Taser saves man's life in Taupo

Tasers save lives – a fact that was proven at an incident in Taupo on Saturday night, says Bay of Plenty Police Acting Operations Manager, Senior Sergeant Stuart Nightingale.

Senior Sergeant Nightingale says Taupo Police were called to a Kinloch address at approximately 10pm on Saturday, 15 May, 2010.

“When they arrived at the address, Police were confronted by a 27 year old local man armed with a knife and an air pistol who was threatening to harm himself. The man has a history of mental illness and he was also under the influence of alcohol at the time,” says Senior Sergeant Nightingale.

“The Police officers quickly established that the man was not only armed with a knife, he was also holding a pistol behind his back. When challenged by Police, he put a knife to his throat and threatened to harm himself.

“Police discharged a taser, enabling his arrest without injury to Police, the public, or the man.”

Senior Sergeant Nightingale says the man was taken into Police custody and he is being assessed by mental health services.

"Carrying a taser to an incident such as this is standard operating procedure, and in this case it proved its worth, preventing serious harm to the offender – as well as to Police. If we hadn’t had the ability to use taser, there could have been a very different outcome.

“Our priority in any situation is to try and ensure a safe resolution and in this case, the taser allowed us to achieve that.”

Senior Sergeant Nightingale says the Police officers involved will be debriefed on the incident.

Tasers were also presented on two other occasions in the Bay of Plenty in recent days, at an incident in Rotorua and one in Taupo.

Senior Sergeant Nightingale says Police attended an incident at Wairakei, Taupo, at about 8pm on the Saturday15 May, 2010, where they located a blood-covered man wielding a knife outside a local address.

“The man advanced towards Police and initially did not comply with instructions to drop the knife. Upon being 'painted' with a taser’s laser light, he dropped the weapon and was safely taken into custody.

“At another incident on Monday morning, Rotorua Police attended a violent domestic incident at Ngongotahä. When Police arrived the male offender was hostile and aggressive towards Police.

“The man was formally warned that that he may be tasered, and upon seeing the taser, the man complied immediately with instructions and was safely taken into custody without the taser being fired.

"These are a further two examples of how taser enables us to safely resolve dangerous situations, and ultimately help us save lives, including those of Police, offenders and innocent members of the public."