Dumfries policeman's Taser injury 'preventable'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-29140637

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A report has found that an incident in which a policeman was hurt when his Taser went off as he was putting it in its holster could have been prevented.

The accident occurred at the Cornwall Mount police headquarters in Dumfries in May this year.

The police officer who was injured had been getting ready for duty at a firearms range when the Taser went off.

A report has now recommended the withdrawal of the type of holster being used at the time.

The incident happened on 26 May this year in Dumfries and prompted an investigation by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC), Kate Frame.

She has now concluded that it was preventable.

Ms Frame has made four recommendations including the withdrawal of the type of holster being used due to its potential to activate safety catches.

The recommendation follows a statement by the officer involved suggesting that there were two possible scenarios for the activation of the trigger.

One was that a press stud on the strap fastener caught the trigger, and second that, when seating the weapon into the holster, his trigger finger had been forced back by the cover of the holster and caused the Taser to go off.

A forensic examination of the holster found that moving the Taser in and out of the holster could result in the safety catch being moved from the "on" to "off" position.

The examination also showed that, although not impossible, it was unlikely that the stud could cause the activation of the trigger when the Taser had been seated within the holster.

The investigation revealed concerns among authorised firearms officers within the area covered by the old Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary over the holster used, but there was no record of any officers making a formal report.

'Feasible reasons'

Other recommendations in the PIRC report were that standard operating procedures be amended to clearly indicate that the systems function check and load/unload drills were carried out by a designated safety officer on a "one-to-one" basis.

It also advised that a designated safety officer should also be observed by another safety officer when carrying out checks and drills.

Its final recommendation concerned the importance of scene management at firearms incidents.

Ms Frame said: "Forensic examination determined that the scenarios described in the statements provided cannot be discounted and both are feasible reasons for the unintentional discharge of the Taser.

"Although preventable, the fault cannot sit entirely with the operator in this incident as the design of the Taser holster itself predicates an accidental discharge.

"To prevent further similar incidents I hope that Police Scotland will act quickly on my recommendation that they stop using this type of holster."