No charges are being recommended against any of the police members involved in the Tasering of a child.
The April 7 incident at a rural care home started with a young boy in care apparently stabbing his care worker then acting out erratic and aggressive behaviour. When police arrived at the scene, it came to a point that a Taser was used to bring him into custody.
The next day the West Vancouver Police Department (WVPD) was requested by Prince George RCMP to conduct an investigation of the conduct by the officers involved.
"We have concluded that the actions involved did not violate the Criminal Code of Canada and we will not be recommending charges in this matter," said WVPD commander Chief Const. Peter Lepine.
Prince George RCMP commander Supt. Eric Stubbs said "the circumstances were volatile, complex and they did what they felt they had to do in the safety interests of the boy." He did not deny it, when asked if the officers used the Taser to stop the boy from carrying out threats to harm himself.
"They were able to diffuse the situation with minimal effects," he said. "They were very concerned for the safety of the young boy. To be fair to him (the child), I won't be going into further detail."
Both Stubbs and Lepine said it was the first time in their veteran careers that they had heard of a child being Tasered.
"I myself am not pleased we Tasered an 11-year-old boy. The members involved are not pleased," said Stubbs.
The members involved are back on full duty, it was said. The victim of the incident, the care worker, was treated at hospital for a penetration wound to his side and has since recovered.
The incident is still being scrutinized via investigations by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, the Representative of Children and Youth, and the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP. Those have not been completed.
According to a report by Canadian Press, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP identified 194 cases between 2002 and 2009 in which the force deployed Tasers on subjects aged 13 to 17, including two 13-year-olds.
