Anger has erupted in Australia after a newly released video showed an unarmed Aboriginal man being tasered 13 times by police officers. The incident, which took place in Perth in 2008, has been made public as part of a report into the use of taser guns by Western Australian police.
Closed circuit television footage recorded the moment two years ago when the man, believed to be mentally ill, was surrounded by nine officers in a Perth detention facility. He was targeted with a taser after refusing to agree to a strip search.
Western Australia's premier, Colin Barnett, condemned the incident as an "unjustified use of excessive force", while the state's attorney general expressed surprise that no charges had been brought against the officers shown in the film. He promised to consider tightening guidelines to ensure tasers are used only in dangerous, life-threatening situations.
The report found that although tasers were introduced as an alternative to handguns, there was a growing tendency to use them for compliance and against those resisting arrest. They have been described as the new weapon of choice for police.
The controversy follows a separate incident in Sydney in which a man alleged to have threatened police with two knives died after being stunned with a taser. Police have said they are "very comfortable" with the circumstances surrounding his death.
