Prince George RCMP Taser an 11 Year Old Boy - Update Post #74 -Report Issued

[thedestroyerofworlds]

From what I can gather, people are up in arms over the 11 year-old getting tazered.

I'm just wondering, would the kid have been charged for STABBING someone???

I'm under the impression that under Can. laws, persons under the age of 12 cannot be charged.

I know that it was wrong to tazer the kid, but maybe that will be the only "punishment" that the kid will get for STABBING someone.

[Roberto_Luongo1]

the rcmp are sure getting a little trigger happy with the tasers since they came out, but in all honesty, we don't know the exact circumstance. like say for instance the kid still had the knife...

either way pg is a hell hole. from personal experience.

[Wetcoaster]

From what I can gather, people are up in arms over the 11 year-old getting tazered.

I'm just wondering, would the kid have been charged for STABBING someone???

I'm under the impression that under Can. laws, persons under the age of 12 cannot be charged.

I know that it was wrong to tazer the kid, but maybe that will be the only "punishment" that the kid will get for STABBING someone.

[Wetcoaster]

A couple of recent editorials on the incident.

The Calgary Herald - Editorial: Tasering of children must be a last resort

The Tasering of an 11-year-old by a junior RCMP officer in British Columbia has rightfully put the controversial use of these weapons back under public scrutiny.

The RCMP have so far released little information about the April 7 incident in Prince George, other than a brief statement saying the boy was a suspect in the stabbing of a 37-year-old man at a group home. The boy fled to a neighbouring property, where he was found by police and arrested.

“Efforts were made to get the individual out of the house, and when he emerged from the home, a conducted energy weapon was deployed by a member,” said the statement.

The officer, who has just 18 months experience, has been placed on administrative leave while the West Vancouver Police Department investigates the case.

The first disappointment is that police are using other police to investigate their conduct more than three years after the Robert Dziekanski tragedy and despite two public inquiries that recommended the establishment of a civilian-based investigative body, modelled on Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit.

The lack of information at this stage is perhaps understandable after the Mounties mangled the media response to Dziekanski’s death in October 2007 at Vancouver International Airport. RCMP released factually inaccurate information in the early stages of the criminal investigation, and then chose not to correct the inaccuracies.

The report from the internal investigation into the Prince George incident must be made public — the sooner, the better. The incident is another blow to the reputation of the once-proud Canadian institution, with strong criticism coming from high-profile observers.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s representative for children and youth, believes police should never be using Tasers on children.

She’ll be conducting her own review into the case, because it’s the province’s responsibility to ensure the safety of kids in foster care or group homes.

“When we think about this being a very young aboriginal, vulnerable child, 11 years old, living away from home, in a group home, I can’t think of a more vulnerable child,” she said, adding the boy was assessed in hospital and released back into custody.

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP issued a news release saying it too is “closely monitoring the case.”

Amnesty International Canada believes this is the youngest person to ever be Tasered by police in Canada.

Central Saanich Police Service is the only force in B.C. to prohibit the use of stun guns on children, the elderly, pregnant women and other vulnerable people.

Ultimately, clear regulations restricting the use of conducted energy weapons on children are needed, and they should be consistent across all police forces in the country.

The use of a Taser on a child should be permitted only in the rarest of circumstances. It should be deployed only if there is an immediate threat to life and after all lesser ways of de-escalating the situation have been exhausted.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Editorial+Tasering+children+must+last+resort/4625136/story.html#ixzz1Jk9Vbbvb

Ian Mulgrew of the Vancouver Sun - Tasering of boy shows nothing learned

An 11-year-old boy in Prince George, B.C., is tasered and once more police are called to investigate fellow police -- but they can't get to the scene for three days!

What happened to 48 hours?

The delay underscores once again how slow the response has been to recommendations arising from the 2007 Robert Dziekanski tragedy.

Ten months after the most searing indictment of RCMP conduct in provincial history, the latest police-involved incident exposes the Liberal government's failure to meet its own timetable for implementing the key recommendation from the inquiry into Dziekanski's death.

