Non-lethal weaponsU.K. police to use tasers on unruly rib-pokers
Last December, some 180 protesters, most aged between 17 and 25, stood in front of the Royal convoy, and some protesters began to kick, hit, and hurl objects at the Royal car; as the Duchess of Cornwall sat in the vehicle, she was poked in the ribs with a stick through a window slit; demonstrators pursued the envoy, chanting “Off with their heads”; to prevent such occurrences in the future, the U.K .Diplomatic Protection Squad will be supplementing their conventional firearms with stun guns
Diplomatic Protection Squad adds tasers to it's arsenal // Source: thisisgrimsby.co.uk
Following criticism of the actions taken by bodyguards to protect the Royal couple from student protesters in December, a change in arsenal and tactics are underway. The Diplomatic Protection Squad will be supplementing their conventional firearms with stun guns while guarding the Royal Family, the prime minister, and other dignitaries.
During the attack last year, CCTV camera footage showed the convoy being impeded by people gathering on the road. Protesters began to kick, hit, and hurl objects at the Royal car. As the Duchess of Cornwall sat in the vehicle, she was poked in the ribs with a stick through a window slit.
Various demonstrators pursuing the envoy were also purported to have been chanting “Off with their heads” and “Tory scum.”
The inquiry into the event, lead by Detective Chief Superintendent Matt Horne, was titled Operation Malone. Specialists identified and arrested more than 180 people, most aged between 17 and 25, that were involved in the demonstration.
“We understand the importance of the right to protest,” Horne stated, “but people who break the law and endanger those who wish to protest peacefully by committing criminal offenses must face the inevitable consequences of their actions.”
Senior Metropolitan Police officers admit that they had been “virtually powerless” that night. Rules drawn up by the Association of Chief Police Officers declare that “pointing or aiming” a weapon at another person constitutes its “use” as a firearm.
After a review of the Royal Protection Squad’s procedures, commanders have opted to arm officers with X26 Tasers to allow “informed decisions of firearms deployment” at a distance of twenty-one feet. Its close-quarter capabilities provide officers with a differentiated use of force.
In a press release, a European newswire reported medical results from the use of the device. “Simulated M26 and X26 waveforms, even when amplified, are not capable of eliciting Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) when applied to the ventricular muscle of guinea pigs hearts (Langendorff preparation), even though they are presumable more susceptible than human hearts.”
Until recently, S014, the royal protection squad, had twenty Tasers but had only been issuing them to officers at protection posts. It is understood that the squad opted out of issuing stun guns to officers on close protection duties.
A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed “all armed units” in the Metropolitan Police now had “access to this less lethal option”.
Opposing the stun gun implementation, Royal Protection Officer Inspector Ken Wharfe, who was responsible for Diana, Princess of Wales, and Princes William and Harry when they were children, said “a taser will just complicate issues and it is another piece of equipment which somebody has got to handle. When you are in a protection environment you want the least amount of kit possible.”
