WINNIPEG–Winnipeg has joined a growing list of Canadian communities where a confrontation involving a police Taser has ended in death.

Yesterday, a young adult male died in hospital after city police used a Taser to subdue him. They had received a call for help from a residence at about 3:50 p.m.

"Upon attending, officers encountered a male at the rear of a residence," said Const. Jacqueline Chaput. "This resulted in an officer deploying his electronic control device. The male who was struck ... was conveyed to hospital in critical condition and he succumbed to his injuries in hospital."

Officers appeared to be focusing their investigation on the lane behind a home owned by Peter Doyle, who wondered after the incident if the man had tried to steal his van.

"That's the only thing I could think of as to why they'd be behind my garage," said Doyle. "(The van) doesn't even work."

A source told The Canadian Press police were on foot chasing a man, and he brandished a knife when officers tried to arrest him.

Chaput acknowledged the initial confrontation was serious enough that more than five cruisers were dispatched. She didn't know how many times or where on his body the man was Tasered. She said police summoned paramedics, putting a "rush" on the ambulance call.

Larry Crisostomo, 31, who lives near the area, said he saw about eight officers and a couple of paramedics working on a man who was on the ground.

"They were all huddled around ... trying to revive him, and they had to give him the paddles ...," he said.

Chaput said it's the first time in Winnipeg a person has died after being Tasered, adding it's too early to suggest the shock killed the man.

She said Winnipeg police follow strict guidelines on using Tasers.

"It was our executive members' decision to continue with the use of electronic control devices despite some of the controversy that we've seen all over the country," she said.

Amnesty International Canada renewed a call for a temporary Taser moratorium last month after a man in Norfolk, Ont., died in custody after being shocked by police.

Other deaths have drawn attention since a Polish immigrant died shortly after being Tasered by RCMP officers at Vancouver's airport last October. A public inquiry is to be held into that death this fall.



