Multiple use of stun gun 'inappropriate'

July 11, 2011
Miranda Forster, Sydney Morning Herald

A Queensland police officer was wrong to keep using a Taser on a man after initial blasts from the weapon failed to subdue him, a former police tactician has told a coronial inquest.

William Turner gave evidence in the Brisbane Coroners Court on Monday at the inquest into the death of Antonio Galeano, who was tasered multiple times by police.

The 39-year-old died on the floor of his girlfriend's home in Brandon, north Queensland, in June 2009.

Senior Constable Craig Myles has admitted tasering Mr Galeano eight times in an attempt to subdue him, although the Taser he used registered 28 applications of 50,000 volts.

The court was told at one stage the Taser was deployed continuously for 40 seconds.

Mr Turner, who was in charge of police tactical training in Queensland in 2009, said it was incorrect to use the weapon multiple times to no effect. "If it's not deploying properly he should have moved to another use of force option," Mr Turner said. "If it was a conscious decision to cycle (the Taser) it was inappropriate.

"To keep recycling the Taser and for him not to achieve control of Mr Galeano, I would have said that he'd really need to change his tactics because it wasn't operating for him in the correct manner."

He suggested in the heat of the moment Snr Const Myles may not have heard the Taser deploying or seen the effect on Mr Galeano.

Mr Turner said the initial decision to use the Taser was appropriate, given Mr Galeano was a known violent offender and appeared mentally unstable and under the influence of drugs.

"I think taking those things into account the decision for Myles to deploy the Taser was tactically sound," he said.

Mr Turner also defended the decision by Snr Const Myles and his partner not to call for backup before they arrived at the scene.

As they were the only officers on duty it would have taken up to 40 minutes for help to arrive, he told the court.

He admitted the officers could have called for medical help before they arrived at the scene as they knew Mr Galeano had been injured.

"A call for an ambulance at that time would have been a good thing," he said.

The inquest continues.

Queensland Police "quietly" lift freeze to order more Tasers

April 27, 2011
Michael McKenna, The Australian

QUEENSLAND police are moving to double their Taser armoury after quietly lifting a freeze on the rollout of the stun guns following the 2009 death of a man who was shot up to 28 times with the 50,000-volt device.

More than 1000 new Tasers have been ordered by Queensland police, which will today receive a landmark Crime and Misconduct Commission report on the overhaul of training and policy on the use of the stun guns.

The report -- to be tabled in state parliament -- is understood to call for tough controls on the use of the guns in the face of mounting evidence the weapons are being used by police as an everyday compliance tool and not as a non-lethal substitute for a standard gun in high-risk situations.

Data has been gleaned from each of the existing 1400 stun guns in use and will serve as a baseline to be compared in a future review after more operational changes are introduced in line with the CMC report's recommendations.

Moves to trial alternative stun guns -- including the emerging "Stinger" semi-automatic stun gun -- were abandoned last year after a police trial.

Queensland police confirmed last night that the new guns were expected to be delivered in several weeks. A spokesman said officers were now better trained and had a stricter policy governing the use of the stun guns following a joint police-CMC review.

"This policy ensures a high level of scrutiny is applied to all deployments and review processes are established to address identified trends," the spokesman said.

"The ratio of officers now trained in the use of a Taser compared to the number of weapons available has steadily increased due to the continued suspension of the weapon rollout.

"The QPS has recently placed an order to purchase further Tasers.

"This is to ensure all Taser-qualified officers are able to be equipped with the devices as any unavailability is considered to be an unacceptable risk to the community and Queensland police officers."

A coroner's inquest is continuing into the death of Antonio Galeano, 39, who was repeatedly tasered after he confronted police with a steel bar at his unit in Brandon, south of Townsville.

Police initially told the media he had been shot several times, but an investigation by The Australian revealed the data from the gun showed he had been tasered up to 28 times.

Taser shocks didn't kill Galeano: expert Steve Gray

March 24, 2011
Sydney Morning Herald

A man repeatedly tasered by police did not die from the shocks, an inquest into his death has been told.

Pathologists said Antonio Galeano, 39, died as a result of his drug use and advanced heart disease.

Mr Galeano died in June 2009 after police were called to a disturbance at his girlfriend's house in the town of Brandon in north Queensland.

Senior Sergeant Craig Myles has admitted tasering Mr Galeano eight times, although the Taser he used registered 28 applications.

Professor David Williams said he did not believe the Taser had caused Mr Galeano's death. He said the man had an enlarged heart, severe coronary heart disease and was in a state of "excited delirium" caused by his methamphetamine use. Mr Galeano was "a man walking a tightrope", Prof Williams said. He was at risk of dying at any time, particularly when in a state of excitement or after blood loss, he said. He said Mr Galeano's heart weighed 500 grams, compared with 350-390 grams expected in a man of his size.

Prof Williams told the inquest he had no previous experience of Taser post mortems and little experience of people who died in a state of excited delirium.

"I felt there was no connection between the tasering and the death, because tasering is an external event and shouldn't affect the heart," he said.

"Tasers are not a threat to life, that's my bottom line," Prof Williams said.

Questioning of the professor about an Amnesty International report into 334 deaths attributed to Tasers was delayed after objections from some of the 13 lawyers attending the inquest.

