This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/06/police-taser-shooting-contributed-to-mans-death-jury-finds

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Police Taser shooting contributed to man's death, jury finds Police Taser shooting contributed to man's death, jury finds
(35 minutes later)
A factory worker died partly as a result of being shot with a Taser and restrained by police officers, a jury has concluded. A factory worker has died partly as a result of being shot with a Taser and restrained by police officers, an inquest jury has concluded.
The decision on the death of Jordan Begley, 23, came on Monday at the end of a five-week inquest at Manchester civil courts of justice. Jordan Begley, 23, was shot with the 50,000-volt stun gun and hit with “distraction strikes” while being restrained and handcuffed by three armed officers from Greater Manchester police (GMP). He died in hospital around two hours later, at 10pm on 10 July 2013.
More details soon … Related: Value of Taser use remains uncertain amid lack of transparency
While the initial Taser shock did not cause Begley’s heart to stop, the jury concluded that the use of the Taser and the restraint “more than materially contributed” to a package of stressful factors leading to his fatal cardiac arrest, the inquest at Manchester civil courts of justice heard.
In damning conclusions, the jury said the officer who pulled the trigger, PC Terence Donnelly, inappropriately and unreasonably used the stun gun for longer than necessary.
After Begley struggled and was restrained by armed police the officers were “more concerned with their own welfare than his,” the jury said.
Tasers have never been ruled to have directly caused a death in a UK inquest involving police use of the stun gun. But the verdict at the end of a five-week hearing is believed to be the first time a British jury has ruled that a Taser and restraint contributed to a fatality.
Begley’s family are now intending to sue the GMP.
His mother, Dorothy, 47, who gave evidence during the inquest, left the courtroom in tears as the conclusions were read out.
The outcome is likely to reopen criticism of the increasing use of Tasers as a “less lethal” option than guns for police. Since the introduction of Tasers in 2003, Home Office figures show their use has increased by more than 200%, with one in 10 officers now armed with a Taser and more than 10,000 Taser incidents in England and Wales in 2013.
Outside court Mrs Begley described the jury’s conclusions as “fantastic” and called for all police officers to wear body cameras.
She added: “After two years of fighting everybody, fighting the system, Jordan’s day has come. That is all I ever wanted. The last two years have been hell. Those officers should not be patrolling the streets.”
Mark McGhee, her solicitor, said: “The jury’s decision is very far-reaching and raises issues that go well beyond the death of this individual.”
An investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) after the incident effectively cleared all the officers involved. The IPCC has yet to publish the report of its inquiry.
Mrs Begley said of the IPCC: “They are incompetent and badly let us down.”