Taser Safety Issues - Increased Use of Force

Increased Use of Force

Critics claim that risk-averse police officers resort to using Taser in situations in which they otherwise would have used more conventional, less violent alternatives, such as trying to reason with a cornered suspect.

Current British police guidelines allow Taser to be used pre-emptively, even where the suspect has no weapon. Where originally Tasers were only used when officers or the public were being threatened with a weapon, Tasers may and are being used without warning to surprise suspects before being arrested. On 9 April 2008 on BBC 1, the program “Traffic Cops” showed police surprising a pedestrian by shooting him with a Taser without warning, before arresting him on suspicion of theft. The suspect had no weapon and was talking with a bystander and posed no threat, when officers leapt out of a car and tasered him. The suspect was later found to be an innocent pedestrian. The police maintained that it is lawful to make use of the Taser before making an arrest, in case the suspect is not cooperative.