World-renowned cardio-pathology expert Professor Steven Karch agreed that excited delirium or the condition of Mr Galeano's heart were the likely causes of death, but it could not be confirmed.

While he could not prove excited delirium could be fatal, he said he was "pretty sure" it was.

He said one study showed a 10 per cent mortality rate from excited delirium but "in anecdotal discussion with emergency department doctors they say it's common as dirt".

The San Francisco-based professor said he believed Mr Galeano was "stimulated maximally" and would have been impervious to pain, with a brain "short-circuited" from dopamine release.

"They could have tasered him all day long ... it wouldn't have made any difference."

Prof Karch said he believed heart failure or drug use were the likely causes of death.

The inquest continues before Deputy State Coroner Christine Clements.

Trigger memory can be faulty - "critical stress amnesia"???

March 23, 2011
Sydney Morning Herald

A type of amnesia can cause police to forget how many times they fire their weapons, a death in custody inquest has been told by a US Taser expert.

Richard Wyant on Wednesday gave evidence at an inquest into the death of Antonio Galeano after he was tasered multiple times by police.

The 39-year-old died on the floor of his girlfriend's home at Brandon, in north Queensland, in June 2009, after police were called to a disturbance.

Advertisement: Story continues below Senior Constable Craig Myles has admitted tasering Galeano eight times.

But the Taser gun he used recorded that Galeano had been tasered 28 times with a 50,000 volt shock.

Mr Wyant, giving video testimony from Baltimore, Maryland, said it was not uncommon for a police officer to forget the number of times he pulled the trigger of a Taser or a gun.

He said the phenomenon was described as critical stress amnesia.

Mr Wyant, who holds a licence to use a Taser in the US, said the only time he had cause to use a Taser he was affected by critical stress amnesia.

"I'd swear I pulled the trigger twice, but I really pulled it five times," he said.

He said he knew of another case where a police officer had said he fired two shots, but an empty magazine lay on the ground nearby and other shots had been fired after reloading.

The inquest continues.

"The Taser's not the be all and end all'

March 10, 2011
Evan Schwarten, Sydney Morning Herald

A Queensland police officer has admitted tasering a man eight times shortly before he died in custody, but has questioned the effectiveness of the device.

Senior Constable Craig Myles told the inquest into the 2009 death of Antonio Galeano he recalled activating the device eight times as he struggled to subdue the 39-year-old.

Told that data recorded by the device indicated it had been activated 28 times, Sen Const Myles said it was possible he'd used it against Mr Galeano that many times but doubted it.

"It's possible but I don't believe it, I did it eight times," he told the inquest.

However, following Mr Galeano's death, a short time after the last activation of the Taser, Sen Const Myles told other officers the device wasn't as effective as he'd been led to believe.

"I said `the Taser's not the be all and end all'," he told the court.

"It didn't seem to be as good as they say it does in the training."

The inquest heard Sen Const Myles and his partner Constable Marina Cross were called to Mr Galeano's girlfriend's home at Brandon, south of Townsville, after she reported he was "off his head" and destroying the property.

Sen Const Myles said they arrived to find Mr Galeano in the bathroom covered with blood and chanting phrases similar to "one, two, three, you're dead" out the window at the officers who were standing in the backyard.

He said he tasered Mr Galeano through the window, causing him to fall to the floor, and then asked Const Cross to go inside and handcuff him.

However, he said Mr Galeano continued to struggle so he activated the device twice inside, before going inside where he would ultimately activate it another five times.

He said some of the activations appeared to have little or no effect on Mr Galeano who resisted attempts to put him in handcuffs until after the eighth activation.

Mr Galeano, he said, was able to get up off the ground after the first few activations and was threatening to kill the officers throughout the ordeal.

However, his evidence contradicted the testimony of Const Cross who earlier this week told the inquest she saw the device activated only five times.

The officer's accounts also differ on claims Mr Galeano was armed - Const Cross said he was armed with a metal rod while inside the bathroom, and Sen Const Myles gave evidence he was armed with the cord from a hair dryer.

The inquest continues.

Australia police reduce taser use

March 10, 2011
Patrick Rocca, ABC News

New figures reveal taser usage by Western Australian police has plummeted since changes to the force's policy on their use.

In December last year the Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan changed the taser use policy to stipulate that officers only use the weapons to prevent serious injury.

The change was introduced as an interim measure and will mean officers have to believe they are at risk of serious injury before using a taser.

It came in the wake of video evidence released by the Corruption and Crime Commission showing Kevin Spratt being tasered dozens of times while in police custody.

In the two months to December, tasers were drawn a total of 148 times by police.

But in the two months since the new policy was implemented, the weapons have been drawn just 82 times.

There has also been a drop in how often police have actually discharged the tasers, from 62 in the lead up to December, to just 21 in the two months to the 31st of January.

The Commissioner says the figures show a change in the attitudes and behaviour of police.

"We've seen a 60 per cent reduction in the use of tasers since the introduction of that policy, " he said.

He says the figures show officers are adhering to the policy and adjusting the way they respond to offenders.

"I think police officers are now thinking about their deployment a lot more and we are not seeing an increase or a corresponding increase in the number of assaults on police, " he said.

He says he is not alarmed by the figures.

"We have been seeing this right across Australia since the introduction of tasers, police forces have been adjusting their policy to make sure it's properly controlled," he said.

