taser international using corporate intimidation.....how will the b.c. gov respond?

Taser to file suit over Braidwood findings: report
Last Updated: Thursday, August 13, 2009 | 11:15 PM ET Comments0Recommend7
CBC News
Taser International is preparing to mount a legal challenge against the findings of a B.C. inquiry looking into the use of stun guns in the province, according to a media report Thursday night.

The inquiry was launched in the wake of the death of Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant, who died at Vancouver International Airport in October 2007 after being shocked multiple times with an RCMP Taser.

A Vancouver lawyer for Arizona-based Taser International told CTV on Thursday the company will ask a court to quash many of the 19 recommendations made by former B.C. Appeal Court justice Thomas Braidwood in his preliminary report last month.

"The commission breached basic principles of fairness and fundamental justice … both in its procedure and in the manner in which the report and its conclusions were reached," lawyer David Neave said in the CTV report.

CTV said it has obtained legal documents in which Taser International alleges the inquiry neglected to enter scientific and medical evidence brought forward by the company, and made its recommendations based on incomplete information.

In his preliminary report, Braidwood concluded that stun guns can be deadly and suggested much tougher rules be adopted if they are to remain an option for police.

He also recommended that stun guns only be used in single five-second bursts in most cases – rather than multiple bursts – citing increased medical risks associated with repeated shocks, and that paramedic assistance be requested in every medically high-risk situation.

Taser, which makes virtually all the stun guns being used by police forces, has steadfastly argued its stun guns are safe.

But Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said Taser is merely using the lawsuit to intimidate its critics and protect its profits.

The Braidwood inquiry's findings have led many Canadian police forces to restrict the use of stun guns — also known as conducted energy weapons.

The second phase of the inquiry, focusing on Dziekanski's death, will resume in September, following which Braidwood is expect to issue his second report.