Frank Lasser, aged 82 and suffering from pneumonia, was recovering in hospital following open heart surgery on Saturday. There he was, quietly lying on his hospital bed when, out of the blue, he was zapped three times by police carrying tasers.

Lasser said, "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.' And then, bang, bang, bang, three times with the laser, and I tell you, I never want that again."

Apparently, nurses had called police when Lasser became delirious and pulled a knife out of his pocket. He explained that, when he can't catch his breath because of the pneumonia he becomes delusional. He had no recollection of pulling the knife, and couldn't explain why he had done so.

As Lasser said, there were three RCMP officers in his hospital room and they should have been able to subdue an 82 year old without the use of tasers.

Do you think its safe to use tasers around oxygen? I mean, don't they set off a spark or something?

CBC Canada