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Exclusive: Taser Video
The man who took the video footage appearing to show police officers punch and taser a suspect whilst he's on the floor has spoken to Trent FM.
The footage shot on Upper Parliament Street in the city-centre has been picked up and broadcast by National and International media, and has been viewed thousands of times on trentfm.co.uk and youtube since we released it.
It shows officers attempting to arrest a man on Upper Parliament Street in the early hours of Monday 15th June, using a taser gun as he lays on the ground. An officer's also seen pushing a bystander.
The man who filmed it, taxi driver Colin Hedley has spoken to Trent FM. He told us how he felt;
"A bit of disbelief really as it was a quiet Sunday night that turned into not so quiet a Sunday night. It was different and shocking. They were obviously using a bit more force than was needed for somebody that's been tasered. The bloke was probably out of it anyway so there was no force needed from then"
Click here to listen to our interview with Colin Hedley.
If you've not already seen it, you can watch the video below. WARNING - this video contains strong language.
Notts Police say they've voluntarily passed the video onto the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Even though no complaint's been made, the force's assistant chief constable Peter Davies says they want the incident to be investigated:
“We understand that some members of the public may be concerned about this. The public’s trust and confidence is very important for us, which is why we have referred this matter for an objective investigation to the IPCC.
“We are proactively looking at other CCTV in the area to ensure we have a clear picture of events leading up to the arrest and I would ask anyone in possession of such evidence, including the person who took the footage that has been published, to come forward as witnesses.”
IPCC
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said it would be independently investigating the incident.
Amerdeep Somal, IPCC commissioner, said;
"Footage of this incident, which many people will now have seen, is of sufficient concern to merit a fully independent investigation. We would urge anyone who was present and witnessed this incident at any stage, from outside the nightclub to where the man was restrained, to tell us what they saw. We will want to look at any relevant CCTV footage of the incident as a whole as part of our thorough investigation. At the conclusion of our investigation, we will make our findings public.''
Police Federation defends officer's actions
Mick Taylor is Chairman of the Nottinghamshire Police Federation, which represtents rank and file officers in the county;
"The actions they've taken are Home Office approved techniques that we're trained to do. It's not like they've stepped outside of what they are trained to do in such circumstances. Once you've used it then you'll give the suspect the instuction you want them to do again. If they don't comply then you're quite entitled to give them another jolt from the taser".
Amnesty International conerns
In a statement from human rights campaigners Amnesty International their UK’s Arms Programme Director said;
“While we do not know the specifics of the case, from what we can see from the footage, Amnesty International has serious concerns about the way in which the Taser was used in this incident.
The footage shows the man surrounded by four police officers, on the ground and apparently under effective control when he was Tasered again. From what we can see, this appears to be a clear breach of the way in which Tasers should be used.
Tasers should only be used where the situation presents an immediate threat to life or serious injury.
Your comments
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(19/06/2009 13:09:07) All you people that are on here police bashing seriously need to come back in the real world. The "poor" man on the floor is accused of a serious offence. I understand that the footage looks bad but it’s not if you look closely. The guy is resisting arrest with more violence so he is now a danger to the officers so intent to cause more GBH? The taxi driver Mr. Headley are you blind or do you just dislike the police. But if you don’t hate the police you must be blind because the footage shows in good detail that he’s not in cuffs in fact I don’t see him in cuffs. Also do you know the difference between the head and the shoulder because you can see the head when the officer punches him in the SHOULDER and his head does not move. Nottinghamshire Police have referred it to the IPCC off their own backs so that no one can say they are not whiter that white not because they think their officers were wrong and as they even admit public trust is important to them as it is to any police force. It could be worse you could live in the states or Spain they use 1000 times more force on suspects and it’s the norm is allowed. The only difference in those places is people respect the police they police by fear not consent. People that live there know not to get out of line of they get a slap it’s that simple and it’s legal! Maybe some of you police bashers should do the job for a week I doubt you would last a day off the rubbish they get handed to them by criminals, the public and even their own bosses and most of them do their job well and keep us all safe from people like the "poor" man on the floor in this footage. |
| - Chris |
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(18/06/2009 22:13:22) no comment,,,but i really do think it was bad policing,,,wernt tazers invented to stun armed people?. one police officer nearly had the man in cuffs before another one shouted tazer tazer tazer,,,the man did his crime he should do his time, but the police really were to hevy handed, |
| - hucknall |
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(18/06/2009 18:56:23) never, ever, as an employee of the state, be it in policing, healthcare, social services' prison service or education, is it acceptable to punch a member of the public. I work as a state employee. We are trained in diffusion and calming tactics. If we use aggressive criminal tactics (as in the case of this police officer) we lose our jobs. Simple as that. he would, or should, have been trained to act appropriately. Police violence is not acceptable in the United Kingdom. i hope. |
| - al |
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(18/06/2009 18:38:34) the police are meant to be there to protect us, but who is gonna protect us from the police. this kind of action happens all the time, and i doubt it will be the last time that police officer goes too far |
| - troy knight |
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(18/06/2009 09:42:39) Smithson you could be the vinnny jones for all i care but i think your talking out your backside... If you have worked in the industry for so long you must know how hard and demanding the job can be!!! I back the police 1000%, if that idiot would have done what he was told none of this would have happened! |
| - dan |
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(17/06/2009 23:06:23) This video makes me very angry. I can understand the use of a taser on a man who is very aggressive and has attacked police officers, but punching him in the face is completely unprofessional and an abuse of police power. As all the police officers in Nottingham will be aware, one punch to a mans head outside Halo earlier in the year killed him, and so using such force on a man who is on the floor, has been tasered twice and with 3 other officers around helping is completely unnecessary and deserves serious punishment. Luckily the higher ranked officials of the Nottinghamshire Police Force have realised public trust is important and have put it forward for investigation. |
| - Johnny |
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(17/06/2009 20:32:23) It amazes me how many people suddenly become experts in police tactics after viewing a couple of minutes of biased video. Are you all aware what had happened prior to these officers actions....NO, I thought not. It disgusts me that people have viewed this video and formed an opinion before thinking. Have you ever heard the phrase "there are two sides to every story"!!!! The police do not result to this level of force very often, which considering the amount of abuse, violence and threats they have to face, is a credit to them. The offices involved obviously felt the situation warranted the force used. I am sure they would not put themselves in this situation unless they felt it was a necessity, especially knowing they would face the usual condemnation from small minded people that just like to jump on the band wagon without knowing what went on. Let's not lose sight of the facts, the man on the floor had committed a violent offence. He was resisting arrest, he put himself in this situation. He was given plenty of opportunity to cooperate before the taser was fired. He chose not to!!! My thoughts quite frankly are with the police officers involved. I am sure this "trial by media" has an effect on them. Well don't lose sight of the fact you were doing your job and you did it well. |
| - Kate |
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(17/06/2009 17:43:33) Brad has hit the nail on the head - this guy is not a gentleman and was resisting arrest, one of the police officers had to seek medical attention after dealing with this brute - I had an incident not so long ago and the police were fantastic - they do a tough tob every day and deal with thugs every day - some which will think nothing of carrying a gun or knife, if this guy gave up graciously I am sure none of this would have happened. I support these officers 100%. |
| - Gemma |
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