Families call for an end to Taser use against people with mental illness IOPC review of Taser cases found that 60% of black people were subjected to Taser use for up to five seconds longer than people of other ethnicities
Launch of a new campaign comes after IOPC review of Taser cases found that 60% of black people were subjected to Taser use for up to five seconds longer than people of other ethnicitiesA CAMPAIGN led by the families of people who have died after Taser use by Metropolitan Police officer has called for a ban on the weapon being deployed on people if they are experiencing a mental health crises.
The death of her brother in 2017 led to the Prevention of Future Death report that called for the review of the “effects of multiple Taser electrocution activations and prolonged Taser electrocution on vulnerable people”. Adrian McDonald, 34, died after being Tasered by police for up to 24 seconds and was bitten by a police dog during a mental health crisis while at a party with friends in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. His mother, Germaine Phillips, toldthat the police responded to reports of a burglary when Adrian became erratic, because they “always put out that narrative” and believed the actions leading up to his death were racist.
The two police officers involved in the case were found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary panel, but later cleared of the charges by a tribunal. Ms Phillips said the inquest accepted the “injuries that the police did,” but that if Adrian was white they would have said bluntly “that the Taser contributed to the death.”