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The Story behind the story: Frédéric Zalac -
Radio Canada
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
Frédéric Zalac
Société Radio-Canada |
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,
A 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
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