WINNIPEG, Manitoba—A teenager wielding a knife died after police shot him with a Taser, the latest in a string of deaths linked to the stun guns, officials said Wednesday.
Police spokeswoman Jacqueline Chaput said the 17-year-old boy was shot with electronic stun gun Tuesday after refusing to comply with repeated requests from the officers to put down his knife.
Chaput said the teen, who they did not identify, was confronted by police after breaking into car. She did not say how many times he was shot.
More than a dozen people have died in Canada after being hit with Tasers in the last four years, according to Amnesty International. However, the Arizona-based manufacturer of Taser guns, Taser International Inc., says the devices have never been conclusively linked to any deaths in Canada.
In British Columbia, a public inquiry has been examining the use of Tasers. The inquiry has focused on the death of a Polish immigrant who died shortly after being shot with a Taser by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers at Vancouver's airport last year. A video taken by a bystander set off a public outcry and resulted in several inquiries into Taser use by police.
