Teen suffers heart attack after police fire Taser
A TEENAGER went into cardiac arrest after being Tasered by police as they tried to detain him.
He was allegedly part of a group involved in a clash with police in Coventry on Saturday night.
Officers administered CPR to the 17-year-old before he was rushed to hospital. The youth was in a serious but stable condition last night.
Four other teenagers, three aged 17 and a 13-year-old, were arrested for violent disorder and assaulting a police officer during the incident.
Two police officers were injured and a police car windscreen was smashed.
The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
A senior West Midlands police chief last week called for every frontline officer to be armed with the incapacitating weapons, which deliver an electric shock, amid rising assaults on officers.
Sergeant Richard Cooke, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, said: “I’m calling for all frontline officers to be armed with Taser as a minimum. The events over the last few weeks in particular show that now, more than ever, officers protecting the public need the tools to do their job in the current climate.
“I’m referring to the assaults on officers who have been threatened with knives on several occasions, punched, kicked, bitten, nearly run over, throttled, racially and verbally abused and spat on.”