Taser gun fails on first outing

12:20pm Tuesday 5th August 2003

A Taser gun failed to fire when it was used by police for the first time in London at the weekend.

Police used the gun to subdue an armed man who came at police.

The Met is one of five forces in the UK involved in a year-long trial of the Taser, which started in April 2003.

Scotland Yard said yesterday police were called to a Hounslow address at about 10.45pm on Sunday after receiving a call from a man who said he had a gunshot wound.

When they arrived they found a man armed with two handguns.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said officers offered the man first aid and attempted to negotiate with him for about 45 minutes.

But a decision was made to deploy ‘less lethal’ weapons as well as conventional firearms when the man came towards officers with a firearm in his hand.

A firearms officer discharged a baton round at the man, which hit him in the abdomen and he fell to the ground. When he tried to get up again officers decided to use a Taser to disable him, but it failed to fire.

The man was not seriously injured.