Man dies after police use stun gun

SIMCOE, Ontario, June 24 (UPI) -- A Canadian man's death after being shocked by an Ontario Provincial Police officer's electric stun gun was under investigation Tuesday in Simcoe near Toronto.

The OPP said they received a call Monday morning about a man causing a disturbance.

"Upon arrival police located a male who was combative and during the encounter police had to deploy a conducted energy weapon," Sgt. Pierre Chamberland told the CTV television network.

An ambulance crew checked the unidentified 36-year-old man's condition, and found nothing wrong, so he was taken to a police station in Simcoe, about 90 miles southwest of Toronto. There, he collapsed and later died in a hospital, the report said.

The use of the stun guns, known by their trade name Tasers, is controversial in Canada. Monday's death came days after a federal watchdog report criticized the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for overuse of the devices and insufficient training of officers, the report said.

Chamberland said the OPP only issues stun guns to officers who have been fully trained in their use, and said they must pass annual recertification tests.

More than 20 people in Canada have died after being shocked by the weapons, the report said.