In June, the final report of the two-year-long public inquiry called on Victoria to create an independent, civilian-led police watchdog.

We're still waiting and staggered this problem hasn't been fixed.

Former justice Thomas Braidwood, who conducted the commission into the death of the 40-year-old Polish immigrant, put it best: "I just wish they'd hurry up."

Sadly, what else can you say?

Given the police misconduct and systemic flaws Dziekanski's needless death exposed, Braidwood called for municipal police and the Mounties to come under an independent investigation office.

He thought the Ontario Special Investigations Unit was a good model and he wanted it to report to the B.C. ombudsman.

And former solicitor general Mike de Jong insisted the government would comply.

With the eyes of the world on him, he assured: "Within the next 12 months, the province will create a new civilian-led unit to investigate all independent municipal police and RCMP-related deaths and serious incidents across B.C."

Now, his successor, Solicitor General Shirley Bond, finds herself three weeks on the job explaining why it hasn't happened.

As she tries to master myriad new briefs, Bond said Tuesday she's asked her staff to bring her up to speed on the progress on all Braidwood's recommendations.

"We fully intend to meet the commitment to have an independent investigation office in British Columbia," she insisted. And much work has been done.

Colour me skeptical.

There were initial fears about the government's sincerity on this issue because de Jong quibbled about who would have jurisdiction over the agency.

Bond says that touchy issue is still under discussion.

Why is that discussion not public? Why is this initiative shrouded in secrecy and not on the front burner?

Bond said she's acting as quickly as she can, but pointed out she has only been on the job for three weeks.

"I'm moving it forward as quickly as possible but the bulk of the work is ready to go."

Really? We have not seen draft legislation, a search committee established to find the civilian leader or even a recruitment drive.

She said it's coming.

"The legislative agenda is the prerogative of the house leader and government and that will be considered as the house agenda is put together; the advertisement (for the person to head the agency and new employees) we expect within months,"

Bond replied.

I want to have the (agency) operational in 2011 and moving forward with very concrete steps within the next few months. I expect to see the beginning of operations, the hiring of the lead civilian -- we have an intent to do that this year.

Everything is being worked on as we speak.

Still, the pace of her ministry's work leaves much to be desired.

The Liberals didn't have to wait for Braidwood's report to realize this issue should be addressed -- it didn't have to be a standing start from June.

For most of the last decade, controversial police-involved incidents and officer misconduct have commanded headlines and prompted widespread calls for an independent investigation unit.

Robert Gordon, head of Simon Fraser University's school of criminology, responded to de Jong's promise by saying: "If they've all been sitting on their hands for six months doing nothing, then shame on them."

He pointed out an SFU conference in November 2009 on independent police oversight was attended by government staff, police, academics and the head of the Special Investigations Unit in Ontario -- the arm's-length investigative body staffed by about 70 civilians (a mix of former cops, lawyers, military personnel, CSIS investigators, physicians and government workers).

Before that, in September 2009, the Association of B.C. Chiefs of Police called for a civilian-led investigative body.

The province should have started working out the details then.

We have seen disquieting incident after troubling incident involving police officers since Dziekanski.

And time and time again, an angry public has been told by the Liberals and police agencies that they get it; they're doing something about it.

Really? Well, as Braidwood said, get on with it!

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/tasering-of-boy-shows-nothing-learned-119967244.html

[thedestroyerofworlds]

It is not up to the police to punish anyone.

Unfortunately they seem to not get that very basic principle on any number of occasions.

There is a reason why the Criminal Code sets 12 as the minimum age for criminal responsibility. That is a chocie Parliament has made. We do not hold children criminally responsible. And for those between 12 and 18 the Youth Criminal Justice Act applies.

[Wetcoaster]

I fully recognize that. I was just trying to point out that he wouldn't recieve any "real" punishment (as much as Youth containment or Juvi is). I know that the RCMP were wrong in this and many other cases in the force that they used.

