BC

British Columbia politicians overseeing Taser-use policy in the province start hearings next week to assess the status of recommendations stemming from the Braidwood inquiry into the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski.

Murray Coell, the chair of an all-party committee on Taser use, said Wednesday Justice Ministry officials are set to brief the panel next Tuesday on the progress since Justice Thomas Braidwood's report three years ago.

Braidwood, who called for a government review of his recommendations, is expected to attend one of the hearings on either Oct. 15 or 16, Coell said.

He said the RCMP and Taser-use experts, who have compiled the latest research on use of the weapon, are also appearing at the hearings at the legislature.

Dziekanski died in October 2007 in an incident at Vancouver International Airport where he was shocked by a Taser several times during a confrontation with four RCMP officers.

Braidwood issued two reports in 2009 following a public inquiry into Dziekanski's death.

The reports found a lack of consistency in the way police use Tasers in BC, a lack of government leadership in developing provincial Taser standards, and called for changes to the Police Act.

Coell said the committee has until the end of the year to report on the status of Braidwood's recommendations.

"Our job is to see how well they are being implemented and carried out on the front lines," he said.

Opposition New Democrat committee member Kathy Corrigan said she'll be watching to see how strictly the RCMP follows provincial Taser-use guidelines.

Public hearings on Taser use policy are also set for Oct. 22 and 23.

Braidwood's report said that since 2003, 25 people in Canada have died in Taser-use incidents, and eight of them were from BC.