This should not have happened [editorial]

In what country of fair-minded citizens would the tasering of an 11-year-old boy pass without outcry and inquiry? Not in this country, one would hope.

Eleven. Try and picture the 11 year olds that surround you and imagine their small bodies jerking in response to an electrical current from a stun gun. If you can’t picture it, google Robert Dziekanski and view the film. The polish immigrant who, at about 6 feet tall and well over 200 pounds, died as a result of an RCMP tasering in Vancouver Airport in 2007 and it was caught on video.

RCMP used a stun gun to subdue a boy living in a group home in Prince George, B.C. The boy was believed to be the suspect in the stabbing of a 37 year old in the home. RCMP are reporting that the taser was used to stop the boy from doing harm to himself.

Of course, this is the same RCMP that misrepresented the facts to portray the RCMP in a favorable light in the Dziekanski case.

This is a taser we’re talking about people. In what RCMP handbook does it say that there are certain circumstances when a taser should be used on a child?
So, despite the RCMP Public Complaints Commission’s promise to investigate, we join the calls for an independent inquiry. Thomas Braidwood, the commissioner that oversaw the Dziekanski tasering inquiry, has recommended that an independent agency with civilian oversights be established to investigate police complaints.

He is quoted as saying “I’m not suggesting for a moment that there is or has been any cover-ups, but there’s always a suspicion of it.”

No stone should be left unturned in determining the facts of this case. To use such a weapon on a child is abhorrent. To allow the occurrence to go unquestioned is irresponsible, immoral, and disturbing to the core.

The boy was in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development at the time of the tasering, so BC’s Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, has become involved and is leaning towards an investigation herself.

“I’m very concerned about this situation and obviously that a young child in care, an Aboriginal child that’s very fragile … has been involved in this incident.”

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) also demands a formal, independent inquiry. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of UBCIC asked, “How is the provincial government going to address the trauma suffered by this extremely vulnerable Aboriginal child?”

UBCIC is calling for a comprehensive investigation into the full context of the situation, including the policing context that led to the deployment of a taser on the eleven-year old.

“Unquestionably, this must be the last time that a child is tasered,” said Phillip.

“The eleven-year-old Aboriginal child who received such physically and emotionally abusive treatment from the RCMP must be given every possible chance for success and recovery from the impact and damage of this experience.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Windspeaker