I believe that like in certain circumstances where youths are charged and tried as adults, that maybe some youths under the age of 12 (an arbritrary number) should/can be charged as a youth, or at the very least be sent to some Psyciatric hospital (not criminally responsible) for treatment.

[thedestroyerofworlds]

We are dealing with a CHILD.

[Wetcoaster]

And there are CHILDREN who did some pretty awful things that were charged, etc as ADULTS. This CHILD obviously need to be treated DIFFERENTLY than the bad kids in grades 5/6 (which are around this kids age). I'm not saying that he should be treated like the worst of the worst Juvi offenders, but as the saying goes.... Spare the rod, spoil the child. Some punishment for violent cases can be justified.

[dragon]

I've spoken to a number of police officers and they all said they'd taser the kid if it was them... Reason behind it is that they wanna protect themselves from potential harm...and I agree...you don't wanna risk getting stabbed by this kid if he really tries to stab

As for PO training? I think they have to be better. Mounties spend more time marching than doing anything else, which I think is ridiculous

I dont mind tasering the 11yr old kid really...the kid must be f'ed up to have stabbed another person....but i don't think the PO at the time had much patience to deescalate the situation by talking...if it was 2 kids yea taser should be used, but my opinion is that they should've talked some sense into the kid

[dank.]

I've spoken to a number of police officers and they all said they'd taser the kid if it was them... Reason behind it is that they wanna protect themselves from potential harm...and I agree...you don't wanna risk getting stabbed by this kid if he really tries to stab

As for PO training? I think they have to be better. Mounties spend more time marching than doing anything else, which I think is ridiculous

I dont mind tasering the 11yr old kid really...the kid must be f'ed up to have stabbed another person....but i don't think the PO at the time had much patience to deescalate the situation by talking...if it was 2 kids yea taser should be used, but my opinion is that they should've talked some sense into the kid

[Wetcoaster]

BC Children's Advocate Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond in her preliminary review of the CEW use on the 11 year old has discovered additional information which had led to her expanding her investigation.

Apparently some group homes have been using the police as disciplinarians for unruly children not related to criminal activity but rather when staff wanted help with behaviour concerns such as children not wanting to come into the house, go to their bedrooms or be put in a 'quiet room' in a group home.

If a group home worker cannot handle unruly children (which is why many are in a group home in the first place) what the heck were you hired for in the first place????

Here is the press release:

For Immediate Release

April 21, 2011

Special Report to Examine Concerns About Group Homes

Victoria -- A Special Report will examine concerns about some group homes repeatedly using police to help

them manage or discipline children with complex needs and behaviours, says B.C.’s Representative for

Children and Youth.

The decision to conduct the Special Report arose from the Representative’s initial review of an incident

involving the Tasering of an 11-year-old boy in Prince George, B.C.

“In reviewing this particular incident, I became concerned about a wider issue of police being called by group

home staff to attend and act as a disciplinarian of sorts,” said Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. “The incidents are

numerous, and aren’t related to criminal activity by the child or youth. Instead, police would attend when staff

wanted help with behaviour concerns, like children not wanting to come into the house, go to their bedrooms or

be put in a ‘quiet room’ in a group home.

“When dealing with particularly vulnerable children in the care of government, serious issues arise if staff are

not properly trained to deal with challenging behaviours and instead are using police to bring kids into line

when criminal activity isn’t involved,” she said. “I’m aware this may be an issue not only in the Northern Region

but possibly in other areas of B.C. as well, and this demands a thorough examination.”

As well, other aspects of specialized group home placements and whether the resources and supports

provided are appropriate to the age, the developmental stage and the needs of the child will be examined.

Under the Representative for Children and Youth Act, the Representative can make a Special Report to the

Legislative Assembly when she becomes aware of circumstances that raise systemic concerns. A Special

Report may contain recommendations to government or any other public body.

