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| Shaka Sankofa: Executed
after conviction based on faulty eye-witness Tasering
Mary Lutz | Vernon
Crowe
Randy Fryingpan
EDITORIAL: 'This is just shameful'
Edmonton Sun, Sept. 24/05
It's been another week of controversy for the Edmonton Police
Service. The disciplinary hearing for Staff Sgt. Bill Newton
heard the officer justify his decision to run Sun columnist Kerry
Diotte's name through the Canadian Police Information Centre
database because he was unhappy with a column Diotte wrote in
April 2004.
And it also came out that the tip that allegedly sparked the
Overtime sting operation against Diotte and then-police commission
chairman Martin Ignasiak actually came two hours after the stakeout
began.
Acting police chief Darryl da Costa spent the week defending
his decision to take hockey tickets from Affiliated Computer
Services, the firm that's been the subject of a long RCMP investigation
over whether EPS officers took unauthorized perks from the company
that's providing Edmonton's photo-radar services.
Critics claim that da Costa's ticket freebie violates the
police department's policy and say the acting chief should stand
down from being in contention for the job of chief of police.
Da Costa's supporters, who include heavyweights Mayor Stephen
Mandel and Brian Gibson, chairman of the police commission, say
it's much ado over nothing.
To us, the police policy is clear: gifts cannot be accepted
without consent of the chief of police, and that these hockey
tickets went beyond the exception provided in the department's
policy manual for "normal exchange of hospitality."
But the most disturbing story of all was, unfortunately, the
one that got the least amount of publicity: the decision of da
Costa not to discipline Const. Mike Wasylyshen with regards to
the Randy Fryingpan incident.
In October 2002, the then-16-year-old Fryingpan was found
sleeping in his car near Abbotsfield Road. Wasylyshen, responding
to a noise complaint, repeatedly used his Taser to rouse the
teen.
Earlier this year, Judge Jack Easton halted Fryingpan's trial
for breaching his bail conditions after concluding the teen's
charter rights had been repeatedly violated by Wasylyshen. "The
treatment of the accused by the application of the Taser and
the use of the fist or butt end of the Taser gun to the body
of the accused driving him to the ground causing a broken tooth
clearly indicated to me an excessive use of force and a clear
violation of the charter rights of this accused," the judge
wrote.
The judge also wrote that, "The witnesses other than
the officers appeared disgusted by an obvious overuse of force,"
and "The scene was clearly under control and the deployment
of a Taser absolutely unnecessary."
But da Costa exonerated Wasylyshen, saying, "We could
not sustain any charges against any of our members as there was
insufficient evidence to support the charges." We can only
shake our heads and agree with Edmonton lawyer Tom Engel, who
concluded, "This is just shameful."
Edmonton Police Chief dismisses most complaints about Taser
use
CBC News, Sept. 22, 2005
The acting police chief in Edmonton has dismissed all but
one complaint against officers who used a Taser gun on a passed-out,
drunken teen nearly three years ago.
Chief Darryl Da Costa said police concluded their internal
investigation and charged one officer with insubordination. He
said the officer received an official warning.
In 2002, complaints were filed accusing a constable of repeatedly
firing a Taser at Randy Fryingpan while the 16-year-old was passed
out drunk in the back of a friend's car.
A judge described the incident as cruel and unusual punishment
and an abuse of the use of force.
But Da Costa said there was no evidence to support the allegations.
Racist e-mail draws warning
The Edmonton Chief said two police officers responsible for
creating and distributing a racist e-mail have been given official
warnings.
The racist e-mail listed 10 rules for policing the downtown
division -- three of which were derogatory towards natives.
-
Assault complaint dismissed
City police won't investigate allegations officers assaulted
drunken teen
Archie McLean, Edmonton
Journal, June 3/05,
EDMONTON - The Edmonton police
department will not investigate allegations of assault and arbitrary
detention against two officers who repeatedly hit a drunk teen
with a Taser in 2002.
The department says the Crown
has already absolved them of guilt.
But the Crown's decision last
month not to pursue criminal charges against the officers does
not mean they should not be investigated under the police act,
said Sanjeev Anand, a University of Alberta law professor.
"In my view, they should
be investigating the assault incident," Anand said.
"The fact that the Crown
said no there wasn't a reasonable prospect of conviction, doesn't
mean the assault didn't happen."
Anand said he believes the
decision not to pursue arbitrary detention charges is correct,
since the Crown decided there were lawful grounds for an arrest.
