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Paul Pritchard

The maker of the Taser stun gun says the device did not cause the death two years ago of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski.

In its final submission to the inquiry into Dziekanski's death at Vancouver International Airport, U.S.-based Taser International says current medical and scientific research on sudden death during restraint excludes the weapon as the cause of death.

Taser says the high-voltage stun gun is just the latest in a long line of police tools scrutinized in connection with sudden in-custody deaths.

It says there is no objective evidence the struggle with the four RCMP officers caused Dziekanski's death, and pinning it on use of the Taser is simply speculative.

A Mountie used the Taser on Dziekanski as many as five times shortly after responding to reports of an unruly person in the international arrivals area.

Last week, the RCMP and several other police forces said they were going to follow new recommendations by Taser that officers not aim at the chest to reduce the risk of an "adverse cardiac event."

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