Regarding a decision about an investigation into the 11-year-old in Prince George, legislation allows the

Representative’s investigation to proceed only when police investigations and criminal justice matters are

finished. The Tasering incident is the subject of an investigation by the West Vancouver Police Department. As

well, the Chair of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP initiated a complaint regarding this

incident. The Representative will continue to closely monitor the situation and when the other matters are

complete, will make a decision about proceeding with an RCY investigation into the specifics of government

services and supports provided to the boy.

And a report on the announcement:

VICTORIA — After looking into the recent Tasering by RCMP of an 11-year-old boy in northern British Columbia, the province's children's advocate says she is launching a review of concerns that some group homes have repeatedly used police to help them manage or discipline children.

"In reviewing this particular incident, I became concerned about a wider issue of police being called by group home staff to attend and act as a disciplinarian of sorts," said Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond in a news release Thursday.

"The incidents are numerous, and aren't related to criminal activity by the child or youth. Instead, police would attend when staff wanted help with behaviour concerns, like children not wanting to come into the house, go to their bedrooms or be put in a 'quiet room' in a group home."

Although she could not provide exact numbers, she told a news conference Thursday that police are frequently asked to deal with behaviour that group home staff should be able to handle.

Turpel-Lafond said this frequent use of police in youth group homes raises questions about group home workers — what qualifications they have and how they use police to manage behaviour.

She said any use of force has to be appropriate, especially when dealing with children.

"All children have rights," Turpel-Lafond told a news conference. "There are significant dimensions to this that need to be examined."

Turpel-Lafond has already started gathering information for her special report, which may contain recommendations for the provincial government. An estimated release date has not been set.

RCMP officers were called to a home in Prince George earlier this month where a 37-year-old man had been stabbed.

Police said the Mounties on hand learned that the assailant was an 11-year-old boy.

After finding the child at a nearby home, RCMP said officers Tasered him. Police have released few details of what happened — not even the condition of the child, other than to say he was taken to hospital for assessment.

The incident is now under review by the West Vancouver Police Department.

Amnesty International Canada, meanwhile, has called for strict new national guidelines on when a Taser can be used on a child.

The high-profile human rights group says the stun guns only should be used on children if "there is an immediate threat to life that cannot be dealt with though lesser means."

http://www.canada.com/life/Child+Tasering+prompts+larger+probe+advocate/4656120/story.html#ixzz1KC6Y0opp

[Wetcoaster]

The West Vancouver Police investigation report into the tasering of the 11 year old by Prince George RCMP is to be released this afternoon.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s child and youth advocate, also reviewed the case and will report her findings after the press conference.

The West Vancouver Police Department today will release the results of its investigation into the use of a Taser on an 11-year-old boy by members of the Prince George RCMP.

A press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Prince George RCMP detachment with West Van police Chief Peter Lepine.

The Taser incident occurred at about 5:30 p.m. on April 7 when Mounties responded to a 911 call about a stabbing.

At the time, Prince George RCMP confirmed that a 37-year-old man had been stabbed allegedly by an 11-year-old, who barricaded himself in a neighbouring property once police arrived.

A Mountie with 18 months’ experience fired his Taser at the boy.

The officer in question was placed on administrative leave.

The boy was taken into custody and transported to hospital for assessment, while the victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

On April 10, West Vancouver police sent a four-member team to Prince George to take witness statements, collect evidence and review the Prince George RCMP’s “operational file” on the incident.

The RCMP changed its policy on the use of Tasers in 2010 following the 2007 death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport. Police now can use the conducted-energy weapon only if there is imminent risk of death or bodily harm.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s child and youth advocate, also reviewed the case and will report her findings after the press conference.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Police+report+Tasering+year+released+Thursday/5408065/story.html#ixzz1Y37SvNd0

[Wetcoaster]

After the intensive West Vancouver led police investigation we now know one new fact - criminal charges will not be recommended against the RCMP officer who tasered the 11 year old. Beyond that, nothing to shed any light on this case.

