VANCOUVER, B.C. – The RCMP says it won’t comply immediately with the B.C. solicitor general’s order to restrict the use of Tasers.
Spokesman Sgt. Tim Shields says the Mounties need time to review a report by the retired judge conducting a public inquiry into Taser use.
Right after the report was released today, Solicitor General Kash Heed announced his government has accepted all of Braidwood’s 19 recommendations regarding Taser use.
Heed says he expects all police agencies, including the RCMP, to obey his directive to immediately restrict Taser use in compliance with the Braidwood report.
Shields says the RCMP is aware of Heed’s directive, but it needs time to assess the impact on more than 100 detachments in B.C., as well as the implications on the Mounties as a national police force.
Shields says the force will review Braidwood’s report as quickly as possible, but adds the Mounties last year imposed their own restrictions on Taser use that are similar to Braidwood’s recommendations.
