Officer's improper use of Taser triggers fire in man's pants!

CANADA - April 19, 2008 - A Hamilton man Tasered by police is in hospital after the stun gun burned him by ignited a "flammable object" in his pants.

The incident is under review by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, which probes all police-related deaths and serious injuries. According to the SIU, police were called to a Queenston Road apartment in Hamilton's east end around 9 p.m. Thursday.

"Three officers went there in response to a disturbance call," said SIU spokesman Frank Phillips yesterday. "During the interaction, an officer discharged his Taser. A flammable object the man had in the waistband of his pants ignited."

The man, 31, was burned on his hand and thigh. He was taken to Hamilton General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Tasers are electrical discharge weapons that incapacitate a person by affecting the nervous system and muscle control. Hamilton police discharged their Tasers 50 times last year.