The West Vancouver police department has decided no criminal charges should be laid against an RCMP officer who shot an 11-year-old boy with a Taser in Prince George.

"We have concluded that the actions of the officers involved did not violate the Criminal Code of Canada and we are not recommending charges," West Vancouver Police Chief Peter Lepine said in a statement today.

"As I have said from the beginning, our investigation is only one of many that will ultimately examine the circumstances surrounding this incident," he added.

"My team and I fully support any and all efforts to get to the bottom of what happened and to make sure that any policies, procedures or protocols that need to be changed to protect public safety are changed."

The West Vancouver police force was asked by the RCMP to investigate the incident last April to avoid the public perception that the RCMP was investigating its own officers.

Prince George Mounties were called to a home at about 5:30 p.m. on April 7 when someone reported that a youth had wounded a 37-year-old man with a sharp weapon.

Police arrived to find the victim bleeding but could not find the suspect.

The officers tracked the boy to a neighbouring house, where they coaxed him outside. When he emerged, he was Tasered.

It is uncertain whether the boy was armed or had threatened officers.

Both the 11-year-old and the alleged stabbing victim were taken to hospital for treatment and later released.

Lepine held a news conference in Prince George at 2 p.m. today to answer any questions from the media.

The RCMP changed its Taser use policy in May 2010 after a public inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski, 40, who died at Vancouver International Airport in 2007 after he was Tasered multiple times.

The inquiry found the use of the Taser contributed to Dziekanski's death and was an unnecessary use of force.

Dziekanski, 40, came to Canada to live with his mother and spent hours at the airport trying to find her, not realizing she was outside the customs area.

He spoke no English and eventually began throwing around furniture, prompting a bystander to call 911.

The police contact with Dziekanski lasted only 75 seconds.

The force now says the electric stun gun can only be used when an officer is facing "bodily harm or the member believes on reasonable grounds that the subject will imminently cause bodily harm."

At the time of Dziekanski's death, the policy allowed police to use a Taser on anyone showing active resistance to an RCMP officer.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/charges+against+Mountie+Tasered+year/5408806/story.html#ixzz1Y5bGiEnG

And I am impressed by the independent investigation of the Prince George RCMP by West Van Police headed up by Chief Constable Peter Lepine. His bio:

Chief Constable Lepine joined the West Vancouver Police Department in September of 2009, after a 30 year career as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. http://wvpd.ca/chief-constableexecutive-staff

[Wetcoaster]

B.C.'s representative for children and youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond has issued her report on how the 11 year old hearing impaired child was treated in the BC child welfare system - abysmally and contrary to law and policy The title of the report is "Who Protected Him? How B.C.’s Child Welfare System Failed One of Its Most Vulnerable Children",

Here is the full report:

http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/593643-who-protected-him.html#document/p1

The police use of a Taser on a hearing-impaired 11-year-old boy in Prince George, B.C., could have been prevented, a new report by the B.C.'s representative for children and youth has found.

The unidentified boy was hit with the stun gun in April 2011, in a stand-off with police after he allegedly stabbed a 37-year-old man. He had been in the province's residential care system from an early age.

Thursday's report, entitled Who Protected Him? How B.C.’s Child Welfare System Failed One of Its Most Vulnerable Children, examines the boy's life circumstances.

Representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said the involvement of the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development with the boy and his family fell well below the standard any reasonable person would expect.

“It has failed to provide this child with safe, therapeutic care and supportive, behavioural interventions. Instead, he has been retraumatized and harmed, and his basic human rights have been minimized and even ignored," she said.

The report found significant shortcomings in the province's residential care system and also documents serious errors made by the child protection system.

According to the report, the boy had an aversion to sudden change, but was moved 15 times after entering the care system in 2001.

The investigation found he was left subject to abuse and neglect, both in his birth home and in residential placements by the ministry.

