The 2008 Michener Award finalists talk about their award winning stories and the people who helped make them happen – Michener Awards Ceremony, June 10, 2009
The new organizations of Société Radio-Canada, CBC and The Canadian Press teamed up to undertake a multimedia analysis of Taser stun guns and particularly their use by the RCMP. They collaborated on data analysis, identification of vital trends, interviews and preparation of stories for newspapers, websites, radio and television. A scientific analysis by CBC & SRC found that more than 10 per cent of Taser units tested were either defective with some discharging significantly more electrical current than the manufacturer’s standard.
EXCELLENCES, CHERS COLLÈGUES, MESDAMES ET MESSIEURS,
À la suite de la mort tragique de Robert Dziekanski à l’aéroport de Vancouver, l’émission Enquête de Radio-Canada, “The National” de la CBC de même que CBC Radio ont unis leurs efforts pour faire enquête sur le pistolet électrique Taser et son adoption par les corps policiers.
It was a classic example of blind faith: you have police forces across the country that embraced a new and very useful tool – the Taser – but without keeping a necessary distance and critical view, likely because of fear of having it altogether removed from their belt if any thing at all was to found to be wrong with it. The Taser – they said – was all good, didn’t kill, and was absolutely reliable. Well, reality is never black and white.
Mes collègues Alex Shprintsen, Sandra Bartlett, Susanne Reber, Georges Laszuk, Kris Fleerackers, et moi voulions savoir si les Tasers étaient vraiment si fiables que ça et pourquoi les corps policiers du pays ont compté presqu’entièrement sur la parole et sur les vérifications en usine du manufacturier. Nous avons alors entrepris ce qui est devenu le plus large banc d’essai indépendant jamais effectué sur des Tasers X26 au monde. Ce projet complexe a pris près d’un an à compléter mais les résultats ont été probants : près de 10 pour cent des Tasers mis à l’essai ont émis des décharges électrique trop élevées, au-delà des normes du manufacturier.
À la suite de la diffusion des reportages, la GRC et la plupart des provinces ont retiré leurs Tasers X26 pour en faire vérifier la puissance. Les résultats au Québec, en Alberta et en Colombie-Britannique ont confirmé ceux obtenus par CBC/Radio-Canada. De plus, des essais effectués pour la Colombie-Britannique sur un plus vieux modèle, le M26, ont révélé que 80% ne respectaient pas les normes du manufacturier.
The RCMP immediately removed from active service all of its M26 Tasers across the country – 1600 in total and about half of its entire Taser arsenal – to get them tested. As a direct consequence of this investigation, close to 200 faulty Tasers have already been taken out of service in the country and new independent testing standards for Tasers are being developed. Several jurisdictions have already announced the implementation of mandatory and regular testing of Tasers.
Some police officials think they have a media problem when it comes to Tasers. It’s not a media problem. These basic requirements and standards should have been adopted long ago, when Tasers were being implemented. They will be now, and only because this became a very public matter thanks to a small team of dedicated reporters and producers, and the continued support of investigative journalism by Canada’s public broadcaster.
Frédéric Zalac
Radio-Canada
Michener Awards Ceremony
June 10, 2009