John Turley-Ewart: Sheriff Andy's report on Taser use by the RCMP

Published: June 18, 2008, 5:12 pm

Is it me or does the final report into Taser stun gun use by RCMP officers, presented Wednesday by Paul Kennedy, head of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, smack of policing according to Sheriff Andy of Mayberry? Good ol' Andy never really trusted his bumbling deputy Barney Fife with a gun; hence poor Barney had to carry an empty revolver and one bullet in his pocket just in case he needed to fire the gun to get Andy's attention when he was in another part of town.Mr. Kennedy suggests RCMP officers with less than 5 years experience should not be allowed to use a taser stun gun. Ok ... then what should they be allowed to use? The answer? A gun. What Mr. Kennedy is suggesting perhaps the observation is so obvious it doesn't need to be said is that you can't trust a rookie cop with a Taser but we will trust them to use a more deadly instrument, should they get themselves in trouble.Of course, rookie cops could be given billy clubs as an

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