PSNI CHIEF constable Sir Hugh Orde has rejected criticism from Sinn Féin that the police's first use of a Taser stun gun in Derry last month was a "cheap and calculated attempt to railroad" the use of the weapons in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin Derry Assembly member Martina Anderson, who attended yesterday's meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said Sir Hugh's approach to the use of Tasers was "somewhat shambolic".
The controversial electro-shock weapon was used for the first and only time last month in Derry against a 37-year-old man during a domestic incident.
Police at the time said the Taser was used as an appropriate and tactical option to bring the matter to a safe conclusion. The man who was struck by the Taser has since been charged with making threats to kill, and common assault.
Ms Anderson said she could not understand how Sir Hugh Orde could deal with the issue in such a manner "that the world and its mother is questioning what is going on with the use of Tasers here in the North".
"This has been a cheap, calculated attempt to railroad Taser in with total disregard of a finding or a hearing from the courts. I think it is a disregard for this board, and for the courts given that you know that papers were launched for a judicial review, or hearing for a judicial review, later this month," she said.
DUP board member Ian Paisley jnr said Sir Hugh Orde was fully entitled to use Tasers as it was an operational matter. He said Ms Anderson was engaging in "rants and ravings" over the issue and her views did not reflect majority opinion on the board.
Sir Hugh said he rejected any suggestion the Taser was deployed in an irresponsible or cavalier manner. Because charges had been issued, he could not comment on the Derry incident other than to say that the Taser was only used once so far in Northern Ireland. He also rejected a call from policing board member Gearóid Ó hEara, also from Derry, for a moratorium on the use of the stun guns pending further discussion of the matter.
Sir Hugh said the Taser was a better alternative to the use of live rounds in difficult policing situations.
He said injuries caused by Tasers in the UK were not long term and that nobody had died as a result of their use in Britain and Northern Ireland.
Gardaí have used Tasers a number of times in recent months. Amnesty International said nearly 300 people have died as a result of being shot with the weapon in the US and Canada since 2001.
