Armed cops take aim at uni campus closed by lockdown
Police use Paisley building for stun gun target practice
A team of transport cops made clever use of Paisley’s university amid the ongoing lockdown.
British Transport Police (BTP) officers staged a special training session using Taser stun guns in the campus building’s main hall.
The cops set up target shapes in the assembly hall that they used to fire the devices, which are capable of delivering 50,000 volts across a distance of 25 feet.
A team of watchful instructors ran the session to ensure officers used them safely and properly in immobilising their suspects.
BTP Scotland West thanked the University of the West of Scotland for hosting the event.
On a social media feed via Twitter officers posted: “A big thank you to @ UniWestScotland for helping us out with a venue for our divisional Taser training this week, allowing our officers to remain qualified and able to help protect the public #FocusedOnYourSafety #BTP #ThankYou.”
The special firearms training session was part of BTP’s response to threats against the travelling public, and including gunmen or terrorists placing people in danger on trains or in stations.
Officers in Scotland have been armed with Taser guns since 2016, in response to heightened security fears.
Cops have to undergo the required training so they are firearms registered in compliance with strict regulations surrounding their use.
UWS said it was happy to help the officers with the ideal location to carry out their training session, as the campus has been in lockdown since March 23 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A UWS spokesman said: “British Transport Police asked if it could use the campus and we were happy to help as the university has been closed due circumstances surrounding coronavirus.”
Around 20 officers in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde are authorised to use the devices.
Specially-trained cops fire the weapon, which incapacitates a suspect by delivering a powerful electric current.