A SUSPECT turned violent and had to be tasered THREE times before he could be arrested, police claim.

Two officers – one of them a woman - restrained him, but both needed hospital treatment for injuries allegedly sustained in the incident.

The incident kicked off after the PCs were sent to investigate after a member of the public reported a suspected drink driver with two passengers in a vehicle in the Dellers Wharf area of Taunton shortly before 9am on Sunday.

Insp Richard Caburn said three men at the scene became verbally aggressive after they were approached by the two officers and refused to give their details.

“One of them kept approaching the officers, squaring up to them,” said Insp Caburn.

“One of the officers drew out a CS spray, although it wasn’t used.

“The man was tasered, but he pulled out the two barbs himself and ran off.

“He was tasered a second time, but again pulled out the barbs and punched the woman PC in the head.

“He was tasered a third time and restrained.”

Violence against police officers was completely unacceptable, said Insp Caburn, Two men were taken into custody in Bridgwater, according to police.

And the two police officers were taken to Musgrove Park Hospital, in Taunton, where the woman PC was treated for a head injury and sent home before returning to duty on Monday.

The male officer received treatment at Musgrove for a leg injury but remained on duty.

A 30-year-old man from Taunton was later charged with a public order offence and assaulting a police officer with intent to resist arrest. He will appear at Taunton Magistrates’ Courts on July 27.

Another man from Taunton was bailed on suspicion of failing to provide a breath specimen for analysis, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and aggravated vehicle taking.

The Police Federation’s Kevin Phillips said he is going to investigate why the Taser was ineffective on two occasions.

He added: “The reality is that Tasers are issued as a less lethal form of controlling people.

“Clearly it should work the majority of time, but on this occasion it hasn’t.

“My concerns are with the officers who have been injured.

“I’ll be looking into this because we want to know why this happened like this.”

 

 

 

*TASERS were first issued to police officers in England and Wales in 2013.

*When used, they fire two dart-like electrodes into the target. The ‘barbs’ are rigged up to the main ‘gun’ unit by connectors to deliver an electric current of 10,000 volts.

*This disrupts the voluntary control of the person’s muscles.

*Police used Tasers on over 50,000 occasions last year – in Avon and Somerset the figure was 245.

*Taser guns are only issued to authorised officers, with strict guidelines on when they should be used.

*The Home Office described them as “an important tactical option to help specially trained officers resolve potentially violent situations safely”.

*Opponents, including Amnesty International, claim they are potentially lethal.