In October 2002, Randy Fryingpan,
then 16, was drunk and passed out in the back of a friend's car.
When the officers, who were responding to a noise complaint,
tried to wake him, he became belligerent, police said.
Const. Mike Wasylyshen, the
son of then police chief Bob Wasylyshen, shocked Fryingpan six
times in 66 seconds with a Taser. The youth also had a tooth
knocked out by the butt of the Taser or a fist.
Despite pleas from Fryingpan's
mother, police refused to conduct an outside investigation.
The case eventually was referred
to the Calgary Crown's office, which waited until the end of
Fryingpan's breach of probation trial before acting.
At that trial, Fryingpan's
lawyer, Tom Engel, argued that the case should be thrown out
because Fryingpan's charter rights had been violated.
In his decision, provincial
court Judge Jack Easton wrote a scathing indictment of police
actions that night.
He didn't agree that Fryingpan's
refusal to get out of the car justified the police violence.
Easton also said the teen's
charter rights were violated when they strip-searched him and
the officer's actions amounted to "cruel and unusual treatment."
Despite the judge's harsh words,
the Calgary Crown's office believed there was insufficient evidence
to press criminal charges against the officers.
Following the decision, the
police department resumed its internal investigation. In a fax
sent to Engel on Tuesday, the department said Wasylyshen and
Const. Alfred Normand would not face charges of assault and arbitrary
detention because the Crown determined they were innocent.
Engel said the Crown did no
such thing.
"It's a specious argument,"
Engel said. "They know very well that it's incorrect."
In criminal cases, the standard
of proof is beyond reasonable doubt, which is difficult to establish.
In cases involving the police act, the standard is the balance
of probabilities, a much lower burden of proof.
To say the officers did nothing
wrong based on the Crown's decision is ridiculous and shows why
the police department should not be investigating its own misconduct,
Engel said.
"These investigations
by the EPS have historically biased and this is just another
good example," Fryingpan's lawyer said.
Police spokesman Dean Parthenis
refused to comment on the specifics of the case. He said the
investigation of other allegations is ongoing and the decision
whether to press charges under the police act would be made once
the investigation was finished.
amclean@thejournal.canwest.com
Taser
cop off hook
PAUL COWAN, Edmonton sun,
May 11, 2005
The family of a teen Tasered
repeatedly by the cop son of ex-police chief Bob Wasylyshen say
they are disgusted there will be no criminal prosecution - despite
a judge labelling the incident "cruel and unusual."
Chief Crown prosecutor for
Calgary Gordon Wong said yesterday that he and two of his colleagues
believe Const. Mike Wasylyshen was justified in his use of a
Taser on 16-year-old Randy Fryingpan in October 2002.
The decision angers Fryingpan's
family.
"I am angry about what
they have done to my son and nothing is going to happen to them,"
said Fryingpan's mother Marilyn. "He doesn't seem to have
a life anymore and is scared to go outside. He is badly depressed."
Judge Jack Easton halted Fryingpan's
prosecution for breaching bail in February this year after concluding
Wasylyshen had unnecessarily used his Taser to wake the teen
up after he was found sleeping in a car near Abbotsfield Road.
Easton, in issuing a judicial
stay, accepted Fryingpan had been with three other youths drinking
malt liquor and smoking marijuana, but the teen was passed out
when Wasylyshen Tasered him. He said Wasylyshen Tasered the crying
youth at least five times more as he hauled him from the vehicle.
"That, in my conclusion, is abuse of force and cruel and
unusual treatment," he said in his written judgment.
He rejected claims Fryingpan
was fighting Wasylyshen.
But Wong said yesterday he
and two other Calgary prosecutors have determined there was insufficient
evidence against Wasylyshen.
"A judge, when considering
a judicial stay based on a charter violation, only needs to be
satisfied on a balance of probabilities," he explained.
"The Crown prosecutors
who reviewed this file were not satisfied that they could prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that excessive force was used."
He noted inconsistencies in
witness statements and that Fryingpan himself had little recollection
of the incident.
But the prosecutors said there
was credible evidence that Wasylyshen was concerned about his
safety and was involved in a struggle with Fryingpan.
Wong said his team has already
recommended charges against three Edmonton-area police officers
- two from the city and one from Morinville - for inappropriate
use of a Taser. "We have no interest in protecting the police
from charges where the facts warrant them," he said.
He had no concerns that the
investigation had been conducted by city police themselves, not
an outside body.
The Edmonton Police Service
declined comment because the internal affairs investigation into
the incident has been reactivated. The investigation was put
on hold until the Crown prosecutors made their decision.
