Statements were obtained from the officers involved and relevant police documentation seized. The officers then restrained and arrested him and applied handcuffs.Īs with all discharges of firearms by police in Northern Ireland, the incident was referred by the Chief Constable to the Police Ombudsman for independent investigation. However, the officers reported that he then moved towards them, tried to slam the door shut, before grabbing the knife and turning to face them.Īt this point an officer discharged his TASER, which resulted in the man falling onto his bed. The officer persuaded the man to open the door, and when he and two other officers entered the room, they found the man sitting on a window sill with the knife held to his wrist.Īfter some persuasion, the man set the knife on a table.

When the man briefly came out of his room, an officer spotted that he had a knife three to four inches in length. The items were extinguished, but not before the corridor became filled with thick smoke.Īn armed response police unit was also tasked, and its officers were briefed by colleagues that the man had said he wanted police to shoot him. Officers reported that the man had set several items on fire, including a pillow case and duvet, which he had then dropped in the corridor outside his room. It happened in August 2015 after staff at the hostel reported that a resident had a knife and was setting items from his room alight.įour police crews – including local response and Tactical Support Group units - were tasked to the scene, as well as members of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. The Police Ombudsman has found that a police officer was right to use a TASER stun gun when confronted by a man with a knife at a hostel for the homeless in Derry/Londonderry.

Taser fire man