FIREARMS officers will continue to bear Tasers - despite calls by human rights campaigners to ban them in the UK. In July, the Guernsey officers were issued with the weapons, which incapacitate a subject by firing 50,000 volts into them.
‘One has yet to be discharged in Guernsey and would only be deployed by a firearms officer in accordance with national guidelines,’ said a police spokesman.
The Taser discharges a pair of electrical probes and has a range of up to 21ft. The shock causes muscular contraction, disrupting the nerves that are required for maintaining balance and posture, leaving the subject incapable of resistance.
Home Department minister Mike Torode said the upshot of it was that if the alternative to a Taser were to be used, it would invariably be fatal.
‘They are only ever used by an authorised firearms officer and are only used as an alternative to a firearm. I can’t tell you the last time the police have had to shoot somebody,’ he said.
Deputy Torode dismissed calls by Amnesty International for police forces in Scotland to stop using the weapons after US reports suggested they were being used against children, the elderly and pregnant women.
‘It really is nonsense. They are a less lethal option than a normal firearm.
‘They should be able to be issued to firearms officers in the same way that they have been issued with firearms, but that doesn’t mean to say they use them.’
Article posted on 28th September, 2006 - 12.00am
Loading ...
Most Commented: