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Brussels local police say no to Taser experiment

11:00 23/01/2018

The Brussels-Midi police force has abandoned a one-year trial of Tasers after just three weeks, citing financial reasons and a lack of legal clarity over the weapon's use in Belgium.

The police division, which covers Anderlecht, Forest and Saint-Gilles, was one of 14 around Belgium that had volunteered to take part in the interior ministry's Taser experiment from this month.

Forest mayor Marc-Jean Ghyssels, who chairs the local police force, said: "This category of weapon is not included in the law on a police officer's duties. There is no clarification as to how to use it. If tomorrow, a police officer uses his Taser in the field and their decision is called into question later, the officer might be held directly responsible."

A spokesman for the CGSP trade union said Brussels-Midi police were right to walk away from the trial. "The police chief has made a very good decision," he said. Police in Charleroi had also refused to take part in the tests, wanting more legal clarity and risk analysis.

According to Amnesty International, the electric shock device has been responsible for several hundred deaths in the US since 2001.