Royal Canadian Mounted Police Taser Hospitalized 82-Year-Old Man

Cops seem to be having too much fun with tasers.

@ 666divine
Cops seem to be having too much fun with tasers.

Well I am wondering how difficult it would have been to just take the knife. Seems that three shots with the taser might have been overkill.

@ Sue D.
Well I am wondering how difficult it would have been to just take the knife. Seems that three shots with the taser might have been overkill.

Overkill, indeed! Considering the man's age and his poor health, one shot could have easily killed him.

"He was in his bed still holding the knife and he says he cannot explain why he refused to let go of the knife after the authorities arrived. " He could have been trying to protect himself against being tasered.

ex-prison guard, believes that the three RCMP Mounties could have "easily" handled him without the taser and he asserts, "They could have gone in there and taken an old man without any trouble at all."

My favourites are the quotes from EXperts in every field, from attorneys to ex security guards, to ex prison guards who KNOW exactly how they would have dealt with the situ at that very moment because they themselves were there in the brains of everyone else.

Would the 82 yo who was armed with a knife (just read the news stories on what those weapons do in the hands of untrained enraged people regardless of age or health) have killed the Nurse?

Tazing, until outlawed, is still a viable option and a whole lot safer that shooting pawpaw. I"m sorry but I don't care if you are 102, you pick up a knife and threaten someone, you risk your own damned life! Pneumonia or not. It matters not.

Outlaw it if it isn't "safe".

Good article SDQ!

@ Nikki W (karateblossom)
My favourites are the quotes from EXperts in every field, from attorneys to ex security guards, to ex prison guards who KNOW exactly how they would have dealt with the situ at that very moment because they themselves were there in the brains of everyone else.

Would the 82 yo who was armed with a knife (just read the news stories on what those weapons do in the hands of untrained enraged people regardless of age or health) have killed the Nurse?

Tazing, until outlawed, is still a viable option and a whole lot safer that shooting pawpaw. I"m sorry but I don't care if you are 102, you pick up a knife and threaten someone, you risk your own damned life! Pneumonia or not. It matters not.

Outlaw it if it isn't "safe".

Good article SDQ!

Thanks KB. Normally I would agree 100% but I am on the fence because the guy wasn't still threatening the nurse, he was already back in bed when the police arrived and probably could have taken that knife from him without incident.

I say I am on the fence because police are also supposed to make sure they don't take any unnecessary risks and a man with a knife IS a risk no matter the age.

Which leaves me thinking one zap probably would have froze the guy and they could have taken the knife.

Three zaps? Kinda a bit too much in my mind without further information regarding what one zap did by way of immobilizing the old guy.

They could have dropped a net or something or distracted him and removed the knife.

No need for fence-sitting at all.

The RCMP are a bloody disgrace. He was in bed. They could have thrown a blanket over the knife hand while approaching the bed from both sides to take the weapon.

They are like little boys who have dreamed of having ray guns, and now have them to use.

@ Chris V. (cgull)
They could have dropped a net or something or distracted him and removed the knife.

There were other alternatives, that is granted.

@ skeptikool
No need for fence-sitting at all.

The RCMP are a bloody disgrace. He was in bed. They could have thrown a blanket over the knife hand while approaching the bed from both sides to take the weapon.

They are like little boys who have dreamed of having ray guns, and now have them to use.

I fence sit on this one because I wasn't there, I am not privy to what the nurse told the police about the nature of the threats, his previous history and I have met and dealt with delusional people before and no matter the age, some of them could be dangerous, especially when armed.

I think they had other options, but without more details, it is only my opinion, not based on anything except one newspaper story.

@ Sue D.
Thanks KB. Normally I would agree 100% but I am on the fence because the guy wasn't still threatening the nurse, he was already back in bed when the police arrived and probably could have taken that knife from him without incident.

I say I am on the fence because police are also supposed to make sure they don't take any unnecessary risks and a man with a knife IS a risk no matter the age.

Which leaves me thinking one zap probably would have froze the guy and they could have taken the knife.

Three zaps? Kinda a bit too much in my mind without further information regarding what one zap did by way of immobilizing the old guy.

Come on now SDQ, fall on one side or the other...LOL

3 zaps: excessive, I agree if 1 zap knocked him out then the other 2 were 2 too much. If 1 zap made him crazier, then by all means, lay another on him.

I also cannot help but think what if the shooter's finger got "heavy" by accident.

But I believe that paw posed the threat whether ranting or in bed. He possessed a dangerous weapon, an intent to kill someone with it...at some point. He is,was, will be unstable

I feel sorry for the ol dude but does his age give him the right to attack or threaten (still assault) attack with a deadly weapon?

I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for the mounties and the situation that this whole taser stuff has created. I wish they would just outlaw the darn things or put their foot down on them and not make them controversial. Ya know?

