Transit Police Officially Unaccountable for Taser Usage

The Braidwood inquiry into Taser usage by law enforcement in BC was supposed to have representatives from the Translink Police Force in front of them today. Problem was, the Translink Police decided not to show.

From the Vancouver Sun:

"Transit police had used the electroshock device 10 times over 18 months. And on four of those occasions, they used Tasers on non-aggressive, non-compliant passengers, according to documents obtained through access to information.

Sgt. Willie Merenick explained Tuesday that transit police did not want to do anything to interfere with a Police Complaints Commission investigation underway.

"It's like any investigation really. You cannot really take the evidence and disrupt the investigation," Merenick said.

However, B.C. Civil Liberties Association president Rob Holmes said the transit police explanation for not attending did "not make sense.

"Mr. Braidwood is obviously engaging in a civil inquiry. Nothing criminal can come out of what he has to say," Holmes said. "

What does it say for the credibility of the Transit Police when they won't even speak about the methods and situations where Tasers have been or can justifiably be used in the future?

I was getting on the train this morning, and saw a guy getting a ticket for a fare evasion. My eyes were drawn to both the gun, and the Taser on the officer's hip. All I could think was how unnecessary it was.

Police are there to protect and serve, and if the Transit Police can't be open about something that is such a huge issue of public safety, then they don't deserve to carry either of those weapons, let alone a Taser.