Police use Taser in arrest of Regina man

Patrick Flaman, a 38-yearold Regina man, has been charged with assault with a weapon after allegedly moving toward an officer with intent to strike.

Early Sunday afternoon, the Regina Police Service received a call saying a man who had threatened to assault someone was heading to a home in the 3600 block of Bishop Crescent. According to the call, the man was agitated and high.

Officers responded, finding a man walking south on the 800 block of Park Street, carrying a large board.

The officers confronted him and asked him to stop, but he allegedly did not acknowledge their demands. After one officer moved toward the man, he then turned and advanced toward the officer, lifting the board as if to strike, according to a release from the RPS.

The officer then deployed his charged energy weapon (CEW), commonly called a Taser, after which the man was taken into custody without further incident.

EMS came to the scene and took the man to hospital to assess his condition, as is policy when a CEW has been used. This is because the prongs that shoot from a CEW puncture skin; at the hospital the prongs are safely removed.

Flaman will appear in court on Oct. 21.

All uses of CEWs are released to the public and reviewed by an RPS committee, as are all uses of force.

According to the RPS communications desk, this was the ninth time this year that a Taser has been used.