Use of Taser against aggressive man who set fire to home was proportionate

An investigation has found that the use of Taser by police on a 40-year-old man acting aggressively towards armed officers and who had set fire to his home was necessary and proportionate.

Police attended a disturbance at the man’s home in the Balintore area of Ross-shire after receiving a 999 call advising that he was drunk and had threatened someone with violence.

The man was involved in a similar disturbance three weeks earlier.

When police attended just before 6pm on 1 August 2019, the man was hostile and aggressive towards the firearms officers, smashed a window and threw numerous items, including a golf club, at them.

After the man set fire to the property, officers decided to enter it and arrest him, at which point he threw other items, including a television and garden shears, at them.

When officers found the man in an upstairs bedroom, they pointed a conventional gun and Taser at him, but he failed to follow an instruction to show his hands. At that point, a firearms officer discharged the Taser at the man and he fell to the floor.