Taser maker challenges Canadian inquiry

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. manufacturer of Taser stun guns filed a legal challenge to the Canadian province of British Columbia's inquiry into the devices' safety.

Vancouver lawyer David Neave told CTV News Taser International of Arizona is dissatisfied with 19 recommendations on police use of the devices made by an inquiry July 23.

The inquiry was called after the death of a 40-year-old Polish immigrant at Vancouver International Airport in October 2007. The man was shot with Tasers several times by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and later died of cardiac arrest.

His death was not conclusively linked to the use of the Taser, the Globe and Mail said.

Meanwhile, Neave said the company is going to the provincial Supreme Court to have the findings quashed. Among the disputed findings is that the weapons can be fatal and their use should be scaled back. He said the inquiry also ignored evidence the company submitted.

"It appears upon a review of the report itself that the commission did not consider or refer to a substantial body of scientific and medical literature concerning the safety of the devices that Taser itself provided to the commission," Neave said.

The inquiry was led by Thomas Braidwood, a retired justice of the British Columbia Appeal Court.