A 42 year-old Regina male is facing charges after an incident on Saturday, October 10th, in which a Regina Police Service member discharged a CEW, commonly known as a taser, in an arrest. This advisory is in keeping with the Regina Police Service’s commitment to notify the public each time a CEW is discharged against a person.
At approximately 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 10th, 2015, the RPS Communications Centre received a call that a male was causing problems at a residence in the 5000 block of 2nd Avenue North. Police located the male outside of the residence holding 2 large butcher knives. The officers commanded him to drop the knives, but the male ignored their demands. An officer deployed his Conducted Energy Weapon, or CEW. The male was safely taken into custody without further incident. EMS attended, as per policy, and took the suspect to the hospital for an assessment. As the result of the investigation, the male was charged with a weapons charge.
Forty-two year-old Shane B. BIGSTONE, DOB: 1973/06/30, is charged with “Possession of a Weapon for a Purpose Dangerous to the Public Peace ” , section 88 CC. BIGSTONE was released with a court appearance on December 14th, 2015.
The use of the CEW has been documented as per policy and will be reviewed by a Use of Force Committee – a committee with the Service. All uses of force are also reported to the Saskatchewan Police Commission – an oversight body independent of the Regina Police Service.