The first person in Gwynedd to be tasered by North Wales Police was a 15-year-old youth, a court has heard. A youth court in Dolgellau was told [by the prosecutor] police were left with no alternative as the youth smashed furniture at his Blaenau Ffestiniog home.
Overall as of last month-
TASER guns have been fired six times in North Wales since more police officers were authorised to use them in September last year. The North Wales force is one of 10 taking part in a pilot Home Office scheme in which non-firearms officers are permitted to use the electronic stun guns. Twenty-nine police officers have now been trained in the use of the weapons, which deliver a 50,000-volt shock.
Assistant Chief Constable Ian Shannon told members of the North Wales Police Authority’s professional standards committee that in the three months since the trial began the Tasers had been drawn and aimed in what are called “red dot incidents”, five times by firearms officers and 16 times by others. The guns were actually fired four times by specialist officers and twice by others.
Other than this Police source there is no other information on these incidents, so we’ll just take their word for it….. hmmmm.
19 February, 2008 at 12:37 pm
thanks for visiting my blog.
I remember when the North Wales police chief got tasered for a press stunt. I remember thinking at the time that I bet that most people didn’t get crash mats to land on and a first aid on standby in case of any problems like he did.
19 February, 2008 at 8:13 pm
It was good to see another blog in the area!
Yes that stunt is very tired and I think is often suggested by Taser inc. as a good pr move. It was also scheduled and he was surrounded by friendly allies, the situation on the street…not so much, unexpected and fraught. The real problem is tasers are not non-lethal so using them as if they are a stun gun (as the inventor thinks, obsessed with Satr Trek as he was) is not good. Also a better armed police force is a better able to repress state security force.
20 February, 2008 at 4:09 pm
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