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| Great White North |
| Polish Man Tasered to Death in Olympic City |
| 2007-11-17 |
| This story might be of interest because Vancouver, Canada will host the 2010 Winter Olympics, and its treatment of alien visitors must be fair. Apparently, a Polish immigrant to Canada became frustrated when he couldn't contact the party who was to pick him up at an airport, and began throwing things (no person was put at risk). Police were called and on arrival, they immediately tased him. As he writhed on the ground, they treated same as non-compliance, and tased him again. He experienced cardiac arrest; police provided no assistance, prior to attendance by medical professionals. The man died. Poland has protested his treatment by the Canadians. The police are investigating. Trainers in Taser operation never instruct in use of same as a first-use weapon (they were classified as a Firearm until the gunpowder charge mechanism was replaced). Law Enforcement personnel are counseled - and often subject to Standing Orders - on use of escalating means to the ends of restoring peace, based on what is both reasonable and necessary. The stages go from attempts at verbal compliance, open hand techniques, closed hand (holding limbs of the suspect), hard physical takedowns, use of batons (usually on legs), pepper spray, taser, armed force. Few officers would want that changed. So is somebody responsible for what happened to the man? Don't blame Taser Corp. Don't blame instructors. Don't blame the two cops who clearly did not participate in the decision to tase, and who could not have prevented same. Don't blame the man who videotaped the incident. Don't blame the victim. Blame the two cops who chose to use the Taser as a first-strike weapon, against a man who was in retreat and who had his hands in the air. After only 1 day, over half million have viewed the video on Youtube alone. Unless the Canadians do the right thing, East Europeans could boycott the Olympics. None of us want that. |
| Posted by:McZoid |
| #26 Nero = Zero is begging for a swift kick in the A$$! |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-11-17 22:35 |
| #25 Possibly he was waiting for O.J. to escort him over the velvet ropes? |
| Posted by: Slappy 2007-11-17 20:59 |
| #24 :-) Fred |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-11-17 20:21 |
| #23 We hope you get tasered, too, Nero. |
| Posted by: Fred 2007-11-17 20:06 |
| #22 I hope you get tasered too, grom. Once or twice, or maybe more. Writhing in pain. And much laughter will ensue. Someone commented in a different forum that this man might have been a high-functioning autistic, judging by his behaviour in the 10 hours prior to his death. He took the instruction to wait at the baggage claim area literally. He waited there for almost 10 hours. When his mother asked airport officials where he was, they told her they didn't know, and then told her he wasn't at the airport, all the while he was in the baggage claim area. |
| Posted by: Nero 2007-11-17 19:10 |
| #21 I think it belong in "Today's Idiot", MZ. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2007-11-17 18:08 |
| #20 Hi Shipman! |
| Posted by: Nero 2007-11-17 17:45 |
| #19 I hope the man's family gets a nice payout after the civil suit Enough's enough. Group hug for Nero. Come 'mere, come 'mere you is need teh hug...., We loves our lurker trolls best! |
| Posted by: Thomas Woof 2007-11-17 17:05 |
| #18 g(r)omgoru: Videotape evidence is subject to different interpretations. At this point, I would put my views in the column of opinion, because I don't have all the facts. Use of Tasers is a hot issue, and I defend both Taser International's product and their training guidelines. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-11-17 16:35 |
| #17 Why this is in "Opinion"? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2007-11-17 16:23 |
| #16 I hope the man's family gets a nice payout after the civil suit. I suspect they will given that the Polish government is on their side. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-11-17 16:13 |
| #15 Sorry, Frank. Your reputation preceded you. The man is having some sort of psychotic episode for unknown reasons. He picks up a computer and drops it on the floor. He then picks up a chair (or what looks like a small table) to defend himself from the people who he perceives are attacking him, saying "don't approach me", and "I'll sue you". He doesn't physically threaten anybody. At one point he calls out for the police. He certainly does not threaten the police once they get there. The RCMP takes the lazy way out and they taser him without any attempt to calm him down and dissipate the situation, all within less than 30 seconds of getting at the scene. After realizing that the man is not breathing, they do not attempt to revive him, but rather just stand around like useless punks. I hope the man's family gets a nice payout after the civil suit. |
| Posted by: Nero Unolurt2869 2007-11-17 15:55 |
