Death of 2 men after police Tasering raises questions, experts say
Two men in Halifax have died in the span of less than one week after they were Tasered by police, who said both men were in mental health distress.
Criminologists say the deaths are a reminder that police are rarely the appropriate people to respond to mental health crises, and that conducted energy weapons can be lethal.
On Feb. 22, a 25-year-old man died in Halifax police custody after officers found him "experiencing a mental health crisis," and Tasered him when he allegedly became aggressive.
Six days later, police say a 37-year-old man who was having a "mental health episode" and became aggressive with officers also died in custody after he was Tasered.
Nova Scotia's police watchdog is investigating both incidents.
Inadequate police training
Temitope Oriola, a criminology and sociology professor at the University of Alberta who has studied police use of conducted energy weapons, says these two fatalities should make Halifax city officials reconsider having police respond to people in mental health distress.
Oriola says police are not adequately trained to de-escalate mental health crisis situations, and there's no way for officers to know if the volts of electricity that Tasers or stun guns emit may kill someone.
Marcus Sibley, an assistant criminology professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, agrees and says research indicates that police use force more often on people in mental health crises than on people who are not in mental distress.
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