"At this stage the statistics are quite new statistics so we need to be quite careful about the long term but we have seen quite a significant reduction in the first two months after the introduction of the policy."

Supreme Court quashes Spratt conviction

February 24, 2011
Aja Styles, WA Today

A wrongful conviction against Taser victim Kevin Spratt has been quashed by the Court of Appeal after horrifying footage showing nine police brutalising the 41-year-old Aboriginal man was made public.

Internal CCTV footage from inside the East Perth lock-up showed Mr Spratt being Tasered 14 times while on the floor screaming in agony was broadcast worldwide last year, after being released by the Corruption and Crime Commission.

Mr Spratt had been arrested in August 2008 after an incident in King William Street in Bayswater. But he was further charged with obstructing officers in the Watch House, which related to the Tasering incident.

Advertisement: Story continues below Mr Spratt served two months jail for the offence, which ran concurrently with other jail terms imposed for three other charges.

Mr Spratt brought his conviction for obstructing police before the Court of Appeal today.

The action was against his arresting officer, Detective Constable Brett Fowler, who wrote up the report in which it stated that Mr Spratt "again became violent and aggressive towards police who were attempting to restrain him by kicking and flailing his arms towards police as they approached".

Internal CCTV footage of the Watch House showed Mr Spratt simply sitting on a chair grabbing hold of the seat with his arms and hands as the Taser barbs were deployed.

Justice Stephen Hall found that Mr Spratt had been denied justice by not being able to view the footage prior to pleading guilty to the charge in the Perth Magistrates Court and his appeal was granted.

Outside court Mr Spratt's lawyer Steven Penglis said they were seeking financial compensation for what occurred in the watch house.

"The system failed Kevin in this regard in two ways; first, as you've heard, we had a charge laid by a police officer who wasn't there at the time of the alleged offence and didn't take steps to verify that it was true by looking at the CCTV footage and secondly, when that police officer realised that it was wrong he didn't take any steps to ensure that it came to the attention of Kevin, the prosecuting sergeant or the court," he said.

Mr Penglis has written to the Police Commissioner about these concerns.

Mr Spratt said he was pleased with the outcome.

"It has brought a lot of bad memories back but I just want to move on with life," he said.

Earlier today, Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan conceded claims about Kevin Spratt resisting police in the Perth Watch House appeared to be wrong.

Mr O'Callaghan rejected shadow attorney-general John Quigley's assertions in Parliament last week that he lied the the public in a "flow-chart" of the events displayed to the media to explain the lead-up to that night, saying at the time he believed the statement of material facts to be correct.

"There is no deliberate intent to mislead anybody at all, it is not my style, I have never done it nor will do it," he told 6PR Radio.

The flow chart was designed to help media understand the chain of events when reporting and was only meant as "an aid", Mr O'Callaghan said.

He did however concede he was "not (happy) now" after it was revealed that the charges of obstructing officers came after the Tasers were deployed.

But he said he has been unable to interview the officers involved because the CCC had taken over the inquiry since November 15 last year and it was now up to the corruption watchdog to release their findings.

Australia: Taser victim was not violent: police

December 15, 2010
Amanda O'Brien, The Australian

A POLICE officer has admitted Kevin Spratt was not being violent before he was tasered in the East Perth lock-up in 2008. And a stun gun was used because he wanted the Aboriginal man to hurry up.

Senior Constable Troy Tomlin told the Corruption and Crime Commission yesterday that Mr Spratt had only become violent after he was tasered, and all of his strikes were in stun-mode, which caused intense pain.

The commission is investigating whether any officers engaged in misconduct when Mr Spratt was tasered 14 times in a matter of minutes on August 31. The incident began when he refused to be strip-searched.

Video, which shows Mr Spratt surrounded by nine police while on the floor, caused international outrage when it was released in October.

The first four taser strikes were fired by Constable Tomlin.

The CCC yesterday produced evidence showing Mr Spratt was not the only person to be tasered at the East Perth lock-up, giving examples of two other men who also refused to be strip-searched.

One was tasered four times before police removed his clothes. Another was tasered once when he wouldn't drop his pants during a search. The police incident report said the taser "made him let go of his trousers". The names of the men were suppressed.

Constable Tomlin told the hearing he was "unprofessional" when he told Mr Spratt to "give me your hand or I'll f..king taser you". But he claimed Mr Spratt had threatened to kill him. This was not supported by CCTV.

He also said he was trying to protect Mr Spratt when he tasered him because he thought he had been struck by another officer and would "get another kick" if he did not co-operate.

Detective Sergeant Gary Thwaites, who was in charge of the lock-up at the time, said his officers behaved properly. "None of them are cowboys. They're not vindictively tasering Mr Spratt for no reason," he said.

In a heated exchange with counsel assisting the CCC, Peter Quinlan SC, he said Constable Tomlin had "every right to defend himself" and he was not swayed by the video not showing any overt threat.

He said Mr Spratt was affected by drugs and had a history of violence. "At the end of the day, Troy has got every right to look after himself. Does he have to wait until he's struck?" he said.

Second Spratt Taser video is chilling: MP

The release of a "chilling" second video of the tasering of Kevin Spratt will trash Western Australia's reputation for treatment of Aboriginal prisoners, a state MP has declared.

