Shocking footage captured the moment police Tasered a man on crutches in his back after he refused a DNA sample.
The South Australian man, who is in his 50s and cannot be identified for legal reasons, was nursing a broken leg when two officers arrived at his home to investigate a possible family dispute in November 2022.
While the interaction was initially friendly, it quickly escalated after the man refused to provide a DNA sample for an unrelated assault charge, which was later dropped.
Body camera footage shows the man armed with a steak knife and threatening to use “deadly force” if officers took a swab.
An officer then backed up and pointed his Taser at the man, demanding he put the gun away.
A man has criticized South Australian police for their use of Tasers after he was shot by the weapon while on crutches and broke his hip after falling to the ground (pictured).
“Put the knife down,” the officer said.
‘Get out of my house,’ the man replied.
‘I have a Taser. “Put the knife down,” the officer said.
The man closed the kitchen door before the officer reopened it and was informed by his partner to “just shock him.”
The officer fired his Taser into the man’s back even though the resident of the home was seen limping away.
The man broke his hip when he fell to the ground as officers rushed to his side to confiscate the knife.
“I felt like someone was knocking the air out of my lungs. I couldn’t move. I just fell, I had no control,” the man said. ABC.
He said he grabbed the knife to ‘defend myself’ and ‘went towards the dining room to sit at the table to negotiate.’
A South Australian Police (SAPOL) spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they could not comment on the specific case because it was “subject to a complaint”.
The spokesperson confirmed that SAPOL police authorize the use of a Taser in circumstances “where police officers were justifiably concerned about the risk of serious injury to themselves or others, not due to non-compliance”.
Those circumstances include the arrest or lawful detention of a “violent or potentially violent person”, the removal of a prisoner from a cell or on an “attacking animal”.
“Police officers must immediately report the use of a Taser to a supervisor and then to SAPOL’s Ethical and Professional Standards Section,” the spokesperson said.
“Each report of (Taser) use is reviewed to ensure compliance with training and policy.”
The man had grabbed a knife after telling the two officers present that he would use lethal force if they took a DNA sample before one of the officers Tasered him (file image).
SAPOL expanded its policy on the use of the weapon in 2014, allowing officers to be issued a Taser on “traffic and solo patrols.”
Before the change, officers had to remove their gun from the trunk of a police car and could only use it against armed people.
The expansion of the weapon’s applications has led to a skyrocketing number of use cases, which the spokesperson said is “not unexpected.”
Tasers were used a total of 93 times during the 2013-14 fiscal year and increased each year since then to a high of 388 during 2021-2022.
The spokesperson noted that “use” of a Taser also includes removing the weapon from its holster with the intent to use it and pointing it at a person without firing it.
A review of the use of all operational equipment, including Tasers, is carried out every five years, with the next review taking place in November.
