TASER USED TO WAKE MEN SAFELY, OFFICER SAYS

Feared They Had Used Drugs And Were Armed

EDMONTON - The city police officer on trial for assault after he fired
his Taser at two men sleeping in a hotel room claims the electric
jolts provided a safe way to wake them up.

In a written statement to the police internal affairs unit, Const.
Jeffrey Resler said he feared the men had recently smoked
methamphetamines or popped prescription pills before passing out at
the Cromdale Hotel on Nov. 27, 2003.

The inner-city hotel, now condemned, was notorious for violent crime
and drugs. And the room smelled strongly of chemicals when Resler and
three other officers looking for an armed robbery suspect were
directed to search the suite.

Two men were lying on a bed and another man was face-down on the
floor.

"More than one attempt was made to wake these males up using both
verbal and physical control techniques," Resler wrote in the
statement, entered as evidence in his trial on Friday.

Resler said he thought the men might be armed with knives. One of them
was also swearing and moving his arm. So he stunned two of them with
his Taser.

"I felt the use of the Taser was the tool that would be the most
effective controlling the suspects and the least likely to cause them
any injuries."

Resler said one man became alert after the jolt and cocked a fist to
punch him, so he hit him in the face then placed him in handcuffs.

Resler, 36, faces two counts of assault and two counts of assault with
a weapon against Patrick Marshall and Dana Slifka.

Earlier this week, Resler's superior officer at the crime scene
testified he knew immediately after walking into the room that the
three sleeping men didn't pose a threat.

They didn't match the description of the robbery suspect, described as
an aboriginal male, because they were white.

Sgt. Blair Edl also said he didn't see any weapons in their
hands.

Concerned for their health because of the smell in the room, he went
to open a window, then turned in surprise to see Resler firing his
Taser.

Edl said Resler's behaviour made him feel sick to his
stomach.

Resler had also used his Taser on two other men earlier in his shift,
but both those incidents were determined to be justified because the
men were aggressive.

Const. Jeff Minten, an expert in the police department's use-of-force
model, testified Friday that using a Taser to wake a sleeping person
is inconsistent with both the model and police standards.

"The purpose of the Taser isn't to wake somebody up," Minten said.
"There has to be another reason -- a threat level -- to justify the
use of a Taser."

Police policy in 2003 specified officers should only use Tasers on
people who show active resistance, said Const. Shawna Goodkey with the
officer safety unit.

She said a new policy, which came into effect this year, now advises
officers not to use Tasers on people who are sleeping.

Resler's trial is set to resume Oct. 25.