The state's corruption watchdog is inquiring into whether any members of Western Australia Police or the Department of Corrective Services engaged in misconduct during Mr Spratt's repeated tasering while in custody.

The tasering of Mr Spratt at Perth Watch House on August 31, 2008 first came to light with the release of a report by the Corruption and Crime Commission into the use of Taser stun guns in WA.

CCTV footage showed the unarmed and subdued man being tasered 14 times while nine officers surrounded him.

Corruption and Crime Commission commissioner Len Roberts-Smith said the inquiry was triggered by the widespread media exposure, serious public concerns and revelations Mr Spratt had been repeatedly tasered again a week later by corrective services personnel.

The footage of that incident, which occurred on September 6, 2008, was shown for the first time on Thursday after the government had previously refused to make it public.

Seven heavily protected prison officers wearing helmets and carrying batons are shown entering Mr Spratt's prison cell and yelling at Mr Spratt to turn around and lie down.

"If you don't lay down, I'm going to taser you. Turn around and lay down. That's it, I'm not going to ask you again. If I have to ask you again I'm going to taser you," one officers shouts.

After an unarmed Mr Spratt apparently refuses, a prison officer tasers Mr Spratt twice and he is then pinned face down on the floor.

The officers then demand Mr Spratt extend his arms straight out while an officer drives a Taser into the small of his bare back and uses it nine times.

During the ordeal Mr Spratt can be heard talking in native tongue and praying to God.

As the footage was played, Mr Spratt's fiancee, Tayunna Schatkowski, was unable to watch and broke down in tears.

In his opening address, counsel assisting, Peter Quinlan, said on the day after the tasering by the prison officers, Mr Spratt was treated at Royal Perth Hospital.

"Mr Spratt was diagnosed as suffering from at least one, and possibly other fractures of the ribs, a collapse of his lung, his right shoulder was dislocated with a comminuted fracture of the humerus," he said.

"In addition Mr Spratt had multiple superficial cuts and abrasions including several puncture wounds consistent with the use of a Taser in probe mode."

Shadow attorney-general John Quigley said the conduct was disgraceful and would damage WA's reputation.

"The violence was absolutely chilling. Tonight WA's reputation in the way we treat Aboriginal prisoners will be trashed internationally," he told reporters outside the hearing.

"This video depicts disgraceful violence against an Aboriginal prisoner in police custody."

CCTV footage released previously of the first incident in which Mr Spratt was tasered showed him refusing a strip search by sitting on a bench and locking his arms onto the armrests.

"Senior Constable Troy Tomlin said 'Give us your hand or you're going to get f***** tasered, do you understand? Now!' and within seconds deployed a Taser in drive stun mode against Mr Spratt," Mr Quinlan said, describing the footage to the hearing.

"Without warning Senior Constable Tomlin again deployed a Taser in drive stun mode. Sgt Aaron Strahan and Constable Geoffrey Toogood each grabbed one of Mr Spratt's legs."

The hearing will continue on Monday.

Western Australia police shift policy on Taser use

December 1, 2010
Sydney Morning Herald

Western Australia's police commissioner has announced a policy shift on Tasers, saying the stun guns should only be used when officers believe they are at risk of serious injury.

The change follows recent publicity over incidents in which police were deemed to have overstepped the mark in their use of tasers.

Karl O'Callaghan says the WA Police Professional Standards Division will also review police use-of-force incidents captured on CCTV to determine if officers' accounts of incidents match the tapes.

The policy change comes after charges against a Perth family were dropped after CCTV footage undermined the police case against them. The footage shown in the Perth Magistrates Court on Monday showed no evidence Ryan Walker, 24, had punched a plain-clothes officer, as police had alleged. An assault charge against him was dropped as were obstruction charges against his parents, Ken and Raelene Walker, who had questioned officers over their handling of a melee outside a Perth nightclub on January 16. Ms Walker sustained a broken ankle as she was taken from the scene by officers. The family is seeking an apology from police.

WA Police were heavily criticised earlier this year after video footage was released of unarmed man Kevin Spratt being tasered 13 times in East Perth Watch House in 2008 with nine officers present.

Mr O'Callaghan on Wednesday told reporters the new trial policy on Taser use meant officers had to believe they were at risk of serious injury before deploying the weapons.

That could include officers being attacked with a broken glass or some other type of weapon, he said.

"We are moving forward but what we are doing is making sure all of our processes are correct, because questions have been asked and I don't want those questions to continue; I want to answer them."

WA Premier Colin Barnett has apologised to the Walker family but says he retains confidence in the state's police force.

"These police men and women doing the day-to-day frontline work do need strong support and maybe do feel a little bit isolated at the moment, as there have been some situations that have gone wrong," he told reporters on Wednesday.

"Some mistakes have been made ... and maybe it's time to look at whether they do need to have some extra training in dealing with difficult situations they encounter on a daily basis."

Former WA deputy police commissioner Murray Lampard said the tasering of Mr Spratt was indefensible and the obstruction charges laid against the Walker family showed young officers lacked training.

Professor Lampard, who retired from the force in 2008, stressed the need for negotiation and communication skills training for young officers.

He said they needed to be trained in the importance of "verbal judo", conflict resolution and negotiation.

"When you're dealing with people, the community has an expectation that the police will act responsibly and will act appropriately and basically keep their oath of office to preserve life," Prof Lampard told ABC Radio.

