My interview on BBC Radio Wales 7 Dec 2012- Tasers

Police Taser disparity concerns Amnesty International

7 December 2012 Last updated at 08:44 

The chances of being Tasered could depend on where people live as police are interpreting the rules differently, claims a humans rights group.
Amnesty International says some forces could be using it more than others.
Figures for January to September 2012 show Gwent Police used it once a fortnight on average, while North Wales Police with a similar population and number of Taser officers, used it less often in 10 months of this year.
Police say all officers have the same training which is constantly monitored.
Tony Bleetman, a consultant in accident and emergency medicine, and Sophie Khan a solicitor, discuss the issue with Bethan Rhys Roberts on Good Morning Wales.
Concern over police Taser rules

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20637755

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20634074

Quoted in Police in Crisis -The Big Issue North 4-10 June 2012

http://www.rjgallagher.co.uk/2012/06/police-in-crisis.htmlUK police in crisis

My Legal Life -The Law Gazette 1 November 2012

My interview in the Law Gazette -On the beat for Justice
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/features/my-legal-life-sophie-khan
 My Legal Life: Sophie Khan

Thursday 01 November 2012

Before I settled on law I wanted to be a conservationist. I had read Peter Matthiessen’s book The Snow Leopard, in which he diarised his journey through the Himalayas, and wanted to follow in his footsteps.
I’ve always been a worker and couldn’t wait to qualify. I can remember in my final year at university thinking I still had two years before I could put the law into practice.
My first case against the police was quite serious. It involved a guy who lived next door to the firm and had been targeted because of the colour of his skin.
When I was at Imran Khan & Partners I dealt with so many different cases in my first month. Every day people would call with enquiries – taser cases, judicial reviews, assaults, human rights cases, breaches of privacy, search warrants. At the moment I’m representing a blind man tasered because it was thought his stick was a samurai sword.
The respect that the police need to give communities has vanished. The police have to deal with that urgently or they won’t receive the respect they in turn need to do their job.
It’s changing, but a lot of lawyers are still scared of saying anything on Twitter. But a tweet is personal, and people see it that way. So long as you’re not breaking a client confidence, affecting a case or making, say, a racist comment, I can’t see the problem. I have 1,012 followers.
My first appearance in court I found quite natural. Provided you know the law and your client’s case, you’ll be fine. You just have to remember that you’re in front of a judge or recorder who was once in your position.
Solicitor-advocates are the future. When you look at what’s happening to legal aid it’s clear that both barristers and solicitors will not be able to survive on those rates. Solicitors are involved from day one, solicitors know what their client really needs and wants. That can be missed by barristers who are more narrowly focused on the law.
I launched the Police Action Centre in August this year as a non-legal forum and information centre for people who faced an issue with the police.
I’m a campaigning lawyer using the legal side of issues to further the campaign through the courts. The community and activist groups I’m part of, such as the Stop and Search Legal Project and Stop Criminalising Hackney Youth, means I have people’s confidence. A lot of my cases come from the campaigns I’m involved with.
Sophie Khan is solicitor-advocate at McMillan Williams Solicitors

Blind man Tasered by police threatens legal action -30 October 2012

Interviewed by Elaine Willcox, Granada Reports

http://www.itv.com/news/granada/update/2012-10-30/blind-man-tasered-by-police-threatens-legal-action/

The Lawyer - 23 October 2012 By Sam Chadderton

I'm in The Lawyer!

http://www.thelawyer.com/mcmillan-williams-represents-blind-stroke-victim-tasered-by-police/1015121.article

McMillan Williams represents blind stroke victim tasered by police

23 October 2012 | By Sam Chadderton

A lawyer specialising in actions against the police has been instructed for a blind stroke victim who was tasered by mistake.

Sophie Khan

Solicitor advocate Sophie Khan, head of claims against police at South East-based McMillan Williams Solicitors, is representing Colin Farmer, who was stunned by Lancashire Police after they mistook his white stick for a samurai sword.
Khan, whose expertise includes taser-related injuries, moved from London-based GT Stewart Solicitors in August to head the department at McMillan Williams.

