Transport cops debut Taser power
BRITISH Transport Police used a Taser just weeks after being armed with the weapons in Scotland.
The incident happened at Edinburgh Waverley railway station in October.
Officers trained a red dot target on a 34-year-old man but the Taser was not fired.
It is the only time a Taser has been used since some BTP officers started carrying them in September, freedom of information figures show.
Following a request by the BBC, it was also revealed that 43 BTP officers in Scotland now carry Tasers.
They make up almost a quarter of the 151-strong force north of the Border.
The move to arm transport police in Scotland with Tasers brought officers into line with their counterparts in England and Wales, where Tasers have been deployed since 2011.
Chief Superintendent John McBride, the BTP’s divisional commander for Scotland, said: “It provides a consistent approach to protecting rail users.”