(The following article is from the December 1-31, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

PV Vancouver Bureau

Yet another fatality in which the RCMP used a Taser has been brought to light. The case strengthens the argument that police violence against Aboriginal prisoners in custody is a frequent reality, not an isolated aberration.

     The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) and BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) held a news conference on Nov. 16 to demand the release of security footage taken in an RCMP lockup that shows the Taser-related death of Clayton Alvin Willie, an Aboriginal man. Under increasing pressure, the RCMP finally agreed a day later to release the footage. Until now, the force had resisted this demand, citing "privacy concerns," despite receiving a notarized release from Clayton Willie's family.

     Willie was arrested July 21, 2003 for creating a public disturbance in Prince George, British Columbia. He died 16 hours later, with injuries including a skull fracture, broken teeth, multiple broken ribs, and ruptured bowels.

     Security camera footage of the incident was edited by the RCMP, which retains a copy of the edited footage. Representatives of the UBCIC and BCCLA, along with forensic pathologist Dr. John Butt and Leonard Cler-Cunningham, the independent journalist who uncovered the existence of the video, have viewed the edited footage.

     "Even the edited footage shows Mr. Willie hog tied and being dragged around the Prince George RCMP detachment and being Tasered while lying helpless on his stomach," said UBCIC Grand Chief Stewart Phillip. "If you treated any animal the way Mr. Willie was treated, there is little doubt that you would be facing criminal cruelty charges. Astonishingly, the officers involved here are still on active duty."

     In January 2009, two of the RCMP officers involved in the Willie case were found by Provincial Court Judge Michael Brecknell to have taken deliberate steps to ensure the loss of Prince George detachment videotape of another Taser abuse allegation. The RCMP will not confirm whether those officers are still on active duty, but media reports indicate that investigative action was taken by the RCMP into that finding.

     There are no date or time codes in the edited videotape of Clayton Willie. The video shows an RCMP SUV arriving at the Prince George Detachment garage, then cuts away before the hog-tied Willie is pulled from the back seat and allowed to drop, full weight, on his chest and possibly on his face. He is then dragged down a hallway, tethered and with hands bound behind his back, into an elevator. His head hits the doorway on his way into the elevator and he does not register any response.

     In the elevator, an RCMP officer can be seen kneeling down and applying the Taser to Clayton Willie's back. He is then dragged out into the booking area of the detachment. A number of RCMP officers are seen observing while the two male officers use the Taser at least twice more against Willie. He appears to lose consciousness, and an ambulance arrives some 45 minutes after the initial arrest.

     At the request of the ambulance attendants, RCMP officers loosen Willie's handcuffs because his hands are "black." Still hog tied, Willie is seen being loaded onto the stretcher, wrapped in blankets, and taken to the local hospital. He has a massive heart attack en route to the hospital and later dies, which is not shown on the video.

     Dr. John Butt noted that the "touch stun" used against Clayton Willie is a less debilitating Taser mode, but it is not clear how many times it was deployed. He questioned why police would Taser a man who was already tied up and face down, and called it a "cruel and unnecessary act."

     The RCMP investigation found that all interactions with Clayton Willie were "routine" and there was no discipline as a result. A coroner's inquest concluded that Willie died of a cocaine overdose, despite his severe injuries and Taser burns.

     More information on the case is on this Facebook site: "Please help the Willey family put a stop to Tazer deaths in our country."