The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) sprung into action following a call from the Royal Inland Hospital, where a patient in a delirious state had brandished a knife on a nurse.
The police tasered the man to his bed following his refusal to put down the weapon.Frank Lasser, 82, was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. An earlier heart surgery required him to carry oxygen on his person at all times. Laser admitted that breathlessness made him delirious, offering an explanation as to why he shot back at the nurse.
"I was laying on the bed by then and the corporal came in, or the sergeant, I forget which it was, and said to the guys, 'OK, get him because we got more important work to do on the street tonight,'" Lasser said.
"And then, bang, bang, bang, three times with the laser, and I tell you, I never want that again."
Laser could not offer an explanation why he did not let go of the knife after the authorities arrived.
Cpl. Scott Wilson of the Kamloops RCMP said that Laser had a deadly weapon on him, they had no choice but to use the taser to tame him.
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The debate is on whether the police did the right thing or did they overreact to the situation.
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