Officers fired their stun guns four times a week
GREATER Manchester Police officers discharged their ‘Taser’ stun guns the equivalent of four times a week last year. The weapon was ‘fired’ conventionally where pins are propelled into a target before a 50,000 volt charge of electricity is delivered 190 times in 2016.
In 33 cases it was discharged in ‘drive stun’ mode or ‘angled drive stun’ mode, when the Taser is held against a suspect and a jolt of electricity is delivered.
The new Home Office figures show that in all, GMP officers ‘used’ Taser 799 times in 2016, including the 576 times the weapon was drawn, aimed, arced - sparked without firing - or ‘reddotted’ without a current being discharged.
The weapon was used the equivalent of twice a day.
It means stun guns were actually discharged in 28 per cent of cases they were used, compared to the national average of 17 per cent.
Compared to other forces, officers in Greater Manchester were among the most likely to discharge their Tasers once drawn, the figures suggest.
Levels in 2015 were around the same as last year. Tasers were used 779 times and discharged 232 times.
Earlier this year, a GMP officer Tasered a blind man at Levenshulme railway station after his walking stick was mistaken for a gun.
In 2013 factory worker Jordan Begley, 23, died after he was Tasered at his home in Gorton.
Chief Superintendent John O’Hare said: “The Taser can be a valuable and effective option for police officers dealing with potentially volatile situations where its use is necessary to protect the public, police or the individual themselves.
“In many instances, our officers find that the presence of Taser alone can act as a deterrent without it even having to be used.
“Taser allows us to respond to situations where otherwise we may have to deploy firearms.
“The use of Taser is set down by national guidelines which GMP adheres to.
“Each time Taser is deployed, we review that use to ensure policy has been followed and to identify any concerns.
“Our officers receive extensive specialist training in the use of Tasers so that, in the event they need to use them, they are able to do so in a responsible way.”
Across England and Wales, Tasers were used by police 11,294 times up slightly from the 10,390 occasions they were used in 2015.
Half of the time they were used to red-dot people, but they were also discharged by officers 1,910 times - 17 per cent of all occasions.