Dead man Tasered in chest despite maker's warnings

A MAN who died after being Tasered by police was struck in the chest by the device despite a worldwide warning from the manufacturer that officers should aim elsewhere on the body.

The man, a Vietnamese national believed to be in his 20s, was hit once by the Taser probes as he ran at two officers while allegedly carrying two long-bladed knives at his Sefton home in Sydney's west.

Police went to the home after reports he had sexually assaulted the woman he shared the Helen Street unit with.

Advertisement: Story continues belowA review by senior police of footage shows the man, who officers say was drunk, being struck in the chest by the Taser from a distance of two to three metres.

Last October, Taser International issued a new ''Targeting Guide'' recommending law enforcement agencies should, where possible, aim at the lower torso or back.

''When possible, avoiding chest shots with ECDS [electronic controlled devices] [which] avoids the controversy about whether ECDS do or do not affect the human heart,'' the training bulletin reads.

A police spokesman said that advice related to an ''ideal situation''. He said officers were trained to shoot for the lower torso while avoiding the head and groin. ''However, in this split-second environment a shot to the chest area is considered an effective method of disabling an offender,'' he said.

The Sefton man is the second person to die after a confrontation with police in as many days.

Steven Bosevski, 35, died in the early hours of Monday after clashing with police while celebrating at St George Leagues Club.

The Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, said a review of that incident had shown Mr Bosevski struck a police officer in the face with a glass bottle.

He rejected claims made by the man's family that officers struck the Dragons fan in the head, saying all baton strikes were to Mr Bosevski's ''knees and legs''. This was supported by security footage and preliminary autopsy results.

In separate incident on Sunday, a man was placed in a drug-induced coma with severe head injuries after being struck with a Taser while naked in a domestic dispute on the Central Coast. Police said the man was armed with a broken wine glass and was Tasered before running from a unit, tripping and falling down a stairwell before hitting his head.

Mr Scipione backed the actions taken by the constable at Sefton, saying he acted appropriately in a ''life-threatening situation''. ''In a split second the officers involved made a decision which I believe may have saved their lives.''

A Deputy Commissioner, Dave Owens, who viewed footage taken by the Taser camera, said officers told the man to drop the knives but he continued to run at them.

The officers had only seconds to respond, he said. The man collapsed after being struck and officers spent 20 minutes trying to revive him but he later died in Liverpool Hospital.

The man's death has prompted calls by the NSW Greens for an independent inquiry into the use of Tasers by police. The Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, said there were still cases where there were ''big question marks'' on whether police should have used a Taser.

The Premier, Kristina Keneally, backed their use, saying more often than not drawing a Taser was deterrent enough. She said police often had to make ''split-second decisions, often in very difficult circumstances''.