Police may get 50,000V Taser ‘that inflicts MORE pain’
THE use of a ‘more painful’ Taser stun gun which could cause serious injury is being considered by police chiefs in Scotland.
Home Secretary Priti Patel gave formal approval this week for forces south of the Border to use the new Taser 7 for the first time.
The Mail has learned that force chiefs at Police Scotland are looking at a plan to duplicate the move here.
It comes despite findings by UK Government scientists that the weapon could lead to more internal injuries and broken bones.
Last night, Naomi McAuliffe, Amnesty International’s Scotland programme director, said: ‘We continue to urge Police Scotland to control use of Taser weapons, particularly in regard to routine policing.
‘The Taser 7 would be the most powerful electroshock device ever used by police and as such the potential for harm must be scrutinised before these are seriously considered as viable policing equipment.
‘Taser weapons can cause serious harm and, if used inappropriately, are lethal weapons.’
Police Scotland’s head of specialist services, Chief Superintendent Louise Skelton, said the single force was considering the Taser 7 among the options to replace its existing equipment.
She said: ‘Any change in equipment will of course follow national guidelines, health and safety regulations and is considered against equality and human rights legislation.’
Experts have warned that passers-by risk being hit by probes which inflict the electric shock as the Taser 7 allows them to detach from the gun after being fired.
The Taser, introduced in Britain in 2003, incapacitates a target with a high-voltage electric pulse which causes muscle spasms. The scientists said the Taser 7’s probes are more powerful than previous models and this implies it will be more effective but ‘may be more painful for the subject’.
There was also a greater risk of injuries due to uncontrolled falls
They added that ‘free-flying probes... present a hazard to bystanders and officers located down-range of the subject in the event of a probe miss’.
Once detached from the muzzle of the weapon, probes can travel up to 80ft, said the experts.
The probes have more momentum so there is ‘an anticipated increase in the incidence of darts penetrating the body to their full depth’ and causing ‘injuries to deeper-lying organs and tissues’, added the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons.
Its analysis was published alongside Miss Patel’s announcement earlier this week.
The Taser 7 also makes a louder ‘arc’ noise which aims to make violent suspects back down.
Miss Patel said: ‘It is sickening that our brave police officers face assaults and attacks as they work tirelessly to keep us all safe.
‘They are our protectors and I will do everything in my power to give them what they need to keep themselves and the public safe. This new Taser model will provide a safe and effective tool for apprehending criminals.’
Last year Police Scotland was criticised for using a Taser on a man who was backing away with his hands out in front of him.
The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner found that the discharge of a 50,000-volt stun gun on Garry Hamilton, 28, in Bannockburn, Stirlingshire, was not ‘reasonable’.
Last year, Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said he was ‘entirely open to the greater use and rollout of Taser’.
It emerged in 2017 that police were to use ‘two-shot’ Taser stun guns which cause a ‘greater sensation of pain’. Police Scotland is now looking at replacing this model with the Taser 7.