Northern Ireland: Amnesty International condemns Chief Constable's 'blatant disregard' of human rights standards in taser decision

October 5, 2007
amnesty.org.uk

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International Northern Ireland programme director, said:

"Only last week the Chief Constable said there would be no deployment of Tasers in Northern Ireland until equality and human rights concerns were met. Now he is pressing ahead regardless with the deployment of this potentially lethal weapon.

"This demonstrates a blatant disregard for the human rights standards and for the legitimate concerns of many ordinary people.

"Research into Taser use shows that here are serious doubts over the safety of these weapons, particularly when used on vulnerable groups of people such as those with heart conditions or under the influence of drugs. These concerns have already led a number of American law enforcement agencies to rule against using the devices. Let's be clear; people are at serious risk of injury, or in some cases death if the Taser is used without adequate safeguards."