50,000-volt stun gun linked to 10 deaths
TASERS deliver a 50,000-volt electric shock and have been linked to at least ten deaths in England and Wales over the past decade.
Human rights groups say they cause intolerable suffering, while police chiefs insist they should be used only as a last resort. The electric weapons fire a dart as far as 21ft which sends a powerful shock through a suspect – leaving them helpless for at least 20 seconds.
Under the 1968 Firearms Act, the stun guns are considered danger- ous enough to be classed as ‘prohibited weapons’. Civilians caught in possession of one can be punished by up to ten years in prison.
An inquest last year heard that factory worker Jordan Begley, 23, had a suspected heart attack after being Tasered in Manchester in 2013. The inquest concluded that the Taser fired at the young man, while he was being restrained, contributed to his death. The ruling prompted a national inquiry into the safety of the weapons.