Abuse of Tasers by British cops

Recorded by one of those pesky cellphone cameras again!



There was fresh controversy over police methods last night after officers shot a man three times with a Taser gun and punched him repeatedly as he writhed on the ground. Shocking footage shows one officer repeatedly stunning the 40-year-old man with the high-voltage weapon as he lies in the middle of a busy city centre. His colleague then appears to punch the man with considerable force three times in the neck and shoulder.

As a crowd gathers round the man, an onlooker is heard to shout: 'He don't look like he is resisting.' The footage, captured by a taxi driver, was referred voluntarily to the Independent Police Complaints Commission by Nottinghamshire police, who said the man had earlier struck an officer.

But it sparked alarm over a decision by ex-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to arm police with the stun guns, which fire two darts on the end of wires carrying a 50,000-volt shock. She made 6,000 extra Tasers available to forces across the country only last month.

It also revived controversy over police tactics in the wake of allegations that officers assaulted protesters near the G20 summit in London, in April. Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said: 'This shocking footage calls into question the wisdom of issuing more and more police officers with Tasers.

'These are dangerous weapons that have killed 334 people in the United States, yet the Home Office seems to be treating them as standard issue for routine matters. 'Tasers should be treated like firearms and used as a last resort, not the first port of call.' The incident happened in Nottingham city centre at around 12.30am on Sunday.

Police said they were called out by door staff at one of the city's nightspots. One officer was assaulted and needed hospital treatment, they said. Nottinghamshire Assistant Chief Constable Peter Davies said: 'We understand that some members of the public may be concerned about this. 'The public's trust and confilisheddence is very important for us, which is why we have referred this matter for an objective investigation to the IPCC. 'We are looking at other CCTV in the area to ensure we have a clear picture of events leading up to the arrest and I would ask anyone in possession of such evidence, including the person who took the footage that has been pubto come forward as witnesses.'

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: 'Whilst video images rarely tell a complete story, these pictures give cause for serious concern. 'Tasers are supposed to be a safer last resort than firearms, but there was always the danger they would become too easy to use routinely.'

Police said a 40-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and released on police bail. A spokesman said no complaint had been made against the officers involved and no one had been suspended.

Taser guns - which consist of two darts on the end of wires containing a 50,000 volt shock - can be lethal. They have a range of around 20ft, have been linked by human rights groups with hundreds of deaths in the U.S. and Canada. They are now widely used across the UK, with the Government in the process of issuing forces around the country with a further 10,000. But experts here have also warned that using tasers on children and vulnerable adults could trigger a heart attack.

Last week, a policeman in Texas, U.S. caused outraged after tasering a 72-year-old woman when he stopped her for speeding at 60mph in a 45mph zone. He had written out a ticket but the great-grandmother then refused to sign it.

In January, an 89-year-old war veteran was shot with the stun gun in Llandudno, North Wales after he left his care home and threatened to cut his throat with broken glass.

According to guidelines from the Association of Chief Police Officers, Tasers must not be used indiscriminately. They state: 'Its purpose is to temporarily incapacitate an individual in order to control the threat that they pose. It must not be used to inflict severe pain or suffering in the performance of official duties.'

Original report here






And a Taser killing by Australian police goons

They Tasered their victim 28 times -- until his heart gave out

A woman claiming to have witnessed a fatal Taser incident in north Queensland last week says she begged police to stop continuously zapping him with the electric stun gun moments before he died. Antonio Galeano, 39, died after being shot with a 50,000-volt Taser stun gun during a violent confrontation with police at a unit in Brandon, near Townsville last Friday. Police initially said Mr Galeano was shot three times but data recorded by the Taser showed it operated on 28 separate cycles during the confrontation.

The Australian newspaper says a post-mortem examination by pathologists found the man - had a pre-existing heart condition - died in handcuffs just 10 minutes after being shot with the Taser. A police source told brisbanetimes.com.au Mr Galeano was "talking and lucid" before he suffered the heart attack.

Brandon woman Sandra Winn - who has made a statement to the Queensland Police Ethical Standards unit - reportedly said she saw police Taser Mr Galeano seven times, and begged the officers to stop. "The police officer states that he only used that Taser ... three times," Ms Winn told The Townsville Bulletin. "He hit him through the window here, the first time, hit him in the chest. "Toni fell down, he hit the ground, I heard him."

Ms Winn declined to speak to brisbanetimes.com.au when contacted this morning, as she was on her way to Mr Galeano's funeral, to be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ayr. Mr Galeano's parents Carmelo and Agata said their son was "dearly loved". His son Blake and sister Giovanna and extended family will pay their final respects at Ayr Cemetery.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson last week said Mr Galeano, who was clutching shards of glass and an iron bar, had assaulted a woman before she ran to a nearby unit and called police. However, police have been unable to confirm how many people were in the unit at the time of the incident.

"I stood up on that chair (and looked through the window from outside) by that time they'd gone in," Ms Winn told The Townsville Bulletin. "The police officer was standing over him and going (makes Taser motions) on his back. "I was screaming (at) this window ... at the police officer stop, stop, stop you are supposed to be helping me. How many times can you hit him with that before you're going to kill him?"

Ethical Standards Command Assistant Commissioner Peter Martin said an investigation into the man's death would endeavour to compare the number of Taser "bite marks" on Mr Galeano's body with the data obtained from the Taser.

More HERE. (Via Australian Politics)



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