"I think police need to, in certain circumstances, explore a number of options, to negotiate with people before deploying a weapon like a Taser."

Australia: Corruption and Crime Commission takes over Spratt probe

November 16, 2010
Josh Jerga, Sydney Morning Herald

The West Australian corruption watchdog has taken over police investigations into the repeated tasering of an unarmed Perth man at a watch house in 2008.

The Corruption and Crime Commission directed WA Police and the Department of Corrective Services to stop any investigations into events which led to Kevin Spratt being tasered more than 20 times in two weeks.

On August 31 2008, Mr Spratt was tasered 13 times while in custody as nine officers surrounded him at the East Perth Watch House.

CCTV footage released by the CCC in a report last month showed Mr Spratt was subdued on a bench during the tasering.

No officers were charged over the incident despite a police internal inquiry finding two had used undue and excessive force.

However, police will assist the Director of Public Prosecutions in deciding whether to charge any of the officers.

A week later, Mr Spratt, now 41, was tasered 11 times when corrective service officers tried to "extract" him from his cell at the East Perth Lockup.

Commissioner Len Roberts-Smith said the CCC would try to determine the circumstances surrounding the use or threat of Tasers on Mr Spratt on five separate occasions.

These include a threat by police on August 30, the incident at the East Perth Watch House on August 30, the occasion of Mr Spratt's arrest on September 6 and his time in the lock-up.

The CCC will also examine WA police's internal investigation of the incidents.

"There is a high level of public interest in the circumstances surrounding these incidents and the investigations into them," Mr Roberts-Smith said in a statement.

"It is in everyone's interest that these matters are investigated thoroughly and that the outcome be placed on the public record."

Last week the WA opposition obtained the statement of police facts regarding the August 31 incident, which appeared to contradict the CCTV footage.

It said the use of the Taser had little effect on Mr Spratt, who had continued to "violently resist against police trying to restrain him".

As a result the Aboriginal man was charged with two counts of obstructing police.

Shadow Attorney-General John Quigley has accused the state's police force of misleading the courts.

Mr Quigley asked the government in state parliament on Tuesday to clarify how many times Mr Spratt was charged and what were his alleged offences.

WA Police Minister Rob Johnson said he would not comment on the matter while the CCC investigates, claiming Mr Quigley was "slowly killing off any possibility of a fair trial".

"I would think the member for Mindarie in all of his years of alleged legal expertise would appreciate the legal process surrounding these matters."

Australia: What is the truth about the Kevin Spratt affair?

November 16, 2010
Andrew O'Connor, ABC News Australia

The truth can be elusive, morphing into different forms over time.

In the weeks since the Corruption and Crime Commission released the video of Aboriginal man Kevin Spratt being tasered 13 times in the Perth Watch House, we've been offered three versions of the truth.

The first is Kevin Spratt as victim.

In this version of the truth, he is the victim of a criminal assault perpetrated by two police officers as seven of their colleagues looked on.

In this version, the jumpy frames of a security camera in the Perth Watch House show Mr Spratt being tasered again and again and again after he refuses a strip search.

The tasering is depicted as an act of brutality, a violation of his human rights and internationally embarrassing to Western Australia and its police.

Shadow Attorney General John Quigley called it torture.

"It is of the same quality of torture as the criminal US marines practised at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, that is torturing a prisoner by electric shock."

The next version is Kevin Spratt as villain.

In this version, Mr Spratt is an extremely violent criminal with a long history of violence toward police, a man who posed an ever-present danger to the public and police officers.

A specially prepared police flow chart was released to the media which timelines his criminal activities and interactions with police, making it clear he's repeatedly resisted arrest, assaulted officers, spat at them, kicked them and fought them.

The tasering then becomes just one incident in long continuum in which Mr Spratt has demonstrated his capacity for criminal behaviour and aggression.

Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan says while he was not defending the police tasering of Mr Spratt, releasing the information about his criminal history provides important "context".

"These are violent confrontations with the police. They tell a history of why he's in police custody in the first place. It's actually impossible to provide the public with an objective view of how police have handled Mr Pratt without telling them why he was in police custody in the first place," he told a media conference in October.

The same explanation was in Mr O'Callaghan's letter of apology to Mr Spratt:

"While in no way excusing what was done to you, this provided some explanation for why the police officers involved acted as they did and why they were concerned about the threat you posed."


Incomplete puzzle

The third version of the truth is incomplete, like a puzzle with pieces missing but perhaps more disturbing.

This emerged when Mr Quigly released the statement of material facts submitted to the Magistrates Court by WA police to support a charge that Mr Spratt was "obstructing public officers" while he was being tasered 13 times.

In this version, the police are liars who have fabricated a description of Mr Spratt's violent behaviour to justify the charge and their actions in repeatedly tasering him.

The statement of facts says he was "initially calm and co-operative" as police walked him into the watch house. It says after his handcuffs were removed, Mr Spratt refused to accompany police for a strip search.

It then says he "began to resist by holding onto the seat and bracing his arms. He again became violent and aggressive towards police who were attempting to restrain him, by kicking and flailing his arms.

"The Taser was deployed to prevent any injury to the police or the accused, however, it initially had little effect with the accused continuing to violently resist."

