Tasers: IPCC must hold police to highest scrutiny, warns Amnesty following High Court overturn of review

Following the decision of the High Court to overturn the original investigation of the Independent Police Complaints Commission into the death of 23-year-old factory worker Jordon Begley, Amnesty International UK Arms Programme Director Oliver Sprague said:



“We welcome the fact that the IPCC has acknowledged that they got this investigation wrong and that they let the Begley family down.  Hopefully this High Court ruling will now allow the investigatory body to carry out a full and thorough review into police actions.



“Sadly,  Jordon Begley’s death is a tragic example as to why Tasers must always be used in a limited set of circumstances and only when absolutely necessary.





“Over the years the IPCC has ruled in the favour of the police in a number of cases. Having read the reports, it would appear that these investigations are based largely on police officer testimony.





“We hope that, in future, the IPCC will learn from this error and not place seemingly undue weight on officer testimony or rule on cases where officers’ actions have seemingly been taken without sufficient critical oversight.”