The Police Ombudsman has found that police were justified in discharging a taser to prevent a man (Man A) stabbing himself in the chest during an incident in Bangor in January 2011.
Police were called by Man A's estranged wife shortly after 10pm on 24 January 2011. She said she was concerned that he might take his own life.
Police Control Room Staff then called Man A who confirmed he was at home and had a knife.
Uniformed officers were sent to the property and found Man A's partner (Woman A) outside and unharmed. They then spoke to Man A through the door. Man A showed the officers that he had a kitchen knife, but insisted it was not for use against them and refused to drop it.
The officers entered the house and tried to reason with Man A, who was standing at the other side of a room, still armed with the knife.
Police Control then ordered the officers to leave the premises, and once outside they learned that Man A had taken a large quantity of anti-depressants. Police negotiators and Armed Response crews, along with an ambulance, were tasked to the scene.
Upon their arrival, the Armed Response officers took over responsibility for negotiating with Man A. Police also liaised with a doctor who said Man A was likely to become drowsy or start vomiting, and advised that he should be taken to hospital as soon as possible.
Three trained police negotiators arrived and attempted for over an hour to persuade Man A to drop the knife. However, at the end of this period Man A raised the knife to his chest, refused to communicate any further, and began stabbing himself in the chest in what an officer described as "a frenzied attack upon himself."
A police officer (Officer A) then discharged a Taser at Man A, which allowed police to disarm and restrain him and prevented him from causing further injury to himself. He was treated by paramedics, taken to hospital and later made a full recovery.
All discharges of police firearms in Northern Ireland are automatically referred by the Chief Constable to the Police Ombudsman for independent investigation.
Police Ombudsman investigators interviewed Woman A, who told them that Man A had a recent history of depression but had stopped taking his medication. She said she had received a phone call from a friend who expressed concern that Man A was suicidal.
Woman A confirmed that she had witnessed police negotiating with Man A and trying to persuade him to drop the knife. She had also seen negotiators talking to him, but had not witnessed the Taser being used.
The electronic memory of the Taser was examined and this revealed that it had been used at 0043 hours on 25 January 2011. Further checks confirmed that Officer A was properly trained in the use of the weapon, and that the weapon had been properly issued to him.
Having reviewed the evidence, the Police Ombudsman, Al Hutchinson, noted that police had used "a graduated approach", beginning with negotiation and using force only when necessary to prevent Man A causing further harm to himself.
Mr Hutchinson found no evidence of any misconduct or criminality by any police officer during the operation, and concluded that the discharge had been "lawful, proportionate and necessary."