Some UK Forces Say No to Tasers

Posted: Monday, June 22, 2009
Updated: June 22nd, 2009 12:12 PM GMT-05:00

Several major British police forces say they are refusing the government's calls to extend the use of Taser stun guns to thousands of officers.

The Sussex Police have joined the London Metropolitan Police in refusing to extend the use of Tasers to officers who are not specially trained to wield the weapons, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

Still undecided on whether to roll out the non-lethal weapons to more officers are the South Yorkshire Police and Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, the newspaper said.

Concerns over providing 10,000 such weapons to 30,000 officers nationwide have reportedly been sparked by video footage from Nottingham, England, that appeared to depict an officer shocking a man at least twice while he was lying on the floor.

"Tasers should be left in the hands of specially trained firearms officers," Tom Brake, a Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, told the Telegraph. "By making Tasers available to 30,000 officers we are descending down the slippery slope towards fully armed, U.S.-style policing."

They've already slid down the slope to fully-armed, US-style crime.

Wonder how long before criminals over there start using officers for targets?