$2,000 compensation for taser incident an insult: Kelowna senior

January 16, 2009
CBC News

A Kelowna, B.C., man who was stunned with a Taser by an RCMP officer over a parking violation says an offer of $2,000 compensation is insulting.

The RCMP has already admitted they made a mistake when the officer punched and jolted John Peters, 68, twice with a stun gun in November 2007.

Peters was delivering papers at the time and initially drove off when the officer tried to write him a traffic ticket for double parking.

He then stopped a block down the road. That's when the officer came up and punched Peters on the side of the head and jolted him twice with a stun gun as he sat in his truck, he told CBC News previously.

His lawyer, Colby Johnson, said a recent offer from the Attorney General's office of $2,000 as a goodwill gesture is not good enough.

"An appropriate measure would be a public apology by the superintendent and the two intervening officers that day. As well as criminal charges: assault causing bodily harm," Johnson said.

A fairer financial compensation would be in the range of $20,000, the lawyer said.

"Just because these people enforce the law doesn't mean they are above the law," he said.

The officer has been suspended from using a Taser, RCMP said.