Why is Taser International demanding that a British Columbia provincial inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport on Oct. 14, 2007 be quashed?
The answer, as reported by the Toronto Star, is that they are upset that the Braidwood Commission ruled that the use of Tasers can cause death, a finding based on evidence gathered after Mr. Dziekanski was tragically killed---he had been shot five times in the chest with tasers by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers.
Taser International's lawyer David Neave--a partner at the Vancouver branch of Blakes, Cassell, and Graydon--has argued that the finding that the product carries a low risk of death, is '...a slur that ought to be removed.'
And Taser International is demanding that all references to the weapon's (lack of) safety be struck from the report. The argument is that the company was not warned of the findings in advance of their publication and therefore was not given the opportunity to refute the inquiry's conclusion!
One can only hope that the law --always a very different beast from morality-- and the way in which the BC Supreme Court decides to interpret it upholds the right of a public and independent inquest to publish its findings regardless of the impact on private interests. To disallow this vital aspect of democracy so that a corporation does not lose potential clients for a controversial product strikes me as a dangerous precedent completely at odds with the public interest and the protection of human rights...
Photo credit: hradcanska
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