Raoul Moat stun gun cops 'not trained'
July 18, 2010
By Neville Thurlbeck, News of the World
POLICE marksmen who fired at Raoul Moat with a new shotgun Taser were given just TEN MINUTES training at the stand-off scene.
An armed police source with intimate knowledge of what happened in the final seconds said Moat - holding his shotgun under his chin - went into a muscular spasm as he was hit.
A review is now under way to see if this made him accidentally pull the trigger.
But the source insisted the use of the stun-guns was the only hope of ending the stand-off without bloodshed. He said: "The inspector gave the order to bring the XRep Tasers to the scene midway through the evening. They were only to be used as a last resort.
"None of the officers had seen one before or had received training. They were given verbal instructions. There was no time for a demonstration or practice.
"When it was clear there was no way he was going to give himself up, this was the only option left to us.
"We really don't know how anyone could criticise us. If this had been in London or Manchester, he would have been shot.
"We tried to capture him alive. With the Tasers and around 20 armed officers behind him ready to grab him, we though it might just be possible."
The XRep has a range of 100ft rather than the 21ft of the smaller version. It stuns the victim for longer - a full 20 seconds. Taser describes potential side-effects on their website including: "Involuntary strong muscle contractions."
1 comment:
I hope the BC Supreme Court judges are taking notes...
In Argentina, the taser was denied because it was judged to be too reminiscent of the country's sad past: an instrument of torture; in France, municipal council's are afraid of the riots that would follow use of the taser; with this suicide Raoul Moat in the UK - the use of the "experimental" XREP taser shockgun, the "thrill" of the untrained officers, the obvious way in which the police won't be incriminated ("beyond reasonable doubt" will obviously act in their favour!) - the taser will get more bad publicity.
... All this and much more: try the anti-taser campaigns in New Zealand and Australia.
In fact, one more lie from Taser-central is that they report "sales to 45 countries". Sorry, actually four (4) countries on anything like the scale of the USA & Canada: UK, France, Australia & New Zealand.
How can one communicate with the BC Supreme Court to ensure they don't waste tax-payer dollars hearing the absurd case by Taser litigation counsel ?
Keep up the good work!
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