But, in a video of the incident released by the CCC, Mr Spratt is shown refusing to move from his seat, and then reeling from repeated taserings, screaming in pain and at one stage, almost begging the officers stop.

In its report, the CCC concluded that Mr Spratt did not appear to be the aggressor.

"At the time of the initial deployment, there was no information to show police were at risk of assault, or in danger. When the man began struggling, WAPOL internal investigators found that deployments were perhaps justified, however, the man could have been acting in self defence believing he was being assaulted."


Internal inquiry

WA police are conducting a new internal inquiry.

When it was announced by the Commissioner on the 18th of October, he said it would examine each police interaction with Mr Spratt, except the one where he was tasered 13 times.

That, Mr O'Callaghan said, had already been satisfactorily examined by internal affairs.

He explained that although there was no complaint raised about other incidents where police had used force on Mr Spratt, the new inquiry would be an additional check.

"We are now reviewing those to make sure because there's such a high level of public interest in this matter, to make sure they were conducted properly."

The purpose of that inquiry, the Commissioner said, is to ensure public confidence in the police.

Police have already reviewed the use of force reports submitted by the officers in those incidents. They've already cleared those incidents as being without complaint.

So, is the internal inquiry just another opportunity to provide more information about Mr Spratt's previous encounters where he was violent and police were justified in using force against him?

Or is the inquiry an opportunity to have a fresh look at these incidents and subject them to a thorough, exhaustive review?

In light of the conflict between statement of material facts and the video, the police must now satisfy themselves and the public that the other police descriptions of Mr Spratt's behaviour can be trusted.


Timeline

The timeline released by the Police Commissioner cites a number of incidents of Mr Spratt's violent behaviour.

Even though the media has been told none was captured on video, each description provides the opportunity for police to produce objective evidence to verify the police version of events.

On the 30th of August, the timeline says Mr Spratt was apprehended on Graham Farmer freeway by police, "...but struggled violently dragging police in front of heavy traffic."

The internal inquiry may be able to establish if Main Roads traffic cameras captured this incident and whether any such video evidence supports the police statements.

On the 30th of January 2009, the timeline states that Mr Spratt was arrested in Bayswater and "....became violent, kicking one officer in the chest and spitting in the other officer's face and biting his hand."

On the same day at the Perth Watch House, he "....later spat blood and saliva into the officers' face entering eyes and mouth."

One would expect these injuries to be recorded through police workplace safety procedures.

In the case of the officer who was bitten, and those who were spat on with blood and saliva, they presumably underwent blood tests to ensure they'd contracted no blood borne diseases.

The presence of these records would provide objective support to the police account.

Following the release of the statement of material facts, a spokesman for the Commissioner has told the ABC any discrepancy between the statement and the video of the 13 taserings will now also be examined by the police internal inquiry.

If the internal inquiry is not transparently exhaustive in verifying the police version of events, and resolving the conflict between the statement of facts and the video, it is hard to see how will instil public confidence.


Confidence

But just what has this incident done to our collective confidence in the police?

I suspect it varies widely from person to person.

Many people will look at the video in the light of Kevin Spratt's criminal record.

Whether intentional or not, the context provided by the police has cast Mr Spratt as a violent man with a violent history, a threat police were justifiably concerned about.

Many of those same people will find it hard to imagine the circumstances where they could find themselves the target of what has been euphemistically described by police and politicians as "excessive taser use".

As a middle-aged father of three from the suburbs who is a non-drinker and whose definition of a wild night out is seeing a movie with my wife, I consider it unlikely I'll find myself slugging it out with anyone, let alone police officers, in Northbridge or anywhere else.

But what if I was coming home from the movies, and happened upon what appeared to be a police officer assaulting a private citizen, as other officers stood by and watched?

What if I stopped and confronted those police officers about what was happening and was told by them to move on but I refused and they physically tried to push me away?

And what if I resisted? Not by striking out but by simply standing my ground, and frustrated and angered by my refusal to move, a police officer tasered me to the ground, and then tasered me again and again.

What would the other officers do? Would they stand there and watch like the seven officers in the Perth Watch House?

And when we got back to the police station, would the charge read that I'd behaved in a threatening manner, and that taser-wielding officer feared for his safety, and that I had to be restrained while resisting arrest?

Would that version of events be supported by the other officers, irrespective of whether it was true or not?

And in the absence of CCTV, whose word would be believed? Mine or that of the police?

Or, would just one of those officers step forward, and stop his or her colleague because it was clear the tasering officer was breaking the law?

SHOCK TACTICS

November 15, 2010
Damien Murphy, Sydney Morning Herald

Incapacitation seems de rigueur at awards nights, but no one quite does nervous-system overload like stun gun purveyors. Breon Enterprises, the company that distributes the Taser in Australia, teamed up with Rotary to sponsor the inaugural NSW Police Officer of the Year Awards. Breon's director, George Hateley, a former Victoria Police tactical expert, and the NSW Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, were among those at the Shangri-La Hotel grand ballroom on Saturday where more than 130 officers were in the running for the title. Among them was a faceless man or woman listed cryptically as ''Manly undercover operations''. Fortunately, the officer was not required to come forward as the award went to Senior Constable Jason Brooks of Cabramatta for doubling the number of arrests associated with drugs in his local area command. The recent ARIAs are proof that awards nights do not require stun guns to be truly shocking, but Breon's participation is to be expected: the NSW government paid the company $10 million to supply 2200 of the controversial weapons to all front-line police, making Tasers nearly as ubiquitous as poker machines.

