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Summary: An 11-year-old boy is in hospital after being zapped with a stun gun. The police-led investigation into the case has sparked criticism from retired judge, Thomas Braidwood, who led the public inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski who died in 2007 at Vancouver airport after a Taser was used against him. [10 April 2011] - The retired judge who led the public inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski is criticising the police probe into the use of a Taser on an 11-year-old boy in Prince George, British Columbia. Mounties responded to a 911 call at around 5:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, after a 37-year-old man was stabbed. They used a stun gun to subdue the boy, who is a suspect in the case according to a police statement. The RCMP have asked West Vancouver Police to investigate the incident. On Sunday, retired justice Thomas Braidwood criticised the move, saying police shouldn't investigate police because it fails to address concerns of bias. "The most significant and important weapon the arsenal of any police force is public support, and the way to get public support is to have an independent body investigate situations like that," Braidwood said in an interview with The Canadian Press. Braidwood oversaw two sets of public hearings into the case of Dziekanski, who died in 2007 at the Vancouver airport after a stun gun was used against him. Braidwood has asked the provincial government to create a civilian body to probe cases involving police, but the government has yet to act on his recommendation. "If the other tribunal is not in place, then I can see that (calling in the West Vancouver police) is the way it would have to be, but I don't agree that is the correct solution, because there is a camaraderie and other matters that exist between police forces -- and indeed, so there should be, they have to support each other -- so it doesn't quite go far enough," he said. A police psychologist who testified at the Braidwood inquiry said that using a stun gun on a person as young as 11 years old could lead to international criticism. "It goes against international standards, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, that Canada is a signatory to," Dr. Mike Webster said by phone from Hornby Island, B.C. There is a medical issue as well, he said, because the manufacturer of the stun guns "has admitted that its weapon is dangerous." The province's representative for children and youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, said that officials with the British Columbia government informed her about the incident because the 11-year-old had been living in a group home. She's considering whether her office will launch a formal investigation into the matter, she said. "Because of the fact that this was a young child who was in care of the province and in a group home, my lens is a little bit different (than the police investigation)," Turpel-Lafond said. Her office would focus on "whether or not we're adequately supporting a child in care." The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association has also expressed concern about the latest Taser incident. David Eby, the association's executive director, said on Saturday that there would need to be "pretty exceptional circumstances" to warrant firing a stun gun at a child. He wants to know whether the boy was armed at the time. "When you have someone with very low body mass and hearts that are still developing… if you don't know what the outcome the device is going to have, including death, then it really should be a last resort," he told The Canadian Press. It's difficult to say how stun guns will affect children, he said, because they are rarely used on them. He also wants to know whether the Mounties could have avoided using force. "I think the RCMP really needs to do a better job of training de-escalation and avoiding force options, and they're just not doing a good enough job on it," he said. The stabbing victim is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries in hospital. No information has been released on the condition of the boy, who was taken to hospital "for assessment." It's not clear whether the boy has been charged, and Vancouver police have not commented on the case. Further Information:
pdf: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110410/taser-investigation-110410/