“This case is among the most difficult we've reported on, but sadly, it is not the only one in which a safe and therapeutic residence has been unavailable for a child in care who has complex special needs,” said Turpel-Lafond.

"The provincial government must fulfill its role as prudent parent and immediately take steps to ensure that British Columbia children in its care who have complex special needs are provided with residential settings that meet those needs."

Re-traumatizing isolation

The stun-gun incident could have been prevented, the report says, had the ministry invested in a care system with trained, qualified staff, behaviour therapy and other support to help the boy recover from the trauma of his early years.

But according to the investigation, the boy was retraumatized by being repeatedly isolated in a so-called “safe room” in various residential placements, a practice not permitted by law or condoned in the care system's policy.

The Advanced Taser M26, manufactured by Taser International, is one of two types of stun guns used by police forces. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Canadian Press)

The report recommends a system of senior management oversight for all cases of children with complex special needs and the development of an internal clinical unit to deliver training and support to staff working with such children.

“In this child’s case, it was clear that decisions were made for bureaucratic reasons or to manage a crisis and not in his best interests,” said Turpel-Lafond.

"I urge the ministry to implement the recommendations of this report and begin to provide for these children as a prudent parent should.”

Irresponsible approach

B.C. Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux said the ministry has accepted all the report's recommendations.

"Nothing that's raised in this report is acceptable to me," she said. "I am heartbroken that the system failed this child, and I am committed to fixing it."

Cadieux says her ministry is already taking steps to address gaps in the system, strengthening clinical support oversight for children with highly complex needs and opening a six-bed facility to meet the specific needs of such children.

Turpel-Lafond said she met with the minister earlier this week to discuss plans for the boy's future, only to discover there was no plan.

"I was completely unsatisfied with the response and find it a completely irresponsible approach to say that there is no plan for this child.

"I am not satisfied with his current placement. He is not living in a home that is properly resourced and equipped for a child who needs all of his developmental needs met."

A police investigation after the incident found the officer in question was "justified" in using the Taser to subdue the boy and concluded no charges would be recommended against the officer.

The boy could not be charged for the alleged offence because he was under 12 at the time.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/02/07/bc-tasered-boy-report.html

[No_More_Larchide]

Wow some of you people are seriously retarded.

THIS IS A CHILD

TASERS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE DEATH TO SMALLER INDIVIDUALS

FFS!

[Navyblue]

LOL,

You know the probability of dying from a taser incident is extremely low right? Like, below 0.5% low. Whereas the same amount, if not more people die from excited delirium / fighting with cops, or even while handcuffed due to asphyxiation or other complications. Taser's make the jobs safer and easier for police officers.

Do they deserve some of the criticism they get? Sure. But my god, not everything they do should have to be debated by the media when they officer did not break any rules or act out of what he was trained to do. The assailant (I dont care if he was 11 or 41) had just stabbed a man, motive had not been established, nor had the boys state of mind.

Lets say the officer had decided that, like many of you, this was an 11 year old boy, and I can take him down using my size and strength without my taser, and instead accidentally breaks one of the childs arms while wrestling THE ???? KNIFE away from him. Then all of the sudden its *RCMP OFFICER BREAKS CHILDS ARM IN STRUGGLE*.

There is no pleasing some people, the child is fine, and more importantly, the officer who puts his life on the line to protect you people was not hurt by a disturbed young man with a knife.

Wow.

[No_More_Larchide]

The only "LOL" and "Wow" is that you quoted something said two years ago.

and what do you mean by "you people" ?

[Wetcoaster]

ha ha, I never even saw the date... I saw wetcoaster had added a new news story to this thread and began reading from the beginning again, completely forgetting how old the story actually was.

And the you people comment was directed to people who seem to have nothing better to do than bash the police whenever they're in the news.

[Navyblue]

ha ha, I never even saw the date...

And the you people comment was directed to people who seem to have nothing better to do than bash the police whenever they're in the news.

[Heretic]

Well...if it was in the good old US of A, they would have just shot the boy with a "real" gun.