RCMP use of the conducted energy weapon, January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010 : Utilisation de l'arme à impulsions à la GRC du 1er janvier 2010 au 31 décembre 2010, rapport spécial

The present report, comprised of 9 sections,3 provides the results of analyses conducted by the Commission pertaining to the RCMP’s use of the CEW in calendar year 2010. [...] The Commission launched its detailed assessment of the RCMP’s use of the CEW in 2007, when the Honourable Stockwell Day, then federal Minister of Public Safety, asked the Commission to undertake a “review of the RCMP’s protocols on the use of the CEDs and their implementation, including compliance with such protocols.” This resulted in the Commission issuing the RCMP Use of the Conducted Energy We [...] In recent years, the use of the CEW by the RCMP has been examined in a number of Chair-initiated complaints. [...] Nevertheless, this should not downplay the signifi cance of the rise in the presence of weapons; it merely suggests that some proportion of the increase might be attributable to differences in the manner in which the information is currently being recorded by the RCMP compared to previous years. [...] In these non-engagement cases, the laser sight was activated or the CEW was drawn and displayed about half the time; in the remaining cases, the CEW was pointed directly at the subject.