Brighouse woman was Tasered ‘for her own safety’

Aug 20 2009 By Sam Casey

A KNIFE-WIELDING woman was shot with a 50,000-volt Taser gun by police – for her own safety.

The incident, on Bramston Street in Brighouse, was one of the 144 occasions the stun guns have been fired by West Yorkshire Police since they were introduced five years ago.

The figure is the highest for any police force in England and Wales apart from the Metropolitan Police.

Greater Manchester Police fired Tasers 25 times and Merseyside 17 times, according to Home Office figures out this week.

West Yorkshire Police said their figures were high because their firearms officers were among the first to use them. They are now involved in a pilot scheme to arm other frontline officers with the guns.

The force has released a number of examples of incidents in which Tasers have been used.

The Brighouse incident happened in April following a report that a woman with mental health and drug abuse issues holding a large kitchen knife to her throat.

A spokesman said: "On attendance, police officers were concerned for her safety and the woman was subject to a Taser discharge, which allowed her to be successfully detained without further, more serious injury."

In another incident, police used a Taser on a man who was trying to get hold of knives at a house on Coronation Street in Elland on May 17.