Taser use by police in Scotland rising as stun gun use doubles in two years

The number of people being tasered by police in Scotland has doubled in the past two years.

The Sunday Mail can reveal the weapons have been fired 115 times since 2018 by specially trained officers (STO), including on a pensioner.

Police claim the devices are needed as added protection because of a rise in attacks on them by members of the public.

But campaigners say the increase could cause a rise in deaths.

In 2018, Tasers were discharged 18 times, 27 in 2019 and 36 last year.

The youngest person tasered was 18 and the oldest 72, according to the data released under Freedom of Information.

Officers also used a Taser on an American pit bull terrier.

In the first six months of this year Tasers have been used on 34 people.

In May, Iain Livingstone, chief ­constable of Police Scotland, told the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) he wanted 15 per cent of officers equipped with Tasers, taking the total to about 2300.

Iain Livingstone (Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament/PA Wire)

At present only three per cent of frontline police are allowed to carry them. The ­expansion plan will cost more than ­£3million with the numbers of STOs ­rising from 520 to nearly 1700.

The SPA approved the training of STOs in Taser use in December 2017 – until then only 530 authorised ­firearms officers ­carried them.

Tasers, which were introduced to the UK in 2003, use a high-voltage e­lectric pulse to cause muscle spasms and aim to temporarily ­incapacitate rather than cause lasting harm.

In 2019, Police Scotland was ­criticised for using a Taser on a man, 28, from Bannockburn, Stirlingshire, who was backing away.

The Police Investigations and Review ­Commissioner concluded the ­stun gun’s use was not reasonable.

Tasers were also deployed in June last year when officers opened fire on Sudanese asylum seeker Abadlla Adam, 28, after he stabbed six people at a Glasgow hotel. He was shot dead.

Amnesty International’s ­programme director in Scotland Naomi McAuliffe said any increase in Taser use “will increase the ­likelihood of death or ­permanent injury”.

She added: “It is Amnesty’s view that officer safety is not a compelling ­argument for rolling out Tasers further as the evidence points to the fact that using Tasers at close range actually increases the violence and the risk to officers.”

David ­Kennedy, Scottish Police ­Federation deputy general ­secretary, said he would like to see all members in Scotland issued with Tasers.

He added: “For us it is all about officer safety. ”

Police Scotland’s assistant chief constable Mark Williams there had been an increase in the number of violent incidents officers attend.

He added: “It is therefore natural that Taser usage has increased, although it remains rare.

“Tasers are only used when ­absolutely necessary and we have found that even the presence of a Taser can de-escalate situations quickly.”