No charges for Taser police

THREE police officers will NOT face criminal charges in connection with the death of a Huddersfield man.

Adrian McDonald, 34, of Dalton, died on December 22, 2014 after he was tasered by officers called to a house in Newcastle-under-Lyme following reports of a burglary. It later emerged he was a guest at a birthday party.

Staffordshire Police referred the incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), following standard practice in such cases and prepared a file for the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) to consider criminal charges.

But the CPS has since confirmed ‘no further action’ will be taken against three Staffordshire Police officers.

A CPS spokesman said: “Earlier this year, having looked at all the evidence from the IPCC, we concluded that there was insufficient evidence resulting in a realistic prosecution of any of those referred to us by the IPCC.”

The CPS decision is based on the test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

Mr McDonald was brought up in Dalton where his family still live, and had been living in Stoke for about a year.

He was attending a birthday party where he became very distressed. The police were called by neighbours.

Armed police arrived at the scene and tasered Mr McDonald. He became ill in a police van and died.

Mr McDonald’s devastated family signed a petition in the wake of the tragedy which attracted more than 1,200 signatures calling for police use of tasers to be banned.

The IPCC investigated Staffordshire Police’s conduct but the findings of the report will not be published until after an inquest which will be held in Staffordshire in November.

An IPCC spokesman said: “The IPCC’s investigation has been completed and we are liaising with relevant parties. However our investigation’s conclusions will not be published until the conclusion of the planned inquest to avoid prejudicing those proceedings.”

Staffordshire Coroners’ Court confirmed a pre-inquest review has been listed for November 10.

Tasers, which deliver an electric shock to temporarily incapacitate a suspect, were introduced in the UK in 2003 as an alternative means of dealing with armed suspects.

“But concerns have been raised about the number of deaths and serious injuries connected with their use.”