Vern Grainger, who took Fryingpan,
now 19, to see a doctor, said he and the medic counted 21 Taser
marks on the teen's body. "I don't think justice has been
done so far and I don't think it will be," said Grainger.
-
-
- Nightmares remain:
Ruling little comfort for tasered teen
By DAN PALMER, EDMONTON
SUN
The nightmares haven't ended
for a 19-year-old who was accused of fighting arrest when, in
fact, a judge found he was flailing helplessly from the effects
of a "cruel" tasering by police. "I have dreams
of getting beat up by cops. The more I have, the more I want
to stay inside and away from cops," Randy Fryingpan said
yesterday, crushed that the nightmares returned the night before,
even after his vindication in provincial court.
"I feel a shock and then
I wake up and my back hurts like crazy."
Back on Oct. 5, 2002, Fryingpan,
then 16, was among a group of four youths drinking liquor and
smoking marijuana in a parked car near a home on Abbottsfield
Road.
Witnesses told court about
six officers responded to a complaint by a neighbour and started
to remove the youths from the car. Fryingpan was passed out in
the back of the car.
Judge Jack Easton said Const.
Mike Wasylyshen, son of the former chief of the Edmonton Police
Service, used his Taser to rouse Fryingpan - not to subdue him.
Wasylyshen then tasered the crying youth at least five more times
as he was hauled out of the car and forced to the ground.
"That, in my conclusion,
is abuse of use of force and cruel and unusual treatment,"
Easton wrote in his decision.
Claims by police Fryingpan
was fighting back are untrue and "any resistance ... was
as a result of the direct application of the Taser," said
Easton.
Fryingpan wasn't in the courtroom
to learn of the judge's ruling - he didn't believe the case would
work out in his favour, but he and his mother hugged when she
told him the news after she returned from the proceedings Friday
afternoon.
"I was surprised because
I won," said Fryingpan.
"Everybody told me (the
police) have too much power. They always win."
Fryingpan said he has various
nightmares about police several times a week, which he didn't
have before that October morning.
In his nightmare Friday he
dreamed he was walking by himself and then saw a friend in a
grocery store being beat up by a police officer. Fryingpan said
when he went into the store during the dream to help his friend,
he felt a Taser shock in his back.
He then woke up.
Prior to the Taser incident,
Fryingpan said he used to wave at police on the street, but that's
changed.
He's now afraid of them.
"I don't want to be around
them. I want to go home (when I see them)," said Fryingpan.
- "Now I just put my face
down. I have no respect for them."
'Cruel
treatment'
Judge says cop abused use of force, stays charge against youth
By DAVID SANDS, EDMONTON
SUN, February 5, 2005
Allegations of police brutality
that gained international attention have been accepted as true
by an Edmonton court. "The appropriate and only decision
I can reach in this case is to grant a judicial stay," said
provincial court Judge Jack Easton yesterday, halting the prosecution
of a youth who was repeatedly tasered before his arrest by Edmonton
police in October 2002.
"All we can say at this
point is that our legal advisers are waiting for the decision
so it can then be reviewed," Edmonton police spokesman Dean
Parthenis said yesterday.
The charge of breaching bail
conditions against Randy Fryingpan was actually true and is admitted,
lawyer Tom Engel said yesterday. But the "torture"
his client suffered in his arrest led to him asking for the charge
to be thrown out.
Fryingpan, now 19, was among
a group of four youths drinking malt liquor and smoking marijuana
in a parked car near homes on Abbottsfield Road early on Oct.
5, 2002.
Witnesses told court that about
six police officers responded to a complaint by a neighbour,
and began removing the youths from the car.
Fryingpan, then 16, was passed
out in the back of the car.
Judge Easton said Const. Mike
Wasylyshen used his taser to rouse Fryingpan, not to subdue him.
Wasylyshen then tasered the crying youth at least five more times
as he was hauled out of the car and forced to the ground.
"That, in my conclusion,
is abuse of use of force and cruel and unusual treatment,"
Easton said in a written decision.
Claims by police that Fryingpan
was fighting back are untrue, the judge decided: "Any resistance,
arm swinging or the like, was as a result of the direct application
of the taser."
Fryingpan was not present in
court yesterday because he didn't expect to win, said mom Marilyn.
"You don't win against
the police. They have too much power," Marilyn said, adding
she herself did not understand at first that the judge was staying
the charges.
"I'm starting to believe
it now," she said outside court.
The Fryingpan case was one
of several cited in a nationally published story by The Canadian
Press regarding controversial use of police tasers. It was also
cited by Amnesty International in a report from London, England,
calling for an end to use of tasers by police worldwide.
"They called it, the Fryingpan
case, torture," said lawyer Engel.
This court ruling will be sent
to Crown prosecutors with a request that someone review an earlier
decision not to lay criminal charges against police, Engel said.
Additionally, a demand for an internal investigation remains
in the hands of Edmonton police, and a civil lawsuit has been
filed, Engel added.
Fryingpan still suffers back
pain, said mom Marilyn, and "he seems kind of slow now.
He can't read or write as well as he used to."
Police target stun
guns
Weapons give officers an alternative
Sherri Zickefoose, with
files from Leanne Dohy, Calgary Herald, Saturday, April 09, 2005
Calgary's front-line police
officers could soon be packing stun guns now that provincial
policing funds are earmarked for the 50,000-volt weapons.
The Calgary Police Commission
approved the allocation of nearly $5 million in spending March
22 -- including $480,000 for Tasers. The recommendation will
go before the city's finance and corporate services committee
Wednesday.
Advocates say Taser guns reduce
the number of police shootings.
"Our members have wanted
them for a long time," said Howard Burns, vice-president
of administration for the Calgary Police Association. "It
will provide a good middle ground."
But if there's provincial money
to be spent, it should go toward hiring more police officers,
he added.
"We'd sooner have seen
increased personnel throughout the city. The best way to avoid
use of force is to put more cops on the street."
Stephen Jenuth, president of
the Alberta Civil Liberties Association, also thinks the money
should be used to hire more police officers or on more training.
"That money could be better
spent teaching police officers how to deal with mentally ill
people," Jenuth said. "You could do a hell of a lot
of training for $480,000."
An aggressive, mentally ill
person is likely to become even more confrontational if threatened
with a stun gun, he said.
"If you told them 'Settle
down or you're going to be zapped,' they would think they were
going to die. That would be 'Settle down or I'm going to kill
you,' to them, and they would react accordingly."
The $900 hand-held weapons
immobilize a person with an electrical discharge delivered by
a metal dart that pierces the skin. The electrical pulse is fired
through the wires, aimed at incapacitating the subject, but otherwise
causing no lasting harm.
In Calgary, police officers
are armed with pepper spray, batons and Glock semi-automatic
pistols. Police in Lethbridge and Edmonton have the stun guns,
as do RCMP officers in Canmore and Banff, and Alberta correction
centre staff.
Critics want more research
to determine how hazardous the weapons are to people.
At least six Canadians have
died after being shocked by the stun guns, which give 50,000-volt
shocks on contact for up to five seconds.
According to a report released
Friday by Amnesty International, there have been 103 Taser-related
deaths in Canada and the United States since June 2001.
Taser International, the manufacturer
of the stun guns, has stated that most of the deaths were actually
the result of drug overdoses, and of the 30,000 uses of Tasers
by authorities, none have been cited as the direct cause of any
deaths.
The Calgary Police Service
approved use of the weapons, but has just a few stun guns which
can be used only by members of the tactical unit.
Calgary police used the Taser
for the first time one year ago. A 22-year-old suicidal man was
shot with the Taser after an officer determined the suspect was
a threat to himself and others.
The use of deadly force to
stop a knife-wielding Calgary man in January became a public
concern for some who thought a stun gun would have been a better
option.
On Jan. 21, Const. Ian Vernon
shot and killed a blood-soaked, knife-brandishing Harjinder Singh
Cheema.
Cheema -- who had stabbed his
estranged wife several times and left a gash in his mother-in-law's
arm -- was killed outside his Queensland home after ignoring
several demands by police to drop his knife. Family and Sikh
community members said at the time Vernon should have used a
Taser rather than deadly force.
The police commission has also
earmarked the province's money for other capital funding options
including $1.3 million for the HAWC1 aero centre, $1 million
to boost bandwidth for laptops in police cars, and infrastructure
improvements, paying the balance owing on the HAWC1 infra-red
camera.
szickefoose@theherald.canwest.com
How It Works
- The Taser shoots two electrically
loaded wires as far as 6.4 metres, sending a 50,000-volt jolt
through the body.
- Someone hit with a Taser
involuntarily contracts into a semi-fetal position; hands bunch
into fists, knees buckle and the person drops to the ground,
frozen in the same position until the current is cut.
© The Calgary Herald 2005
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell