Ex Premier League Footballer Dalian Atkinson Tasered To Death

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3741176/Man-38-dies-police-shoot-Taser-Telford.html

My thoughts go out to his poor father.

[andy-hughes]

nailit - //Andy, you would advocate that our police carry guns then? //

That is reaching a conclusion which I did not make.

No I would not advocate our police carrying guns - lord knows there are millions too many guns on the planet already, we should be looking at reducing, not increasing them.

[nailit]

//we should be looking at reducing, not increasing them//
Maybe we should also be looking at ways of reducing deaths by tasers as well then?? Like banning them

[andy-hughes]

nailit - ////we should be looking at reducing, not increasing them//
Maybe we should also be looking at ways of reducing deaths by tasers as well then?? Like banning them //

Not really comparable I feel.

There is a major issue with guns in the hands of criminals, and civilians without the training and restraint needed.

But tasers are almost exclusively used by law enforcement officers to restrain criminals. Yes fatalities occur, but that has to be seen within the wider context of non-lethal use.

[youngmafbog]

And what sort of protection do you propose to give our boys, and girls, in blue when they answer a 999 only to be faced with a firearm then. You really want them to threaten with a truncheon?

Anyway you can kill someone with a truncheon so I suppose you dont even want that. Guess you;re one of those yoghurt knitters thats would want to sit down ad talk to them. Well not you obviously doubt you would have it in you.

[Gromit]

The current police guidance on the use of Tasers appears to have been ignored in this case. Multiple discharges are not recommended.

// Repeated, prolonged and/or continuous exposure to the Taser electrical discharge may cause strong muscle contractions that may impair breathing and respiration, particularly when the probes are placed across the chest or diaphragm. Users should avoid prolonged, extended, uninterrupted discharges or extensive multiple discharges whenever practicable in order to minimise the potential for over-exertion of the subject or potential impairment of full ability to breathe over a prolonged time period. //

[youngmafbog]

Be careful Gromit. At present it is only an eye witness statement that says multiple, and eye witnesses are tremendously unreliable.

[Gromit]

Ymb,
I have not read the report, I was just going of AOGs quote of 3 discharges.

[youngmafbog]

Fair enough.

[Mamyalynne]

All types of restraint be they physical, mechanical or chemical have the potential to go wrong, especially if someone has an unseen frailty.

I feel for all concerned in this death - there are no one size fits all solutions.

[sp1814]

youngmafbog

You asked:

And what sort of protection do you propose to give our boys, and girls, in blue when they answer a 999 only to be faced with a firearm then. You really want them to threaten with a truncheon?

It doesn't work that way.

When a report is made of an incident involving firearms, it's specialist firearms units who are dispatched, not regular officers.

Also, truncheons???

[hc4361]

On average, 5% of all taser uses in the UK result in a complaint. I think there has been 10 deaths by taser in the UK since it was first used.

[sp1814]

andy-hughes

Good luck with the venom-dialling.

Tell me when that happens and I'll send you a picture of me riding my unicorn over a night rainbow.

But seriously youngmafbog - references to 'yoghurt knitters' is old hat.

Almost as silly as calling right wingers knuckle draggers.

Oh...

[Old_Geezer]

I never did like the equivalent of shootable cattle prods being used on citizens. I take it the victim was threatening people's lives and had to be taken out ?

[mikey4444]

But why did the Police then start kicking him when he was down on the ground ?

[mikey4444]

I agree with nailit here. Tasers are lethal weapons.

If this man wasn't armed, and there is no evidence that he was, he should have been brought under control by normal policing methods, not gung-ho use of Tasers.

[Mamyalynne]

//But why did the Police then start kicking him when he was down on the ground ?//


Is that proven? Or is that precisely why this like all such cases must be investigated thoroughly and in depth.

[Baldric]

It appears to have been the Mails idea rather than AOGs to use a misleading phrase

///Former Premier League footballer Dalian Atkinson attempted to murder his 85-year-old father **before police Tasered him to death,** it has been claimed.///

Although it does sound as if the Police were a bit over enthusiastic with their Tasers

///Then he was Tasered and he fell to the floor. I heard the taser go off again a number out times, **at least four or five**, when he was on he ground.///

[andy-hughes]

Baldric - //It appears to have been the Mails idea rather than AOGs to use a misleading phrase

///Former Premier League footballer Dalian Atkinson attempted to murder his 85-year-old father **before police Tasered him to death,** it has been claimed.///

Although it does sound as if the Police were a bit over enthusiastic with their Tasers

///Then he was Tasered and he fell to the floor. I heard the taser go off again a number out times, **at least four or five**, when he was on he ground.///

The major reason why independent investigations have to be dispassionate and thorough is because, in the heat of the moment, different people recall different events.

I have read reports that suggest that an initial two taster shots did not work, and that a third incapacitated Mr Atkinson. I have not read reports that advise he was kicked by officers.

A proper investigation will separate fact from faulty memory and post-incident sensationalising.