WEDNESDAY
July 22 2015 Vol. 106 No. 57
NEWS 7
Fielding signatures OPINION 10
Sympathy for the developer SPORTS 16
Little Leaguers slug it out There’s more online at
vancourier.com MIDWEEK EDITION
THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908
Online dater takes ‘dudes’ to task Cheryl Rossi
crossi@vancourier.com
ON THE RIGHT TRACK Chris Young of the Vancouver Dirt Jump Coalition takes a spin on the new BMX pump track during the opening day of Empire Fields and Plateau Sports Park on Saturday. See story page 8. PHOTO REBECCA BLISSETT
VPD plans to buy 200 more Tasers Mike Howell
mhowell@vancourier.com
At a time when Vancouver police officers rarely fire a conductive energy weapon — commonly referred to by the brand name Taser — the department plans to buy 200 more of the stun guns and train almost the same number of officers to use the weapon. With 128 officers already trained, including members of emergency response teams, the department wants a total of 200 cops to know how to use the Taser before the end of this year. By the end of 2016, the goal is to have 300 officers trained and have one Taser available for every two patrol members on shift. “It doesn’t mean we’ll be using it a lot more, but we’ll have it more available,” Police Chief Adam Palmer told the Courier in an interview Thursday. “It’s a tool
that we don’t use on a regular basis, but when we do need it, it’s very important to have it. It’s like a firearm. We don’t use that very often either, but officers do have to have it. So in those most serious circumstances, it’s nice for officers to have another option.” The increase in training will mean purchasing more than 100 of the $2,000-apiece Tasers this year and another 100 next year to add to the 150 in stock. It will also mean equipping officers with a weapon made infamous by the RCMP in 2007 at the Vancouver International Airport, where Mounties fired it several times at Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died of a heart attack following the jolts from the gun. As the Courier revealed in a story published last month, the VPD’s use of the Taser dropped significantly after Dziekanski’s death. In 2006, VPD of-
ficers fired the weapon 93 times but have only fired it an average of nine times per year between 2010 and 2014. Palmer said it was “fair comment” that officers were probably “a little shy” to use the Taser back then and acknowledged “with any of these less-lethal options, there’s no guarantee that somebody will not die.” He added, though, “we’re reducing that chance” with the use of a Taser because “there’s less likelihood somebody’s going to die than if shot with a bullet.” The chief pointed out officers are trained in hand-to-hand combat, are equipped with pepper spray and a baton. Some officers are also trained on how to use a shotgun that fires beanbag rounds. That training is coupled with de-escalation techniques, which emphasizes the primary goal of an officer making an arrest is to not resort to any use of force. Continued on page 5
Faith moves houses Faster and for More Money* *Based on 2014 VVW Detached + Condos + Townhouses sales, the average 2014 sale price in VVW was $1,229,955. The average sale price vs. list price of Faith Wilson Group’s 2014 VVW sales was 1.29% higher that the MLS® average. The MLS® 2014 Average Days on Market (Detached, Townhouses, Condos) was 46. The average D.O.M. of Faith Wilson Group’s 2014 VVW sales 86.6% less than the MLS® average.
The more she online dated, the more isolated and lonely Hannah Maté felt. Messages like these were messing with her head: Burnaby man, with whom OK Cupid said she was a 64 per cent match: “Girls, what’s my weakness??” he texted, quoting lyrics by female hiphop trio Salt-N-Pepa. Maté quoted lyrics back: “Men! OK then.” Him, straying from “Shoop” by SaltN-Pepa: “Entertain me sugar t**s.” Maté had received so many introductory message from men about her body, sex and ripping her apart for saying she was hoping to meet a man who identified as a feminist or a feminist ally, that she was losing interest in meeting someone. Then she shared some of the photos and absurd messages she received on Facebook, heard from girlfriends about their similar experiences and from guy friends who were shocked at how brutal it can be for women online. She started her blog, Hey Sup Girl?: Celebrating the Real S*** Dudes Say on Online Dating, a year ago, more recently moving it to the Tumblr platform and maintaining a related Facebook page. Maté has been amazed how often men who don’t receive an immediate reply to an initial text attack. She has awarded worst message to a doozy received by a friend. A man texted “Hey hows [sic] it going?” one evening. The friend hadn’t responded by the following afternoon. His reaction: “Wow such a shame how shallow you are. Try growing up and maybe a guy will want a relationship with you instead of just use you for a quick f***. I hope the next guy you f*** gives you HIV you fat slut and maybe if you don’t actually look like an armadillo guys would hit on you in person and you wouldnt [sic] have to use Tinder.” Continued on page 9
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