Inquiry rules use of taser on Dundee man was ‘justified’

An official inquiry has ruled that police in Dundee were right to taser a man.

Charles Christie, 31, behaved irrationally and threatened officers when they stopped his car in Dunmore Street on September 1 because he was outside after a court-ordered curfew.

He then injured himself and an officer fired the electroshock weapon to incapacitate him.

Christie, of Craigmore Street, was later jailed for 14 months at the city’s sheriff court after admitting resisting arrest.

The incident was reported to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner, who has the task of carrying out independent inquiries into any use of firearms or non-lethal weapons such as tasers by officers.

The commissioner, Professor John McNeill, has ruled that use of the device was “proportionate and justified” and there had been no other way to bring the incident to a safe conclusion.

“It allowed police to control the male, effectively de-escalate the incident and ensure that he did not further injure either himself or the police officers. In the circumstances there was no less forceful method to resolve this incident safely,” he said.