English police use Taser stun gunIn 2003, police in London, England, used the Taser electric stun gun on a suspect for the first time in that country. It was part of a year-long trial commenced 21 Apr 2003 as an alternative to conventional guns. A man had called police, saying he had been shot. When the police arrived, they found he was carrying two handguns. The Taser was fired during a brief seige that followed, though one of its pair of barbed darts attached to cables failed to make contact on the man and the 50,000-volt electric shock was not delivered. The Daily Telegraph reported on 5 Aug 2003, that a spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers said the use of the Taser was the first operational deployment against a human suspect in England and Wales. |
