Christine,
Thank you for your e-mail of November 24th, 2007. I appreciate your concern. I hope to relieve you of some of your worry by sharing the following with you.
As you know, there is a world of difference between someone who is having a seizure and someone who is being assaultive or resistant to police and our officers are very familiar with the difference . They are not seen as attacks upon officers.
Our officers receive extensive training in all use of force options on an annual basis. We are always re-vamping and updating our training in the use of those options to address the most recent issues and concerns as identified to us not only locally but shared with us from our network of use of force instructors
throughout Canada.
All our officers are also trained and certified in emergency First Aid and CPR. They receive extensive training in working with people in all sorts of potentially difficult situations be it family issues, mental health issues, social issues, physical impairment issues, age, religion, culture and so much more. We try to come up with the best way to bring our citizens through all of these safely. Our Use of Force options are always taught to our members on the basis of using the least amount of force necessary to ensure that the safety and security of everyone involved directly and indirectly.
The officers who use the Tasers in Ottawa are our front line supervisors or members of the Tactical Unit. They have years of extensive experience in working on the road in emergency situations and have been carefully trained in the use of Tasers, as one more use of force options available to them.
I am not sure what more I can offer to re-assure you for your own safety and security and well being, but rest assured, we are aware of the difference.
Sincerely,
Staff Sergeant S.(Syd) A. Gravel,
Professional Development Centre;
(613) 236-1222 Ext 2775
