An 11-year-old boy armed with a knife was Tasered by police during a stand-off in South Ayrshire.
Police Scotland confirmed the incident took place on 22 March at the Craig Tara caravan park, near Ayr.
According to The BBC:
Footage published by the Scottish Sun shows several officers asking the boy to put down the weapon before one of them fires the 50,000-volt stun gun.
The incident had been referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc).
The video shows the schoolboy being approached by at least four officers, one of whom is pointing a Taser at the child. He appears to be holding a knife and a mobile phone.
The officers can be heard asking him to put down the knife and “do the right thing” but the boy backs away from them.
One officer asks him: “What do you want do with the knife?”
But the child continues to retreat and tells them to “stay back”.
The police officer with the stun gun then discharges the weapon.
The Police Scotland website describes Tasers as a useful tool to protect people from violence or threats of violence where other more traditional methods such as physical restraint could result in injury to the person or officers.
Their use on children, however, is controversial, and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has called for a ban.
The office of the Children’s and Young People’s Commissioner in Scotland expressed concern at the footage….
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers attended a disturbance involving an 11-year-old boy in possession of a knife at Craig Tara Caravan Park near Ayr around 11.15pm on Wednesday, 22 March.
“The incident was resolved with no serious injuries. It was contained and there was no risk to the wider public.
“A Taser was discharged during this incident. As part of standard procedure, the circumstances of the incident were referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.”
