Call to arm officers with Tasers

Northumbria Police officers use Tasers as a 'last resort'

A police union leader has called for all frontline officers to be armed with Taser stun guns.

Northumbria Police Federation chairman Russ Watson said the move was a response to rising attack levels.

Mr Watson said 179 officers had suffered assaults over the past 12 months in the Sunderland area alone.

Amnesty International said Tasers, which deliver a 50,000 volt electric shock, should only be carried by trained firearms officers.

The Northumbria force is one of several involved in a wide-ranging trial of Tasers.

People do not join the police to become punch bags Russ Watson, Northumbria Police Federation

Mr Watson said: "The increase in assaults on police officers leads me to believe that the roll out of Tasers to all officers should be seriously considered by the government.

"It should not be an expectation of the job that to be a police officer means you will be assaulted.

"People do not join the police to become punch bags, they join the provide a service to the public."

Mike Blakemore of Amnesty International said: "Of course police need to be able to protect themselves and the community, but Tasers are potentially lethal.

"In the United States 300 people have died after being tasered, with 69 last year alone.

"So we accept that they are a good alternative to lethal force, but officers need to be trained to the same level as firearms officers."

Northumbria Police said Tasers were only used as a last resort where officers were faced with a violent or threatening situation.

Home Office figures showed that in a nine-month trial Northumbria officers discharged Tasers 25 times - more often than the nine other forces involved.