An RCMP officer who stunned an 11-year-old boy with a Taser was put on administrative duties Monday and the RCMP public complaints commission announced it will be closely monitoring the case, which is under investigation by an outside police agency.

A spokesman for the commission said Monday that the office had not received an official complaint about the boy's arrest last week, but that his age merits special attention.

"The commission has requested further information surrounding the handling of this incident," Jamie Robertson said about the arrest in a rural community outside Prince George, B.C.

"The commission has previously expressed caution on the use of Tasers against at-risk populations."

West Vancouver police are investigating the incident, and the commission will wait for their report before deciding what follow-up action is required, Robertson said. The commission chairman can choose to initiate an investigation even in the absence of a complaint, he said.

RCMP Supt. Brenda Butterworth-Carr said the force's policy allows for children to be stunned with a Taser in certain circumstances, although she couldn't say what the circumstances were in this case or if there's a minimum age requirement.

"I don't know the specific age per say but certainly in some instances some youths do in fact pose those considerable risks to themselves and others and that's a determination that's made by an individual (officer) at that time."

A report released last year by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP suggests that up to now, the youngest person to have been jolted by an RCMP Taser was 13 years old.

In the current incident, Mounties have said officers were responding to a 911 call around 5:30 p.m. last Thursday. They found a 37-year-old man had been stabbed, and began a search for an 11-year-old suspect who they located at a neighbouring property.

"Efforts were made to get the individual out of the house, and when he emerged from the home, a conducted energy weapon was deployed by a member," Butterworth-Carr said.

She said the boy was taken to hospital for an assessment. The victim of the stabbing was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

Sgt. Paul Skelton of the West Vancouver Police Department said the officer who is now doing administrative duties has 18 months' experience on the job.

The Criminal Code stipulates that children aged 12 and under cannot be charged with a crime, although they can be arrested.

The province's children's watchdog has confirmed the boy was in government care and was living in a group home and she said Monday she is also leaning toward investigating the police decision to use the shock weapon.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond said she would consider the emotional and physical injuries the boy suffered when he was stunned by police.

"This is a very invisible child," Turpel-Lafond said. "This child doesn't necessarily have a voice. There isn't a parent speaking for this child."

Turpel-Lafond said she's not pleased that a child as young as 11 was placed in a group home to begin with, and that a therapeutic foster home may well have been a better arrangement for him. She said she will carefully look at issues such as whether staff at the group home were trained to deal with conflict.

"Is the training, say, call the police and let four officers respond in this fashion?" she asked. "These situations do not just suddenly arise out of the blue. That's one thing I'm quite confident to say."

The boy is back in the care of the Children's Ministry, although Turpel-Lafond wouldn't say if he is another group home.

Children's Ministry spokesman Darren Harbord said staff are co-operating with police during the investigation but he can't comment on the ministry's role until after the probe has been completed.

Skelton said two detectives arrived in Prince George on Sunday and expect to complete their interviews by Tuesday.

He said the department is sensitive to criticism that police are investigating police instead of an independent body conducting such a probe.

"That's the framework that exists in this province and if the solicitor general makes amendments to the Police Act that allows other forms of investigation we'd certainly support that. But at this time, that's what's in play," Skelton said.

"Public support is crucial for us to do our job and we understand that this incident has garnered a lot of emotions in the community of Prince George, the province and nationally as well," he said. "So we're mindful of that and we know our investigation has to be thorough, complete and as well it has to be done in a timely manner to satisfy a lot of questions people are asking."