman and "an all-around nice guy."

The Halifax man said he had known Mr. Hyde for two years, after the pair met at a social club they both frequented.

Mr. McLean said the province needs to ban the use of stun guns before another tragedy occurs.

"It’s too late to bring Howard and other people back alive, but I just hope that the Justice (Department) will get rid of the Taser.

"Unfortunately, I think it can and will happen again unless the law is changed."

Also see:

Family, friends hope inquiry will shed light on death of mentally ill man (The Canadian Press)

Nine groups will have legal standing at Taser death inquiry (Metro Halifax)

Inquiry opens into death of mentally ill man shot with Taser (National Post)

Photographic of Philip McLean courtesy of The Chronicle Herald.

New RCMP policy says Tasers potentially lethal, limits use

Posted today on CBC.ca:

The RCMP is restricting how officers can use Tasers through a new policy that recognizes the stun guns can cause death, especially when fired on "acutely agitated" individuals, the head of the Mounties said Thursday.

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott outlined the policy shift on the devices known as conductive energy weapons, or CEWs, as he spoke to the House of Commons public safety committee in Ottawa.

"The RCMP's revised CEW policy underscores that there are risks associated with the deployment of the device and emphasizes that those risks include the risk of death particularly for acutely agitated individuals," Elliott told the committee.

To read the entire article, click here.

Video:

Terry Milewski reports: Tasers potentially lethal, RCMP head tells MPs(RealPlayer, Runs: 2:13)

Audio:

Listen to RCMP commissioner William Elliott's testimony before Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, as well as the subsequent question and answer session, by clicking here (Windows Media Player; be patient, there is one minute and ten seconds of silence before the testimony starts in the English audio provided).

Also see:

RCMP commissioner William Elliott's remarks on changes to taser policy

New RCMP policy says Tasers potentially lethal

Photograph courtesy of CBC.ca.

Derrick named to stun gun death inquiry

From the February edition of The Chronicle Herald:

A Nova Scotia judge who presided over a controversial case involving the use of a police stun gun on a teen in Dartmouth will conduct a public inquiry into the sudden death of Howard Hyde.

Mr. Hyde is the mentally ill man who died in 2007 about 30 hours after Halifax police used a similar weapon on him.

Judge Anne Derrick will conduct the government-ordered hearing, which is to open in Halifax provincial court Feb. 18. The bulk of the fatality inquiry is set for April 22 to Aug. 14, a release Thursday said.

Cape Breton chief Crown attorney Dan MacRury has been appointed counsel for the inquiry, it said.

Mr. Hyde, 45, had schizophrenia and died not long after collapsing in jail in Dartmouth. He’d been arrested during a domestic dispute and was shocked with a stun gun after a fracas with police at the booking desk at Halifax Regional Police’s headquarters.

The province’s chief medical examiner has said being shocked with the device didn’t kill Mr. Hyde. His death was ruled accidental.

Judge Derrick will make recommendations about "circumstances surrounding (the death), cause and manner of death and on anything else that may arise out of the hearings," the release said.

The inquiry was ordered in September by Justice Minister Cecil Clarke.

Last month, Justice Heather Robertson of Nova Scotia Supreme Court overturned an earlier decision by Judge Derrick, who acquitted a teenaged girl in January 2008 in Halifax youth court. The teen had been charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest. Judge Derrick ruled the girl, whose identity is protected under law, was justified in resisting arrest during a dispute at a townhouse because officers overstepped their authority. The girl was Tasered by police.

The 17-year-old was angry with her sister, who’d taken her purse without asking, and the girl was threatening to damage the house, court heard during the trial.

Family of man who died in Taser incident says he was ill, not violent

An article published in the December 20th edition of Mercury News (San Jose, California):

By John Woolfolk

The family of a man who died Friday after repeated Taser jolts dispute police accounts and say he already was pinned under several deputies, handcuffed and not fighting back when another officer used his stun gun.

Rather than the "strenuous, intense physical altercation" that police described, the family of 26-year-old Edwin Rodriguez [pictured] said he was confused but not combative with officers that night. They also said Rodriguez suffered from schizophrenia, a chronic mental illness that can cause hallucinations.

"He wasn't violent at any point," said Emilia Centeno, 35, a cousin whose brother and mother witnessed the incident. They have cell-phone photos showing several officers on top of Rodriguez that they say they took before the officer used the Taser.

"That is what we don't understand. Why would you use it on him more than one time when there were so many officers already on top of him and he couldn't move and wasn't fighting back?"

To read the entire article, click here.

Some tested Tasers fire stronger current than company says: CBC/Radio-Canada probe

An article posted December 4th on CBCnews.ca:

Some Tasers deliver a higher level of electricity than the manufacturer promises, reveals a series of tests on 41 stun guns that was commissioned by CBC News and Radio-Canada.

The abnormal X26 model Tasers were manufactured before 2005, prompting some scientists to suggest police should stop using any older versions of the stun guns until they can be tested.

Of the 41 Tasers tested, four delivered significantly more current than Taser International says is possible. In some cases, the current was up to 50 per cent stronger than specified on the devices.

To read the entire article, click here.

The photograph shows three of the X26 Tasers tested by U.S.-based lab National Technical Systems as part of a CBC/Radio-Canada investigation into the devices. (Photograph courtesy of CBCnews.ca)