Right: 4. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay has announced a more general rollout of tasers among his officers.
.. Found a word you're not familiar with? Double-click that word to bring up a dictionary reference to it. The dictionary page includes an audio sound file with which to actually hear the word said. |
Background information
(The history of Taser-related deaths and other incidents can be accessed as part of an ABC news report online at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-23/tasers-in-australia/3905914)
A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Created and marketed by Taser International, the name "TASER" is both a brand and a registered trademark of Taser International. The device functions by effecting 'neuromuscular incapacitation' and the devices' mechanism 'Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) technology'.
Someone struck by a Taser experiences stimulation of his or her sensory nerves and motor nerves, resulting in strong involuntary muscle contractions. Tasers do not rely only on pain compliance, except when used in Drive Stun mode, and are thus preferred by some law enforcement over non-Taser stun guns and other electronic control weapons.
At the present time, there are two main police models, the M26 and X26. Both come with various accessories, including a laser sight and optional mounted digital video camera that can record in low-light situations. Taser International is also marketing a civilian model called the C2. On 27 July 2009, Taser introduced the X3, capable of firing three times without reload.
The Taser fires two small dart-like electrodes, which stay connected to the main unit by conductive wire as they are propelled by small compressed nitrogen charges similar to some air gun or paintball marker propellants. The air cartridge contains a pair of electrodes and propellant for a single shot and is replaced after each use. There are a number of cartridges designated by range, with the maximum at 10.6 m. The electrodes are pointed to penetrate clothing and barbed to prevent removal once in place. Earlier Taser models had difficulty in penetrating thick clothing, but newer versions (X26, C2) use 'shaped pulse' that increases effectiveness in the presence of barriers.
Taser use in law enforcement in Australia
Australian Federal Police - used only by officers attached to the Special Response and Security Team.
New South Wales - Used by general duties (patrol), supervisors/duty officers and specialist officers attached to the Tactical Operations Unit and Public Order and Riot Squad.
Northern Territory - Used by both general duties (patrol) and the Territory Response Group.
Queensland - Used by both general duties (patrol) and Special Emergency Response Team.
South Australia - Used only by the Special Tasks and Rescue Group with a general roll out to other police being trialled.
Tasmania - Used only by the Special Operations Group
Victoria - Used by the Critical Incident Response Team and Special Operations Group. A twelve-month trial at Bendigo and Morwell stations by general duties police has recently ended. On March 12, 2012, it was announced that Tasers would soon be issued to all general duties (patrol) officers.
Western Australia - Used by both general duties (patrol) and the Tactical Response Group.
Across Australia there have been five Taser-related deaths since they were first introduced.
A history of Taser-related incidents in Australia
March 18, 2012:
A Brazilian student, Roberto Laudisio Curti, dies after being Tasered by police in Sydney.
Police officers say Mr Laudisio Curti was resisting arrest, but detectives are looking into whether guidelines were breached. Police had been investigating the theft of biscuits from a convenience store shortly before the incident.
The Brazilian student had been living with his sister and her Australian husband in Sydney since last winter, while studying English and playing soccer.
June 19 and September 6, 2011:
Greens MP David Shoebridge obtains figures from the NSW Police which show Taser use is on the rise in Australia, but gun use has remained steady.
October 5, 2010:
A Sydney man died after being Tasered by police in a confrontation during which he was brandishing two knives. The man, who was trying to force his way into a home, was severely affected by alcohol at the time.
Further details of the death are yet to be released.
July 2010:
In Mount Gambier, South Australia, 30-year-old Corey Lovett was Tasered after throwing knives at police and shouting "shoot me, shoot me".
A court later heard Lovett was taking alcohol and drugs at the time to deal with the death of his twin brother. The judge arranged for Lovett to thank police for the way they handled the situation.
February 1, 2010:
A 44-year-old man suffered burns to his upper body when he locked himself inside a house in Forrestfield, Western Australia, and threatened to burn it down. He spread fuel throughout the house and told officers he was going to get some matches. They forced their way into the house and while attempting to arrest him, fired the Taser.
The electric current ignited the fuel, causing burns to 20 per cent of the man's body.
