KEY POINTS:
The use of high-voltage stun guns is again in the spotlight, after an unarmed woman was shot twice with a Taser gun within the space of just a few seconds.
The woman broke into a Titirangi home and barricaded herself in a bathroom on Tuesday evening, and although
three officers were in attendance, police decided the best way to overpower and subdue her was with a Taser.
The first shot hit the woman in the leg, and she fell to the ground, and then police confirm she was Tasered again, seconds after they failed to properly handcuff her. The Taser stun gun fires two barbed metal darts at the victim and delivers a 50,000 volt electric shock.
Although previously police have said victims only risk injury from being Tasered, they now admit there is a one in 870 chance of a fatality.
This is the second controversial incident in the past week involving Tasers.
On Thursday, police were forced to defend new allegations of inappropriate use of a Taser after claims that officers had Tasered the wrong person during a fight in Henderson.
The 17-year-old was Tasered after allegedly resisting arrest, and although some eyewitnesses claimed he was an innocent bystander merely trying to break up the melee, police say they were justified in their actions.
Paul Marshall, the officer responsible for overseeing the trial of Taser weapons in the North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney police districts, told the Herald on Sunday that police stood by the decision to Taser the woman twice. She had a history of mental health problems, and there were fears she could have done harm to either herself or the three officers who attended the incident.
Marshall said the floor of the bathroom where the woman was found was covered in water, which meant it was difficult for police to overpower and apprehend her. Pepper spray was also not practical in such a confined space because of the risk some of the spray could end up in the eyes of police, he said.
The woman had been Tasered twice because she had continued to resist when she was on the ground and they were trying to handcuff her.
He denied any suggestion police had a "trigger-happy" mentality with Tasers and said that in this instance there had been no other option but to use the stun gun twice.
"They acted very professionally, and I am very happy with the outcome. On this occasion, we had to take control of her very quickly, and the Taser did it," he said. "There's no after-effects, no injuries, and we managed to get her to a place where she could get help for the issues she had." The woman, who that evening had been reported missing by her partner, was taken to North Shore Hospital and then transferred into the care of mental health services.
