Stock Image – Armed Response teams used a taser on the male (Photo by Kevin Scott)
A man was shot with a plastic bullet and tasered during a domestic incident in east Belfast, the PSNI has confirmed.
Police attended a house in the Strathearn Park area of east Belfast following a report of a domestic-related incident on Saturday evening, April 26.
On arrival shortly after 7.15pm, officers became concerned for a man’s safety.
The PSNI said: “Specially trained officers were requested and an Attenuating Energy Projectile (AEP) and a Conducted Energy Device (CED) were deployed during the incident to prevent a male from harming himself. He was safely detained and taken to hospital.
“A man in his 40s arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and possession of a class A controlled drug following the incident remains in police custody at this time.”
As is normal procedure when AEP and CED have been discharged, the office of the Police Ombudsman has been informed.
A man in his 40s is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court on Monday 28 April for breach of bail.
Enquiries are continuing in relation to the incident.
The AEP forms part of the common weapon system approved for use by members of the police service, according to the College of Policing UK.
Operational use of the AEP in the UK police service is limited to authorised officers who have been specifically trained in the use of the system.
Meanwhile, a CED (taser) is a less lethal weapon system designed to temporarily incapacitate a subject through use of an electrical current that temporarily interferes with the body’s neuromuscular system and produces a sensation of intense pain.
The College of Policing says CEDs will not be routinely used to police public order or public safety events, but may be used as an option to respond to circumstances within the operation. The use of CED ranges from the physical presence of a drawn device through to the application of electrical discharge to a subject.
Even before a CED is drawn, the mere visibility of an overtly carried holstered device may serve a deterrent value.
It is one of a number of tactical options available when dealing with an incident with the potential for conflict.
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