What a surprise….yet another person dies at the hands of police equipped with tasers. When are they going to do something about these implements of death?

Wednesday, July 3, 2008 

A man is dead after police shocked him with a Taser late yesterday afternoon after he refused to drop a knife, said sources.

The man was taken to hospital in critical condition, where he later died. The fatality is a first in Manitoba.

“This is the first time that there has been a fatality surrounding an incident involving an electronic control device,” said Winnipeg police spokeswoman Const. Jacqueline Chaput.

About 3:50 p.m. yesterday, police received a “call for assistance” from a citizen about a criminal matter in the area of William Avenue near Arlington Street.

Sources said police suspected a man in the area was involved in a crime, possibly a theft.

A pair of general patrol officers located the man, who took off on foot and was chased a distance, a source said. When the officers caught up to the man and approached him, he produced a knife.

Before the man was shocked with a Taser, he refused to drop his weapon, another source said.

After the man was shocked with a Taser, he dropped to the ground and appeared in distress, so the officers requested an ambulance, a source said.

See the original article here.