Bean bag shots failed to make impact

BEAN bag shots are the main less-than-lethal weapons available to members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU).

Reports say gardaí fired four rounds of the weapon at Anthony Burke, but that they failed to make an impact.

According to the Department of Justice, the bean bag shot is “effectively a bag filled with shot fired from a shotgun so that it does not penetrate the body but delivers a blow with the intention of temporarily incapacitating the person”.

This bag is then fitted within a standard 12-gauge shotgun shell.

Some international reports say the shotgun round is inaccurate over about 6 metres and has a maximum range of around 20 metres.

A Garda Working Group said the user must be specially trained and able to gauge the level of threat, target distance, target size and clothing.

The bean bag was one of three less-than-lethal weapons sought by the Garda Working Group and approved by Justice Minister Michael McDowell in November 2002.

The second weapon is a pepper spray device, which is a special aerosol projector designed to deliver a pepper spray to a distance of up to 25-30 feet.

The third weapon is a Ferret pepper spray shot, which is a shotgun cartridge device intended to penetrate a door or window and deliver a pepper spray inside.