RCMP officers continued the practice of hog-tying suspects years after using the controversial technique on a Prince George man who later died in custody in 2003.
This despite the fact Mounties banned hog-tying two months before the death of Clayton Willey seven years ago.
That's among the conclusions of an interim report by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, obtained recently by The Canadian Press. It urged the Mounties to convince its officers not to use the technique, which involves binding a person's hands and feet and then linking their limbs behind them with a rope, chain or other restraint.
It was also among the methods used by police as they attempted to restrain Willey, 33, during a violent, drug-fuelled encounter with officers in front of the Parkwood Place Mall. A coroner's inquest found Willey died of a cocaine overdose, not police brutality or repeated shocks from a Taser stun gun. But the case continues to stoke debate over the RCMP's treatment of suspects.
"That's a big question that comes out of this report," David Eby, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association told The Citizen. "Officially, hog-tying or using a device known as a 'hobble' ... is prohibited by the RCMP. The report says it's been continuing for several years after the practice was ended. That's a real concern for us."
Willey is not named in the report but two sources say the circumstances of his case closely fits the profile of the 10 in-custody deaths (six in B.C.) cited by the commission.
The hog-tying of Willey was also featured during the coroner's inquest into his death. The officer who applied the restraint technique said he did not know the RCMP had banned the practice two months earlier.
A spokesperson for the RCMP declined to comment on both the findings of the report and its policy in regards to hog-tying.
However, in a previous statement on the Willey case, then RCMP Sgt. Tim Shields said hog-tying the 33 year old was the only way to stop him from kicking officers trying to subdue him. According to the inquest and subsequent reports, a number of police officers also used physical force, pepper spray, and Tasers on Willey.
"There was no finding of wrongdoing regarding the arrest," Shields said earlier.
The report recommends RCMP "develop and communicate to members clear protocols on the use of restraints and the prohibition of the hog-tie, modified hog-tie and choke-holds" and worries hog-tying is "still readily being used" despite the ban.
The report says a number of autopsy reports listed body position as a preceding circumstance or contributing cause of death. The National Post has reported the hog-tying ban was put in place because it could lead to "positional asphyxia", which is potentially fatal.
Eby noted a number of agencies in North America have prohibited the practice.
He also questioned why Willey needed to be Tasered at the RCMP detachment while still hog-tied and after being dragged through the building.
The report, which focused on the RCMP's use of the Taser stun gun, said people were hog-tied in 40 per cent of cases in which that person later died after being hit with the controversial energy weapon.
"The official line on Willey was he was going to break his wrists because he was hog-tied," said Eby. "He was pulling with his feet against his hands. This is the RCMP explanation and I think it's absurd."
During the inquest, an RCMP cell matron, in a written statement, testified she believed Willey was Tasered "so he would calm down."