Australia: Tasered man charged with obstruction

November 11, 2010
Updated 5 hours 30 minutes ago

A man who was tasered 13 times at the East Perth Watch House was charged with obstructing officers during the same incident.

Kevin Spratt was tasered repeatedly by police in August 2008.

The incident was captured on closed circuit video camera and subsequently shown to the Corruption and Crime Commission.

The statement of facts relating to the charge says that Mr Spratt was cooperative when he first arrived at the Watch House, but once his handcuffs were removed that he resisted attempts by officers to move him.

The statement says he became violent and aggressive by kicking and flailing his arms at officers who came near him.

WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan earlier denied any knowledge of the obstruction charge.

Last month Mr O'Callaghan wrote Mr Spratt an apology for the taser incident.

Australia: Police training warned of Taser dangers

November 11, 2010
Evan Schwarten, Sydney Morning Herald

Queensland police had been warned of the potentially fatal consequences of repeated Taser use prior to an incident in which a north Queensland man died, an inquest has heard.

Taser expert Patrick Burrell told the inquest into the death of Antonio Galeano that officers were cautioned against using a Taser multiple times against one person when they were trained in the use of the device.

"The training at the time cautioned against multiple use," he told the inquest.

He said a 2005 bulletin issued by Taser International stated that repeated or prolonged exposure to the electrical charge generated by a Taser could impair breathing. .

Mr Galeano died on the floor of his girlfriend's home at Brandon, south of Townsville, after being tasered multiple times by Senior Constable Craig Myles.

The inquest has previously heard Senior Constable Myles had been trained in the use of the device, which was rolled out to Queensland police in 2009, only a month before the incident.

Data recorded by the Taser showed it had been deployed 28 times against Mr Galeano but Mr Burrell said evidence from eyewitnesses suggested some of the applications had not been effective.

He said evidence of flashes of blue light between the Taser wires and a loud clicking noise suggested the device was not able to perform a complete electrical circuit.

The device was almost silent when working effectively with only a small arc of electricity visible between the metal barbs which were in contact with the subject's skin, he said.

If the device was able to generate a complete circuit, only a small arc of electricity would have been visible between the two barbs which had connected with Mr Galeano's skin, he said.

Mr Burrell also said Senior Constable Myles' initial use of the Taser, through a bathroom window, went against training guidelines.

He said Senior Constable's Myles' partner Marina Cross was not near Mr Galeano at the time and therefore unable tohandcuff him while he was incapacitated.

The inquest has been adjourned to Brisbane next month where is will hear from expert witnesses, including the pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Mr Galeano.

Senior Constable Myles and Constable Cross are due to give evidence at a hearing of the inquest in March.

Australia: Taser cops not kept apart after death

November 10, 2010
Evan Schwarten, Sydney Morning Herald

Two police officers involved in the Taser death of a north Queensland man should have been separated as soon as possible after the incident, an inquest has heard.

The inquest into the death of Antonio Galeano heard on Wednesday that Senior Constable Craig Myles and Constable Marina Cross should have been kept apart to ensure the investigation into the incident was not compromised.

However, the inquest earlier heard the two officers remained at the scene for several hours following Mr Galeano's death and were not separated.

Superintendent John Sheppard, from Queensland Police Service Ethical Standards Command, said internal guidelines stipulated that officers involved in a death in custody be isolated so they could give an independent version of events.

"The policy is clear - we should take every opportunity to guard against the versions of the officers being tainted by inappropriate discussion," Supt Sheppard told the inquest.

On Monday, Inspector Dominic McHugh told the inquest he decided not to separate the officers when he arrived at the scene, an hour after Mr Galeano's death, because he did not consider it practical.

"There is a model way of doing things and a practical way of doing things," he said.

"I arrived well after the event. If they were going to concoct or discuss a story, if that's the suggestion, they would have done it well before I arrived."

Supt Sheppard was also critical of Senior Sergeant Gavin Oates, who was initially in charge of the scene, for leaving the address to get coffee for the two officers.

"It certainly wasn't what I would describe as optimal, it was a poor decision," Supt Sheppard said.

Mr Galeano died on the floor of his girlfriend's house at Brandon, south of Townsville, in June last year after being tasered multiple times by Sen Const Myles.

Last week, Mr Galeano's girlfriend Sandra Wynne told the inquest she had called police because her partner was acting erratically and destroying her house.

The inquest continues.

Sparks flew out of tasered man's chest, inquest into his death told

November 2, 2010
Peter Michael, The Courier-Mail

POLICE repeatedly fired a Taser into a man until a spark "like a piece of lightning" shot out of his chest, an inquest has heard.

Witness Sandra Wynne yesterday told an inquest into the death of north Queensland man Antonio Galeano, 39, how she begged a police officer to stop firing the 50,000-volt device.

"His face turned black," she said. "I could hear the buzzing of the Taser and Tony screaming in pain. Every time I could see a little spark, like a piece of lightning, coming out of his chest. I said to them: 'How many times can you hit him with that bloody thing until you kill him?'"

...

Senior Constable Craig Myles, who fired the device [about 28 times], had never before used the Taser in the field.

