WATERLOO REGIONAL POLICE SERVICE AND STUN GUNS

I love the incongruity of it. Today's Waterloo Region Record has two articles about our police force. The one is titled "Police complaints rise" and the other is "Regional police board developing stun gun policy". Apparently according to the first article there were 38 complaints from the public last year regarding police behaviour. Eight of those are currently under investigation. Police Chief Torigan feels that 38 complaints are rather a small number and states "We can walk with our heads high.". Really? I'd kind of like to get a look at those complaints. Also I think it's fair to point out that those are only the complaints that formally were presented to the Regional Police. How many others ended up in lawyers taking the Regional Police to court along the lines of local lawyer Davin Charney. He has an excellent record when it comes to slapping the wrists of our local police when they get too enthusiastic in their duties.

The incongruity of course has to due with the second article following the first. Gee maybe the Regional Police will have an officer on duty with his new stun gun when a citizen comes in to complain. I definitely believe that that would immediately lessen public complaints going to the regional Police. On a more serious note I hope those officers who are trained for stun guns will be advised of everything that went wrong with Robert Dzeranski, the polish immigrant who was murdered by the RCMP at the Vancouver Airport. Our Mounties thought that multiple assaults with their stun guns was just a dandy way to improve communications with a non English speaking immigrant.