26.01.2009 | Family complain after Police shoot OAP with Taser

A police watchdog has been reviewing the case of an 89-year-old man, who was shot with a Taser gun by officers.

Police claim they used the 50,000-volt stun-gun as the pensioner was threatening to cut his throat with a piece of glass after he had walked out of a local residential home into the street in Llandudno, Conwy.

The attending officers fearing he might kill himself shot him with the taser as a preventative measure. Afterwards he was taken to hospital to recover from a minor glass wound.

North Wales Police received an official complaint from the pensioner’s family and have was referred it to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

North Wales Police said afterwards that the officers had made a judgement to protect his life and it was now up to the watchdog to decide whether to hold an investigation.

They said that the use of the Taser was the "safest and most appropriate" option.

The OAP's family have asked that his identity should remain anonymous, to protect his dignity, but have welcomed the referral to the IPCC. It is understood they felt that police should have given themselves more time to talk to him.