Birmingham MP urges caution as Midlands police are given Taser stun guns

Nov 25 2008 by Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Mail

AN MP has urged police to be cautious about handing out controversial stun guns which have been linked to 300 deaths.

West Midlands Police is to receive Taser guns capable of delivering a 50,000 volt electric shock.

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary and MP for Redditch, said the guns would replace conventional firearms and were designed to keep officers safe when they faced the threat of violence.

But human rights group Amnesty International claimed the weapons were open to abuse and have been linked to 320 deaths in north America.

Labour MP Lynne Jones (Lab, Selly Oak) said she was concerned that arming police with tasers could undermine their relationship with the public.

She said: “The more we have a perception that the police are armed with potentially dangerous instruments, it effects the relationship between the public and the police.”

But she added: “It is better than using live ammunition, and if tasers are