| #14 He was sweating and panting, pacing, threw a computer at a glass wall and then threw a chair. Looks to me like he was complying with police when they tasered him multiple times while he writhed in pain. You can hear bystanders tell police multiple times that the man does not speak/understand English. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-11-17 15:28 |
| #13 In defence of the police/mounties, it might be a bit difficult to get close enough to a man throwing things, in order to subdue him. Especially if he has a powerful throwing arm or is fairly accurate. What on earth did the reporter's comment that no person was put at risk mean? Was the gentleman throwing socks and crumpled paper, or was he not throwing sharp knives and grenade? Or perhaps he was throwing things on the floor and jumping on them? Were they his own things or chocolates from a nearby shop display? Even an op-ed piece should not leave out critical information necessary to properly judge the situation. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-11-17 14:59 |
| #12 The dude should have been arrested, and by physical takedown and cuffing. Police are there to restore peace, but they have to do it within guidelines. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-11-17 14:54 |
| #11 thanks Nero :-) too dumb to recognize tongue-in-cheek? Actually, throwing things in an airport DESERVES a beat-down, idjit. Did I offend you? Were you or your family involved in a similar incident, or are you partial to throwing things in airports? Ima curious at your being so instantly hyper-offended...It's almost Islamic |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-11-17 14:37 |
| #10 So, Nero Unolurt2869, are you an advocate of people having the legal freedom to hurl things around in airports? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-17 14:12 |
| #9 You're right Zen, the Olympics haven't been the same since the end of the Cold War. I haven't even watched the last couple. Actually, that was McZ's observation. I can barely remember the last time I paid serious attention to the winter Olympics. Maybe it was Squaw Valley or Grenoble. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-17 14:10 |
| #8 There were a total of FOUR mounties involved in this incident. They tasered him right away. Four mounties couldn't physically handle one guy. What a bunch of maroons. I think the RCMP are poorly led, poorly trained and cruelly understaffed. They are certainly losing the respect of the citizens who pay for their services. Like me. |
| Posted by: Canuckistan sniper 2007-11-17 13:34 |
| #7 You're right Zen, the Olympics haven't been the same since the end of the Cold War. I haven't even watched the last couple. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2007-11-17 13:31 |
| #6 Hey Frank, I hope this happens to you one day, you stinkin piece of shit. |
| Posted by: Nero Unolurt2869 2007-11-17 13:26 |
| #5 The Euros, Leftists and Disarmers are going to eat this up, and make a decent US company a villian. It didn't work for Caterpillar and shouldn't work for Taser either. Frank's on the money. Rowdy down within a mile of any airport or plane and expect to get a big hurt on your sorry butt. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-17 13:23 |
| #4 I saw this on the news last night. They reported this guy was waiting (being held) for 10 hours. Dunno if its true or not. I feel like that guy 1/2 the time I fly commercial anymore it sucks so bad. |
| Posted by: Intrinsicpilot 2007-11-17 12:37 |
| #3 throwing things in an airport? Shoot him |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-11-17 10:16 |
| #2 Zenster: I forgot that the last Olympics was boring. Lowest ratings ever. No hotties in the figure skating. Hockey is a dead sport. Downhill racing lost its luster. There were a lot of unsold tickets in Italian venues. I hate to see someone die unnecessarily. I have never worked in policing or security, but 30 years ago I worked at a rough hotel, and had to toss out low life. I had no trouble taking someone down and dragging them outside. And I never threw a punch. Cops seem to be relying on tasers, rather than using physical force. Maybe in back alleys, but at an airport... The Taser is a great invention. But it should be used in situations just short of cases where armed force is used. I reviewed case law after posting, and I found nothing to suggest that Taser is negligent in any way in training in proper use of their product. However, they can't write Standing Orders of police services. Youtube views of this video - and there are numerous posts under different categories (taser,Tazer) - are over a million. And there are thousands of Youtube clones. The Euros, Leftists and Disarmers are going to eat this up, and make a decent US company a villian. Damn those cops. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-11-17 07:30 |
| #1 Drat, I was hoping that this happened in China! Poor chap. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-17 04:14 |