On most of the individuals on whom Ottawa’s police officers have chosen to use TASERs, over half of the people have been suicidal, mentally ill or emotionally disturbed.

Several years ago, upon answering a call, Officers in Ottawa, Canada were horrified to find an adult male intent upon suicide. He had four steak knives protruding from his stomach.

When he didn’t follow their commands, even at gunpoint, officers finally used a TASER on him. They were able to take him into custody after a total of about 20 minutes from their arrival. At that point they brought in the first aid specialists. He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he received the surgery and mental health care he desperately needed.

The data reviewed and used in this report includes the period from October 2000 through March of this year and comes from the Use of Force Reports filed regarding 115 TASER-related incidents. The information begins shortly after TASERs were first used as part of a pilot project.

Use of Force reports are closely regulated by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. They are to be filed and reviewed by the police service. However, they do not include personal data of individuals (names, ages, etc.) but only provide a short description of the incident.

Data was released according to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.