@ Nikki W (karateblossom)
Come on now SDQ, fall on one side or the other...LOL

3 zaps: excessive, I agree if 1 zap knocked him out then the other 2 were 2 too much. If 1 zap made him crazier, then by all means, lay another on him.

I also cannot help but think what if the shooter's finger got "heavy" by accident.

But I believe that paw posed the threat whether ranting or in bed. He possessed a dangerous weapon, an intent to kill someone with it...at some point. He is,was, will be unstable

I feel sorry for the ol dude but does his age give him the right to attack or threaten (still assault) attack with a deadly weapon?

I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for the mounties and the situation that this whole taser stuff has created. I wish they would just outlaw the darn things or put their foot down on them and not make them controversial. Ya know?

I can agree there. I think more training on when to use them, how often and how strongly.

I cannot fall on one side or the other, because as your statement points out, we just don't know enough yet. We don't know what other options, if any, were available and I can see both sides of this issue.

I tend to stand with the police and making sure they keep themselves safe because cops have a very risky job simply by job description, but I would love to know if one zap would have rendered him immobilized long enough to take his weapon.

At his age, in his condition, I would willingly wager that one zap would have been enough.

@ Sue D.
I can agree there. I think more training on when to use them, how often and how strongly.

I cannot fall on one side or the other, because as your statement points out, we just don't know enough yet. We don't know what other options, if any, were available and I can see both sides of this issue.

I tend to stand with the police and making sure they keep themselves safe because cops have a very risky job simply by job description, but I would love to know if one zap would have rendered him immobilized long enough to take his weapon.

At his age, in his condition, I would willingly wager that one zap would have been enough.

In all honesty, I do not disagree with you. There seems to be an important piece missing and one we may never know.

Rule no. 1 should be that armchair quarterbacks such as ourselves should not presume to decide an issue about which we know almost nothing at all.
Rule no. 2 should be an entirely new process for hiring police should be sought--to prevent the hiring of more cops who are there primarily for the hype of testosterone they get by just dawning the uniform, picking up the accoutrements, and seeing themselves as society's knights in shining armor...

I know cops do alot of good, but this, combined with that Polish Guy, combined with that guy in BC who was shot with no witnesses in police custody, this is totally unacceptable. He was lying in bed, he was no threat to anyone, and could have been easily subdued by anyone.

As someone who spent over four, challenging but rewarding years providing support and encouragement to severely developmentally challenged adults who were dual-diagnosed with both intellectual deficits and highly-aggressive behavioral tendencies... the tasering of an 82-year-old man in his bed not only disgusts me as a 'Sane Canadian'... but suggests the pervasive impact that Taser International's stun-gun marketing has had within our U.S. Mirrored Culture.

Having handled situations that might have made these thug Mounties piss themselves by resourcing crisis-management training, patience and empathy not only left me unscathed... but maintained the lawful dignity of the sometimes ferocious individuals whose welfare I was charged (pun intended) to protect.

For all those who disagree with what happened please think of this.

#1 Someone and possibly a health care professional called the police because they thought that even though a man 82 years of age with pneumonia was still a threat to them and other people.

#2 Police arrived and probably gave the man verbal commands to drop the knife. The man for whatever reason did not want to comply with police.

#3 The man had a knife in his hands and was probably aggressive which was the reason police were called to the hospital. Even though the man is lying in his hospital bed sick, the person who called the police and the police themselves saw a knife and assessed the situation as being threatening.

#4 Police could have taken an unnecessary risk by getting close to a man who was agitated and did not want to comply with the police. What if police try and take away the knife by force and one or several of the officers get stabbed?

#5 Police are paid to serve and protect not take unnecessary risks to their own health. Remember police were called to the hospital, if the risk of this man injuring people was so low, than why didn’t the health care professionals take care of the problem themselves?

#6 For all those who are against tazers, please tell me what other actions the police could have taken? If your answers is that police should have tied to overtake the old man by physical force, than please the next time you come in counter with someone who threatens to harm others physically or with a weapon such as a knife before calling the police deal with the situation yourself. After all police officers are human.

#6 Police are highly trained professionals who assess every situation. They should not be forced to put their own lives in greater danger then they already do because someone who decided to threaten others with a knife should not be tazed after refusing to drop the weapon.

Sometimes but maybe not in this situation police have little time to think. Their action could change peoples lives forever. The job of a police officer has never been easy and it’s certainly not easy today. Case in point fewer people today are signing up to become police officers. There is a huge shortage of police officers across our country. If the public want to attract the best and brightest talents to a career in policing than the public should stop putting a negative outlook on policing. Maybe we should also publish a lot more positive stories about the police. For example last week in Northern New Brunswick an RCMP officers jumped into the cold river to save a men who had capsizes his boat and was drowning. The officer risked his own life and saved a men from drowning but I am sure many of you have already read about that story?