Posted February 12, 2017 15:40:46 Police should not be banned from using tasers on children, the Northern Territory’s Chief Minister says. The National Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell this week called for the weapons not to be used on children after viewing footage obtained by the ABC which shows a 12-year-old boy being tasered in the back as he runs away from police at a petrol station. Mr Gunner said in a statement an offender’s age was not always immediately obvious and police should not be held back from carrying out their duty. “No one wants to see children tasered, but police need to be allowed to do their jobs to protect Territorians,” he said. “Police need to be allowed to make the best decisions they can during live situations.” The 12-year-old boy had been part of a trio who went on a joyride through Palmerston in November last year, and police said at the time it was fortunate no children were injured or killed. Tasering of child ‘unlawful and improper’: Court An internal police investigation found the NT officer did not break any laws by tasering the child, but the Darwin Children’s Court said the officer’s actions were unlawful and improper. The boy was a passenger in the stolen car when it pulled into a Bakewell petrol station where police confronted them. The court heard the unarmed 12-year-old was tasered by Sergeant Benjamin Watson from a distance of three metres when he tried to run away. The child pleaded guilty…more detail
