1,500 more Taser cops
Number of off icers armed with 50,000-volt stun guns will rise by 300% in 3 years
HUNDREDS of extra police officers are to be armed with Tasers in response to the growing number of attacks on them.
Police Scotland officers who carry the ‘incapacitating’ 50,000volt stun guns will rise from 500 to 2,000 over three years.
Police bosses say the decision, after a ‘sustained increase in assaults on officers and staff’, will help tackle violent offenders.
But campaigners have warned that the high-voltage weapons can cause serious harm or even death.
Naomi McAuliffe, of Amnesty International Scotland, said: ‘Tasers are not a non-lethal weapon and any increase in use will increase the likelihood of death or permanent injury.’
This year, Police Scotland officers and staff have been the targets of a record 6,942 assaults – 413 more than the year before.
More than 1,000 were Covidrelated, many by people claiming to have the deadly virus.
Last Thursday, a thug who choked a policeman for more than a minute, leaving him unconscious, was jailed for six years.
John Dow, 36, pounced on PC Paul Gavan during a disturbance in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, on July 26 last year, after the officer tried to arrest him.
A Scottish Police Authority report has now called for more Specially Trained Officers (STOs) armed with Tasers.
It said: ‘It was recommended that the number of STOs be increased from the current cadre of around 500 to around 2,000 over the next three years.’
However, serious concerns have been raised about the safety of the devices. The document has admitted that if Tasers are used on people with heart conditions, or those who suffer from epilepsy, asthma or other pulmonary conditions, their use could lead to ‘physiological burden’, ‘pain’ and even spinal injuries.
In the past three years, officers have drawn Tasers 945 times and discharged them 115 times.
Those most commonly the target are between the ages of 25 and 34, white British and male.
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams said: ‘Increasing the number of Taser- trained officers is the right thing to do as we look to better protect the public as well as our officers and staff.
‘Tasers have protected the public and decrease the risk of injury when used.’