Police officers defend use of electric stun gun in Britain

A YEAR-LONG trial of US-style stun guns was launched in Britain yesterday with senior police officers insisting that there was no direct evidence they can cause death.

Specialist firearms officers from five police forces in England and Wales are being equipped with Tasers, a handheld electrical weapon that is designed to incapacitate rather than seriously injure or kill.

Human rights groups, however, have expressed concern about their use.

But while accepting that any weapon can be lethal, Hertfordshire Chief Constable Paul Acres, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, insisted Tasers were safe to use.

Speaking at the launch of the weapons in Northampton, he told reporters: "There is no evidence of any direct link between the use of Tasers and deaths but there have been occasions when people who have been Tasered have died. But there have been extenuating circumstances.

"Any weapon can be lethal. This is a less lethal option ... there is a risk of using it and any weapon but it's a question of taking a responsible approach to the use of it."

The Taser temporarily disables suspects with a 50,000-volt charge and is designed to cut the number of people killed by armed officers.

The weapon, which has been in use in North America for around 20 years, will be trialled across five British constabularies for the next six months. The gun uses compressed air to fire two needle-tipped darts at suspects up to 21 feet away.

The darts can penetrate clothing up to two inches thick and deliver a charge that causes temporary paralysis.

The charge 50,000 volts every millisecond for up to five seconds causes a person to lose some voluntary muscle control, causing them either to fall to the ground or to "freeze".

Sergeant Simon Williams, a firearms trainer with Northamptonshire Police, has been "Tasered" and described it as "extremely painful".

"Initially, I wasn't able to carry out any further tasks at that particular time. But that was only as long as the application of the Taser. It was a two-second discharge and I suffered no injury and no long-term effects as far as I know of at this time."

Pressure has been growing for a less lethal weapon following the high-profile deaths of two men in separate police shootings in London.

Parking attendant Derek Bennett, 29, was shot dead in Brixton, south London, in July 2001 after brandishing a cigarette lighter in the shape of a handgun.

Grandfather Harry Stanley, 46, was shot by armed officers in Hackney, northeast London, in 1999 after they mistook a table leg he was carrying for a sawn-off shotgun.

But human rights groups have condemned the guns as potentially dangerous and claim they may have caused at least three deaths in America.

A spokesman for Liberty yesterday said the Taser was being "tested on the public". "There are serious concerns about the safety (of these weapons) and there should be thorough independent testing," he said.

Amnesty International also called for more testing.