RCMP subdue hospitalized man, 82, with Taser
An elderly man in Kamloops, B.C., was zapped three times on the torso by a police stun gun while lying on his hospital bed, CBC News has learned. Frank Lasser, 82, appeared fragile Thursday when he showed the Taser marks on his body and talked about the ordeal he went through Saturday.
“They [police] should have known I had bypass surgery,” Lasser told CBC News.
Lasser has had heart surgery and needs to carry an apparatus to supply oxygen at all times. He was in the Royal Inland Hospital Saturday due to pneumonia but has since been released. RCMP said nurses called police after Lasser became delirious and pulled a knife out of his pocket. Lasser told CBC News that he sometimes becomes delusional when he can’t breathe properly. He said he couldn’t explain why he refused to let go of the knife even after the Mounties arrived. “I was laying on the bed by then and the corporal came in, or the sergeant, I forget which it was, and said to the guys, ‘OK, get him because we got more important work to do on the street tonight,'” Lasser said.
“And then, bang, bang, bang, three times with the laser, and I tell you, I never want that again.” Kamloops RCMP said Thursday that officers had no other option but to deploy the conducted energy weapon when Lasser refused to drop his knife. “Whether the person is 80 or 20, we are dealing with a person who had a deadly weapon in their hand,” Cpl. Scott Wilson told CBC News. “We could not deploy our … pepper spray, because we could potentially contaminate the entire hospital.” Lasser said there were three RCMP officers in his hospital room and believes they could have easily handled him without the use of a Taser.
“They could have gone in there and taken an old man without any trouble at all,” said Lasser, who is an ex-prison guard.
Thank God police are there to protect us from psychopaths like this.
Don’t you think that this topic deserves its own banner? I suggest, “Don’t Taze Me Bro Alert”.
The old timer got off easy. You pull a knife on a cop in Tucson and they’ll fill you full of lead. The same goes for most American cities.
Who’s the tough guy that’s going to grab the knife out of old man’s hand? This isn’t the movies. You grab for a knife you usually get cut and in the world of AIDS, hepatitis, and MRSA, you just might lose your life because of it.
#2. Your right, they should have opened fire on that guy, filled him full of lead, used him for target practice, or at least beat him to death with clubs, the nerve of that old man being disoriented.
#2 – “Who’s the tough guy that’s going to grab the knife out of old man’s hand? This isn’t the movies.”
What’s wrong with just leaving the room until he calms down? How about backing up and waiting? What about 2 guys throwing a sheet or blanket over him? Easy to handle. I volunteer.
I can’t believe that “anyone” finds it necessary to tase or use pepper spray to subdue an 82 y/o, even with a knife. If you get close enough to tase, you can just kick his ass 😉
#1: he had a knife and little to NO control over his actions. If they had tried to take it away by force I’m sure the liberals here would have bitched that the cops used excessive focre on the old man anyways. #2, if it was so easy to take the knife away, why didn’t nurses or doctors try that first before calling the police, maybe its because he was out of control of his own mind and body due to lack of oxygen. #3, if they had left him alone to calm down, odds are Liberals here would be bitching about letting an old man harm himself with the knife while police, doctors, and nurses looked on.
gotta love the monday morning quarterbacking that goes on in the net these days
So, the consensus here seems to be the police should disarm knife-wielding maniacs with their bare hands.
Volunteers?
No? Why not? The worst thing that could happen is, instead of going home to see your wife and kids after work, you get to go to the morgue in a big, smelly vinyl bag.
The good news is, if you just get your hands, arms and maybe your face and neck sliced open, you’re already in the hospital. How fortuitous!
You could easily injure a patient like this in a struggle. Old bones snap easy.
It seems more often that when police find themselves in a situation that they don’t expect, their first response (now) is to pull out the Taser.
Previously I would have said that what is required is better training of police on when it is appropriate to use a Taser.
Now I think it would be safer for all if Tasers were simply not permitted.
Q: How would police respond to this situation if they did not have Tasers? Would they shoot him? Would they hit him? Or would they simply have waited until he calmed down?
Interesting new fact: if you take public transit in Vancouver, and try to avoid paying (fare evasion) the transit police have Tasers and are allowed to use them. So for the crime of not paying $2, you can be Tasered. So far no one has been killed as a result of not paying bus fare, just give it time.
In Canada, we don’t have the death penalty. So you can murder and rape and you get life in prison. But if you don’t pay the bus fare, you could be killed.
#8 “So, the consensus here seems to be the police should disarm knife-wielding maniacs with their bare hands.
Volunteers?”
Already been answered. I’ll volunteer to disarm 82 yr old people who are oxygen starved. No problem.
Tasers don’t kill on their own. The amperage is so low it can’t have ill effect on the body. It’s an incapacitating device. Those who die from Tasers are either hopped up on amphetamines or have existing heart conditions. Stop blaming the Taser.
The police acted appropriately here. If they stood around and “waited for him to calm down” what could have happened? He could have hurt himself, others, who the hell knows what.
