Legal Blog
Taser Gunned to Death
Thursday, November 15, 2007
On October 14, 2007, Polish, immigrant Robert Dziekanski arrived in British Columbia and was detained for an unknown reason. Dziekanski after 10 hours of detention, became agitated and frustrated. Shortly after, four RCMP officers arrived and ended up using a taser gun on Dziekanski that shot 50,000 volts of electricity into him, twice.
A few moments later Dziekanski was pronounced dead.
In 2003 almost 18 people died in Canada as a result of being stunned by Tasers.
This story has now made international headlines and it's really due to the fact that the entire episode was taped by a teenager. Today, Vancouver authorities released the tape.
Given, the stats surrounding tasers and now this new death, law enforcement agencies should stop using taser guns.
Dziekanski was coming to Canada to be with his mother. His mother is now on a waiting list for psychiatric care due to the loss of her son. She has retained a lawyer in British Columbia.
This is a most unfortunate event that could have been prevented.
It will be interesting to see what happens with this case given the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding tort actions against police officers.
Mr. Longo of Neinstein & Associates is currently representing individuals who have been the victims of taser gun incidents and actions against law enforcement agencies. If you have been involved in a similar incident call the law firm of Neinstein & Associates for a free consultation.
Click below for the video: