British police goons again: Taser an innocent man

A man was shot in the groin with a 50,000 volt Taser gun by police who wrongly believed he had been driving without insurance. Peter Cox was given the electric shock after he climbed out of his BMW to talk to officers who had been following him.

He had a brief conversation with them but suddenly collapsed to the ground in agony when one of the policemen discharged the weapon.

Yesterday Mr Cox, 49, said he was considering legal action against the force after it said the gun had been fired accidentally. In addition, it later emerged Mr Cox's car was insured.

Officers had been tailing the motorist as he drove through Bridgwater, Somerset. When he stopped at the home of his partner Donna Allen, 47, where he was going to do some gardening, he asked the police what they wanted. He said: 'I asked them to park on the other side of the road because we were working on the front garden.

'The officer didn't say anything, but he got out of the car and pulled out a Taser and pointed it at me. 'I didn't know this at the time so I just went on with what I was doing and got a bag of stone for the garden out of the boot. Then he shot me.'

Mr Cox denied acting aggressively. He said the Taser missed his genitals by three inches. He continued: 'I was really shocked and I didn't know what was going on. I got one in my groin and one in my ankle.

'It really hurt. It just stunned me completely and felt like someone was stabbing me with a fork all over my body.' He added: 'Police should not be armed with Tasers if they cannot use them properly. 'It was incredibly painful. It totally paralysed me.'

Paramedics treated Mr Cox, who suffers from debilitating Guillain Barre syndrome - an autoimmune disorder which can cause paralysis - on the front lawn of the home.

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police confirmed officers had wanted to speak to Mr Cox as they suspected the BMW 3 Series he was driving was not insured.

The force later issued a statement, saying: 'The Taser is a hand-held device which discharges an electrical current to temporarily incapacitate a person. 'Its effects are short-lived but are designed to give officers control of the offender and the situation.' The statement continued: 'On Tuesday morning officers stopped a man in Bridgwater suspected to be driving a vehicle without insurance.

'The man appeared to become aggressive and the officer removed his Taser in accordance with protocol. 'On lowering the Taser it was accidentally discharged. Police are now looking into this.'

The incident is the latest episode to raise questions over the use of Tasers by police. It has been suggested that Raoul Moat shot himself in the head during negotiations with police because of an involuntary action caused by being shot with the weapon.

Since being introduced in April 2004, Tasers have been used in more than 5,400 incidents in England and Wales.

Original report here



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