THE Police Ombudsman has found that police were justified in using a Taser against a man who appeared to be armed with a handgun, and had earlier attempted to hijack a taxi.
Police used the weapon after the man (Man A) failed to comply with requests to drop what later turned out to be an imitation firearm wrapped in a plastic bag.
Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson concluded that the use of the Taser was "proportionate, lawful, necessary and justified" and had "brought to a swift end a potentially dangerous situation."
The incident happened in the foyer of a Templepatrick hotel at around 5am on 31 December 2008.
Man A had ordered a taxi to the hotel from Belfast City Centre. After arguing with the driver about the route he had taken to Templepatrick, he produced the imitation firearm wrapped in a bag, pointed it at the driver and demanded his car.
Both men got out of the car and the driver managed to restrain the man, placing him in a "bear" hug and pushing him towards the foyer of the hotel.
Staff at the hotel contacted the police who ordered locally based officers to go to the scene and try to negotiate with Man A, while also tasking trained armed response officers to attend.
When the armed officers arrived, one of them shouted "Armed police" and twice warned Man A to drop his weapon. He failed to do so and when he began to turn towards police, the officer discharged his Taser, striking him in the back.
The man fell to the ground and officers seized his weapon, which turned out to be an imitation semi-automatic pistol. Paramedics were summoned to the scene while an officer, at Man A's request, removed the Taser barbs from his back.
Man A later told police that he had hoped that police would shoot him. He was subsequently convicted of attempted hijack and possession of an imitation firearm.
During the Police Ombudsman's investigation investigators ensured that the incident scene and police Tasers present were forensically examined. They interviewed all police and civilian witnesses and examined police documentation. They also viewed CCTV footage which captured some of the incident.
They later learned that the police, when handing over the Taser they believed had been used during the incident, provided investigators with the wrong weapon.
The error was quickly identified and the correct Taser was then retrieved.
Investigators established that the error was caused by poor post-incident handling of the weapon by police. The Police Ombudsman subsequently recommended that any Taser discharged by police, except in training, should be secured in an evidential container to preserve evidence. This has since been implemented by police.
Mr Hutchinson also concluded that although police guidelines recommend that police should not remove Taser barbs from people who have been subject to a discharge, their removal during this incident was done at Man A's request and was likely to have reduced the discomfort experienced by him.
Mr Hutchinson said this had upheld the police's duty of care to Man A.