Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Set to stun - WA taser misuse exposed, again - the "T" word

Fair comment from Lefty on the Western Australian taser debacle(if you follow the link to the ABC story you can watch the video of the now "notorious" incident in which an unarmed, detained Aboriginal man lying on the floor was tasered by 9 police in East Perth Lock-Up, 13 times).

I don't plan to post regularly this year, but the image is inescapable of the confused detainee pleading for help from the officers who stood around watching him being repeatedly tasered.

As the Channel 7 news this evening tried to explain, apparently the detainee was tasered because he was unresponsive. The circumstances front line police officers get into should warrant at least enough training that they can communicate as effectively as ambulance officers(who are not armed but deal with ongoing communications challenges), with persons who are unresponsive, uncompliant or uncommunicative.

This and the other cases that feature in the CCC report tabled in parliament yesterday, raise serious questions about basic ethics training of WA Police, particularly in relation to their treatment of Aboriginal people.

Of the 10 recommendations, which seem fairly elementary, many were refuted by WAPOL's hierarchy, although WA Attorney General Christian Porter was candid about that incident being "indefensible."

Perhaps in addition to the CCC recommendations, the WA Police Service could also observe the recommendations of the 2010 Senate Hearing Inquiry, which not only heard about pandemic proportions of hearing loss and ear disease among Indigenous people, but also that 90% of Darwin's Indigenous male inmates have a hearing loss. What the rate of hearing loss would be in Western Australian jails can only be speculated, however, one complaint to the Senate Committee was of poor treatment for hearing impaired people at the hands of police, when they fail to communicate effectively with suspects and victims.

The possibilities of why that detainee did not respond are endless, but is tasering a form of enquiry on the part of the nine officers? Was it a demonstration for junior officers of how to communicate with someone who is unresponsive(I think the police term that was used was "non-compliant")?

The idea of cameras attached to tasers has been considered after previous incidents and public indignation, but were dismissed as too costly - would they be as costly as future civil suits against the State? The Fourth Estate with regards to Aboriginal deaths in custody rarely extends as far as WA for a variety of reasons that include heightened editorial concerns of media monopolies, and public sector source management(potential unofficial black bans), so the following stories need to be commended...
  • In the link above The Australian's Debbie Guest, points out the elephant in the room in the debate - one Aboriginal man lying on the floor pleading for help, while nine white officers watch on...
  • And ABC's Samantha Donovan keeps her copy firmly focused on the Fourth Estate - Attorney General Christian Porter says upgrading disciplinary procedures could offer one answer on accountability and deterrence, though not addressing racial discrimination and torture directly.
Australia's FULL commitment to the United Nations Convention Against Torture which promised an independent monitor of all places of detention could also provide some solutions and ongoing support to implement cultural change, along with criminal convictions for perps.

The independent monitor still has not yet been fully implemented, but it is a real improvement in the Wild West not only that there were cameras in the Watch house, but that the footage made it out of the Police complex and to the CCC. The East Perth Lock-Up has featured in several reports over the last two years but the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services has not yet presented an investigation report on the Watchhouse.

Footage such as that released, should spell out the immediate need for the independent monitor, for the bureaucrats who have been dragging their feet following Robert McClelland's original promise to the treaty almost two years ago.

Also a part of the UNCAT ratification, were UN periodic inspections of all places of detention in Australia although the Federal AG would not confirm if this included mental health hospital secure wards and police watchhouses.

I have to say I am a bit puzzled by the text at the end of the CCC report that stated that no WA person had died in custody after tasering.

A link to the full copy of the report can be found here

This is what the CCC had to say, which may have appeared in part in the local media:

CCC report identifies issues with use of Taser weapons


4/10/2010

A Corruption and Crime Commission report has identified a growing trend where Taser weapons are being used by the Western Australia Police for the wrong reasons even though it found the majority of uses are reasonable and that they are effective weapons.

The report tabled in the Parliament today shows that the weapons are increasingly being used for compliance when they were initially introduced to prevent injury, and to reduce the use of firearms.

The Commission’s Director of Corruption Prevention, Roger Watson, said the report found:
•The police use of firearms has doubled in the two years since the introduction of Taser weapons in 2007.

•The use of other force options such as capsicum spray has significantly decreased since Taser weapons were introduced.

•Injuries to police officers increased by 22% in the same period.

•Taser weapons have become the force option of choice representing 74% of reported uses of force in 2008.

Mr Watson said while potential misuse was involved in only 7% of cases, the report found Taser weapons are being increasingly used for compliance. This is represented by:
•The increased use of Taser weapons against people resisting arrest. That increased from 20% of Taser deployments in 2007 to 43% in 2009.

•A four-fold increase over the period in the use of Taser weapons being used to threaten people.

“Examples of this are highlighted in the report, which includes video footage of an incident at East Perth Watch House where Taser weapons were deployed eight times against an unarmed, non-threatening man surrounded by nine police officers”, Mr Watson said.

“Taser weapons were deployed against him a further five times off video.” (this is the 2nd incident on the DVD included in the report and the 5th case study in the report)

This incident was brought to the attention of the Commission personally by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Chris Dawson, when he became aware of it.
“As a result of an internal police investigation of the incident, two police officers were subject to disciplinary charges for using undue and excessive force and two senior officers were found to have provided inadequate supervision,” Mr Watson said.
“The Commission is currently reviewing the police internal investigation into the incident.”

The report also expresses concern about:
•The increasing and disproportionate use of Taser weapons against Indigenous people. This increased from 16% of Taser weapon use in 2007 to 30% in 2009.

•The use of Taser weapons against particular groups such as those with mental illness and drug users.

Mr Watson said the report makes 10 recommendations including that Taser weapons only be used by police when there is an imminent threat of serious injury.

“This would bring the use of Taser weapons in Western Australia into line with other Australian and international police jurisdictions.”

There have been no reported deaths from Taser weapon use in this State but there have been deaths in other jurisdictions.