The father of a man who was 'Tasered' by police during an incident near Newry in July 2009 has praised the officers for their actions and 'professionalism.'
As is normal procedure following discharges of firearms by police officers, the Police Ombudsman's Office was immediately informed and launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
Police Ombudsman investigators examined the scene where the incident took place, conducted house to house inquires in the area, took statements from members of the public and from police officers, examined police documentation and downloaded data from the Taser's electronic 'memory.'
The situation began when police got a 999 call from a 19 year old man who said he was going to kill himself.
When the police responded to the call they went to the Corcreechy Road area of the city and found the man in a field, where he appeared to have several knives.
The police officer who fired the Taser said the man had a larger meat cleaver in one hand and two other large knives in the other, appeared to be very upset and on several occasions asked the police to shoot him.
The police spoke to the man's father who advised them that his son had twice before acted in a similar manner. Police negotiators and an 'Armed Response' unit were then sent to scene.
Police tried to negotiate with the man not to harm himself. During this process, which lasted approximately two hours, it was established that the man had at least ten knives. For a large part of the discussions the man continued to be agitated and on several occasions threatened to kill himself.
One of the police officers said that at one stage the negotiator became very worried as the man had became calm, reclusive and began running a knife over his skin.
The police then decided that the use of the Taser would allow them to get control of the situation in a way which would cause the least amount of injury to the man.
The officer said that he got to a distance of between five and six feet of the man, shouted a warning and fired at the left side of the man's body. The man dropped the knifes.
The police officers then rushed to the man, explained to him what had happened and got him medical assistance to remove the small' Taser barbs from his body.
The man was detained by police and later admitted, under the Mental Health Act, to hospital
The man's father later confirmed to Police Ombudsman investigators that his family had been kept informed throughout the incident and praised the police for the decision making process and for their professionalism.
The Police Ombudsman, Al Hutchinson, said the police should be commended for the carefully considered way in which they dealt with the matter:
"The police officer who discharged the weapon had an honest belief the man would cause himself serious harm," he said. "The decision to use a Taser was proportionate, justified and necessary."