A civil claim for damages is expected to be lodged with the courts next month. Farmer, who is partially sighted, registered blind and has suffered two strokes in the past, is seeking compensation from the force.
Officers mistook Farmer’s white walking stick for a weapon as they responded to reports of a man carrying a samurai sword in the street. The stun gun used on Farmer is capable of discharging 50,000 volts.
As a solicitor advocate Khan will hope to do most of the casework herself and if counsel are instructed it will be at a later date.
A statement from the firm said: “The Independent Police Complaints Commission has indicated that they are conducting an investigation and McMillan Williams will be writing to the IPCC to find out what steps it is taking regarding this serious incident.”

Sophie Khan, the solicitor leading the case, last night told Legal Cheek:
“The incident which involved my client is just one in a long line of disproportionate uses of the taser stun guns on vulnerable and disabled people. It raises serious questions about the quality of training that is provided to police officers and whether steps need to be taken to address the lack of training. In the absence of any action by the police service it is likely that such incidents will continue to happen.”


 http://www.legalcheek.com/2012/10/morning-round-up-wednesday-24-october/

BBC Radio Lancashire -live interview on tasered blind man

 This is the link to my interview with Brett Davison and quoted in BBC Lancashire News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-20031625
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zhk4y

 Stories in various papers:-
 
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/chorley/10007826.Specialist_lawyers_take_on_case_of_tasered_Chorley_man/
 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tasered-blind-man-colin-farmer-1393173

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/22/blind-man-taser-claim-compensation


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-blind-man-who-was-shot-with-a-50000volt-taser-stun-gun-by-police-launches-compensation-bid-8220767.html

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/blind-man-sues-after-being-shot-with-taser-by-police-who-mistook-white-stick-for-samurai-sword-8220759.html

 http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/10/24/blind-man-to-sue-police-over-taser-incident/

Quoted in the Guardian 21 October 2012

The lovely Helen Carter's excellent article on tasers. Also the first quote on the Police Action Centre by a national newspaper.
 
Sophie Khan, a solicitor advocate at McMillan Williams, who set up the legal action group Police Action Centre to challenge the widespread use of stun guns, cites a case in which a mentally ill man on a roof was hit with a Taser by police and the muscle spasms led to him falling off the roof. She said she was also aware of a case in Birmingham of a disabled man who was Tasered after he was physically incapable of leaving his mobility vehicle as demanded by police.
"Their use is too wide and too loose," she said. "There needs to be more control and restraint; training needs to be looked at, otherwise we are in a situation where police are breaching article 3 of the Human Rights Act and the state is responsible for such breaches."
Before 2008, the use of Tasers was restricted to firearms officers, but their use has increased in recent years as more frontline officers have access to them.
Khan said ordinary people were being Tasered in circumstances where it was not warranted. She describes the Farmer case as "probably the worst example. It's a bit obvious that he had no weapon and is an elderly man and there's no threat to the public or the police."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/21/campaigners-concerns-increased-taser-use-police?CMP=twt_gu

Daily Mail -Front page story on Tasers 18 October 2012

Quoted in the front page story

Solicitor Sophie Khan, who has represented several people injured by stun guns, said: ‘This officer was obviously trigger-happy as he shot a blind man in the back.
This highlights once again that we have too many officers who are not properly trained to use these weapons and are harming innocent individuals with them. Something needs to change urgently.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2218945/Terror-blind-man-tasered-police-I-thought-theyd-kill-says-stroke-victim-aged-61-white-stick-mistaken-samurai-sword.html#ixzz29sXzwQV7

Taser interview on Nick Ferrari's show -18 October 2012

My interview on taser. Taser story starts at 42:00
http://lbc.audioagain.com/player_popup.php?channel_id=101&user_id=64800&sec_id=e3e25764fa6a1b79f064a530e871d35d0aeac41c&guid=2012-10/18/6d9cc5e33a186e1a8f502fddae680382

Talking about Tasers on BBC London News

 


Link to Robin Punt's report on the Al Hilli case for BBC London News.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01n8dfh/

P.S Robin is a very nice guy.
 
 http://www.mwsolicitors.co.uk/tasers.html?utm_hp_ref=uk