Tests still out on 28-shot Taser

November 1, 2010
Sarah Elks, The Australian

A CORONER is still waiting for test results to confirm whether a man was shot by police with a Taser 28 times in seven minutes.

The device recorded that the amphetamine-affected man was shot repeatedly by police.

Stephen Keim, counsel assisting Coroner Christine Clements, told the first day of an inquest into the death of Antonio Carmelo Galeano that police at the scene were only aware of the Taser being shot seven times.

Police initially said the 39-year-old -- who died in June last year in the tiny town of Brandon, near Ayr in north Queensland -- had been shot only three times by policeman Craig Myles.

However The Australian revealed in the days following the death, information downloaded from the Taser showed it had been activated 28 times.

Mr Keim said yesterday that tests on the Taser showed it was working "within specifications", but he said the inquest was still waiting on results that would confirm whether each of the 28 shots were effective and whether the data downloaded from the device was correct.

Mr Keim told the coroner she would have to consider Galeano's heart condition, the amphetamines in his system, the impact of the Taser on his heart, the physical stress of the situation and whether being restrained by police for more than nine minutes after the tasering may have affected his breathing.

The Townsville court heard that police arrived at the small duplex in Brandon at 2.50am on June 12. Galeano's girlfriend, Sandra Wynne, had called police after he pulled some of her hair out and began destroying the unit and her furniture.

Constable Myles spotted Galeano through a broken bathroom window. Mr Keim said he was "chanting slogans" and was not responding to commands.

The police officer drew his Taser, warned Galeano, and then proceeded to shoot him at least three times. He later moved inside and shot Galeano a further three times.

The inquest continues today, when Ms Wynne is expected to give evidence.

AUSTRALIA: Kevin Spratt demands release of second Taser footage

October 25, 2010
David Prestipino, PerthNow

TASER victim Kevin Spratt has written to Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan and Attorney General Christian Porter demanding access to vision of a second Taser attack and a copy of his criminal record by 2pm tomorrow.

Mr Spratt was Tasered up to 13 times by police officers in the East Perth Watch House in September 2008.

A week later he was Tasered a further 11 times at the watch house by officers from the Department of Corrective Services while being removed from his holding cell, an incident he says left him with serious injuries including a punctured lung.

Mr Porter told State Parliament Mr Spratt could have access to vision of the second attack so he could determine whether to press charges against those involved.

But Mr Spratt today claimed Mr Porter was deliberately finding ways to stall the vision being released.

"It must show shocking violence against me because, after the Corrective Services Officers took me out of the cell, I had a busted shoulder, a punctured lung and had to be admitted through the emergency department of Royal Perth Hospital for surgery," he said.

Mr Spratt has also asked Mr O'Callaghan for a copy of his criminal record after it was leaked to the media.

The leak is currently being investigated by the Corruption and Crime Commission, with Mr Spratt saying it was misleading and inaccurate.

"The flow chart handed out by the commissioner and deputy commissioners of police and their motivation behind producing the flow chart, I am assured, is currently under investigation by the CCC," Mr Spratt said.

"That is, that the actions of the commissioner of police and deputy commissioner of police are now under direct investigation by the CCC.

"The flow chart itself is seriously misleading and contains serious inaccuracies, which the CCC is obviously very concerned about and inquiring into at this time.

"I am of the opinion that there has been an obvious attempt to publicly destroy me in advance of any criminal trial of the police.

"I have also therefore asked the CCC to closely examine the police commissioner and his deputy as to the actual motivation behind what the Premier has called an 'unprecedented' attack upon a person who has come forward to make a complaint about police misconduct.

"Accordingly I requested a copy of my record of convictions ... so that I could directly address the inaccuracies."

Australia: Sergeant could lose job over Taser initiation rituals

October 21, 2010
WA News

A former Rockingham police sergeant will have to fight to save his job following an investigation into bizarre claims of Taser initiation rituals of junior officers.

The 53-year-old senior officer was one of four police being investigated over allegations Tasers were used in initiation ceremonies on new recruits at the Rockingham police station.

The misuse of Tasers is suspected to have gone on for months and involved up to 22 complaints.

Advertisement: Story continues below The sergeant and a senior constable were stood down from duty, on full pay, while two constables were confined to office work, pending the outcome of the investigation.

The complaints, which came from within the Rockingham station, also included the use of Tasers in a general hooligan way.

The sergeant has been served with a "Loss of Confidence" notice and is now required to show cause as to why Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan should not sack him.

He has 21 days to reply and his response will then undergo an extensive review process before a final decision is reached.

The sergeant has been a member of the WA Police for more than 36 years.

The internal investigation into the conduct of a senior constable involved in the same matter is continuing.

The two contables were considered to have committed only a minor role in the Taserings and underwent internal disciplinary action. This can take the form of fines and/or counselling, but police would not reveal what punishments were received in this case. Both have resumed full active duties.

WA Police recently made international headlines over the Tasering of an Aboriginal man 13 times in August 2008.

Damning internal footage of the East Perth watch house showed nine officers Taser Kevin Spratt, as he lay on the ground screaming in agony.

The matter, which police acknowledged was indefensible, has been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate whether any officers should be charged over the incident and police are also holding an internal inquiry.

However Mr O'Callaghan has stopped short of saying that Tasers should be banned from the force.