Ulster Unionist Policing Spokesman and MLA for West Tyrone, Ross Hussey, has welcomed a report from the Police Ombudsman’s Office which confirms that, up until the end of September last year, all occasions where the Police have used Tasers has been justified.
The Policing Board member commented:
‘This report, entitled ‘Analysis of incidents involving the discharge of Taser by the PSNI, 25 January 2008 – 30 September 2011’, unequivocally shows that each time a Taser was discharged during this time period the PSNI were acting in a manner consistent with their training. For the most part it is clear that Taser has been used to prevent members of the public from harming themselves. I welcome that this report highlights the need for the use of Taser as well as the fact that this method of force was deployed correctly by Police Officers in the particular circumstances which they found themselves in.
The Ulster Unionist Party fully supports the use of robust measures, such as Taser, to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour or to prevent harm. However, the party is also aware of the detrimental effects that abuse of such measures can have on the relationship between the community and the police and this report firmly proves that no such abuse has taken place.’