Yes, being hit with a Taser hurts, but the moment it stops there is no pain. No lingering effects. They did what was necessary to defuse a potentially dangerous situation without harming anyone else.
what I don’t get, is why would they have to hit him 3 times? Once wasn’t enough?
#12 Those who die from Tasers are either hopped up on amphetamines or have existing heart conditions.
“They [police] should have known I had bypass surgery,” Lasser told CBC News.
John S
OK OK so if you think he should have been tasered…Fine, now tell me why it took 3 shots. It seems to me a guy in this predicament would have succumbed with one shot. Of course I wasn’t there…I’m just saying there was a little overkill here.
““They [police] should have known I had bypass surgery,” Lasser told CBC News.”
Why? It’s irrelevant to the situation.
I blame the hospital, they probably gave him a knife instead of his medication. Mix-ups like this occur in hospitals every day.
‘OK, get him because we got more important work to do on the street tonight,’
He can remember them saying that but he was to out of it to drop the knife?
# 11 – pat
“Already been answered. I’ll volunteer to disarm 82 yr old people who are oxygen starved. No problem.”
Ignorance is bliss! The job is all yours. However, as the Soup Nazi would say, “No insurance for you!”
#12, Michael,
Tasers don’t kill on their own. The amperage is so low it can’t have ill effect on the body. It’s an incapacitating device. Those who die from Tasers are either hopped up on amphetamines or have existing heart conditions. Stop blaming the Taser.
Then the question is would they have died if they weren’t tasered. If they would have died, no issue. If they wouldn’t have died and they did because of the taser, the cause of death would have to include the administration of high voltage. In case you didn’t notice, this gentleman was already a heart patient.
Your comment about The amperage is so low it can’t have ill effect on the body. is total fabricated bullshit. Low amperage can, and often does, have severe effects.
#19 – Oh no not you again! The one who implies I’m a redneck racist – nice.
Do you know anything about electricity? The level of voltage is not a factor in calculating risk to a human. It’s the amperage. Tasers are designed with high voltage / low amperage for the specific reason that they can serve as an incapacitating device, not a lethal one. Also consider that the shock being delivered is DC (direct current) not AC (alternating current).
Believe it or not some serious scientific design and study went into these devices. The rate of deployment vs lethality is so low as to be negligible.
Educate yourself please.
Maybe this old man ought to refrain from carrying knives….No it’s the police fault….Right liberal idiots!
RCMP became even more fascist than their american counterparts. Their difference: big smile, fake british accent (a must in Kanada…) and the funny-looking uniform!
#3. It’s called the 21 foot safety rule. You pull a blade within 21 feet of a cop they can blast you.
#4. The cops can’t just wait for him to calm down. What if the guy decided to cut his own throat or came out of his room to cut someone else?
#12. Tough talk. 82 and oxygen starved doesn’t mean much if he’s hopped up on adrenaline. Octogenarians routinely cut up their morning grapefruit and their evening steaks just as easily as they can cut up your face. It doesn’t take much effort to penetrate your eyeball. Taking on a knife wielding suspect without a weapon is stupid. It’s almost as dumb as bringing a knife to a gunfight. But look at it this way Pat: maybe the hospital will hire you for that job and you can win the Darwin award next year.
I agree with the cops,they disarmed him without
endangering any innocent bystanders
He will think twice before pulling a knife again
The fact that he is still alive to complain shows
the taser is not lethal force
Hey # 11. I’m with you. I can definately disarm an 82 year old who is in the bed and starved for oxygen. Police are Pussies who rely on force when it’s not nesscessary because they may get hurt. WTF? I thought taking risks on a daily basis is part of their job. No wait that’s Firefighters who risk it all, Bless them . If you can’t figure out how to disarm this guy without tasering his ass then your police traning really is lacking. Is it me or is the male population turning into a bunch of pussies.
Hey # 11. I’m with you. I can definately disarm an 82 year old who is in the bed and starved for oxygen. Police are Pussies who rely on force when it’s not nesscessary because they may get hurt. WTF? I thought taking risks on a daily basis is part of their job. No wait that’s Firefighters who risk it all, Bless them . If you can’t figure out how to disarm this guy without tasering his ass then your police training really is lacking. Is it me or is the male population turning into a bunch of pussies. Don’t get me started and get off of my lawn.
#7, I get all the medical attention I need her in Canada without a problem… On what personal experience do you base this comment? What does Russia have to do with Canada? What does you comment have to do with the news story?
#7, I get all the medical attention I need here in Canada without a problem… On what personal experience do you base this comment? What does Russia have to do with Canada? What does you comment have to do with the news story?
Two questions:
1) What kind of knife? Butter knife? Penknife? Steak knife? Military knife?
2) Why did the hospital let the man carry anything in his pockets? Last time I was in, I didn’t even have pockets.
The cops were in a hurry, so they gave him the juioce. They had more important things to do.