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
Sunday, 21 October 2012
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