December 22, 2009:
A Sydney man was Tasered at a carols by candlelight event after fighting broke out among a group of drunken teenagers. During the scuffle an officer was punched in the face. He then tasered his alleged attacker, bringing the 18-year-old man under control.
November 2009:
Adam Salter was shot in the back in the kitchen of his father's Lakemba home, south-western Sydney, by Sergeant Sheree Bissett as he stabbed himself repeatedly in the chest.
Sergeant Bissett reportedly yelled, "Taser, Taser, Taser!" before firing the fatal gunshot. Evidence suggests that confusion may have come from carrying too many weapons, including a firearm and a similarly shaped Taser on her waist.
Mr Salter was on antidepressant medication at the time of his death, and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. A coroner found the police intervention was an "utter failure".
July 20, 2009:
A man in Western Australia's Goldfields Aboriginal community of Warburton burst into flames after police Taser him while he was carrying a fuel container and a cigarette lighter. The man suffered third degree burns to his face, arms and chest. Police guidelines recommend against firing Tasers near flammable liquids.
June 12, 2009:
A Queensland man, Antonio Galeano, died of a heart attack at Brandon, Townsville, after being Tasered up to 28 times by police when they are called to a disturbance at his girlfriend's residence. Police also used capsicum spray in the incident.
Data retrieved from the Taser shows it was activated 28 times over five-and-a-half minutes, but a pre-inquest heard the data may have been faulty. The inquest heard 39-year-old Mr Galeano had a pre-existing heart condition and amphetamines in his body at the time of death. The findings of the inquest are still to be released.
April 16, 2009:
A Northern Territory man, known as Kwementyaye Rubuntja for cultural reasons, died in Alice Springs after police used capsicum spray and a Taser on him when they were called to a domestic dispute.
The man stopped breathing shortly after he was Tasered and died in hospital. Mr Rubuntja, 39, had heart disease and doctors suggest he may have been having a heart attack when he was acting strangely during the dispute.
The Northern Territory coroner found the Taser may have contributed to his death, but that due to other great stresses, it was impossible to isolate the Taser as the sole cause of death.
In this instance, because Mr Rubuntja was unarmed and not making threats to kill, it was found the Taser was used prematurely and inappropriately.
February 7, 2009:
Queensland teenager Andrew Bornen was run over by a car and killed in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, after police threatened him with a Taser and told him to lie on the ground. His heart, aorta and pulmonary trunk ruptured and he died before an ambulance arrived six minutes later.
Officers had forced the 16-year-old down after reports a youth was armed with a machete in the area. He was only carrying a baseball bat. An inquest found Bornen had not been acting aggressively. It also found the driver bore no responsibility for his death, and police had acted lawfully.
December 11, 2008:
Victorian teenager Tyler Cassidy was shot dead by police at Northcote skate park in Melbourne. Three out of four police officers at the scene fired at the 15-year-old as he advances towards them with knives.
An inquest into Tyler's death heard officers could have used a Taser at the first point of contact with the boy.
August 30, 2008:
A video of Aboriginal man Kevin Spratt being Tasered 13 times by police officers in a Perth watch-house was released to the public in October 2010.
The CCTV footage of Mr Spratt received international attention. It showed him lying on the ground surrounded by officers and screaming as the Tasers were discharged. The officers involved were fined following an internal investigation.
The footage was released alongside a Corruption and Crime Commission report, which found that although Taser use is increasing in the state, and the weapons are disproportionately being used on Indigenous people, they are an effective weapon which is mostly used appropriately.
August 14, 2007:
A West Australian man, Mark Conway, died in a Perth hospital shortly after being Tasered by police in Fremantle.
Mr Conway, a drug addict, was acting erratically and running in between traffic when police fired the Taser.
A coronial inquest later heard the 49-year-old had taken a large amount of drugs at the time, and a post-mortem examination concluded he died from an excessive amount of methamphetamine in his system.
Police were cleared of any wrongdoing.
May 2002:
New South Wales man, Gary Pearce, died of a heart attack 12 days after being Tasered multiple times by police.
The 56-year-old, a schizophrenic with a violent history, was threatening police with a frying pan when they used the Taser on him up to three times. Mr Pearce's death certificate noted he had long term-heart disease, a thyroid problem, hepatitis C and was a heavy smoker.
This was Australia's first Taser-related death.