A petition backed by the family of Taser victim Adrian McDonald has gained nearly 800 signatures calling for the devices to be banned.

Adrian McDonald, 34, of Dalton, died on December 22 after he was Tasered by officers called to a house in Staffordshire following reports of a burglary.

Staffordshire Police referred the incident to The Independent Police Complaints Commission IPCC, following standard practice in such cases, and Commission experts are now carrying out an investigation.

But a spokesperson for the IPCC said yesterday the investigation is ‘still very much in the early stages’. It is expected it will take several weeks.

Adrian’s mum Germaine Phillips, was one of those who signed the petition which has now attracted almost 800 signatures, the majority from Huddersfield people.

The petition calls for police use of tasers to be banned.

Taser stun gun
Taser stun gun

A friend of Mr McDonald has since revealed that the former Dalton man had been invited to his party at the flat and was not a burglar as initial reports suggested.

Paul Carter said he rang police seeking help after Mr McDonald became “agitated” at a birthday party.

He said: “I had known Adrian for about a year. He was a really nice bloke.”

He added: “He just seemed distressed and I’m not sure why.

“I tried to talk to him but he wasn’t really explaining what was wrong.”

An earlier police report on the use of Tasers found that the Staffordshire force had the highest Taser use in the country last year.

In July, data published by the IPCC revealed that Staffordshire police used Tasers more than any other force, with shots being fired 33 times per 100 officers.