Watchdog clears use of plastic bullet

A FIREARMS officer shooting a plastic bullet at an axe-wielding woman was “necessary and proportionate”, a police watchdog has found.

The armed officer fired a baton round at the woman when she ran towards officers and members of the public “apparently intent on striking them with an axe”, according to a report by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.

The 48-year-old woman was temporarily disabled when the plastic bullet hit her thigh, which allowed police to disarm then arrest her. She has since been charged with a number of offences.

Pirc investigated the incident as it involved police use of a firearm to shoot a plastic bullet called an Attenuating Energy Projectile (AEP) launcher.

“The woman posed a danger to a member of the public and police, threatening them with an axe,” commissioner Kate Frame found. “The use of the AEP launcher in the circumstances was both necessary and proportionate.”