Many Aborigines being tasered: ALS

The multiple stunning of an Aboriginal man with a Taser by West Australian police
and the stunning of an 18-year-old pregnant woman are far from being isolated
incidents, the WA Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) says.
The West Australian corruption watchdog, in a report tabled in state parliament on
Monday, found Taser stun guns were increasingly being used to make offenders comply
with their orders.
The WA Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) released video footage of a 2008
incident at the East Perth Watch House where Tasers were used 13 times against an
unarmed, non-threatening man surrounded by nine police officers.
Acting Commissioner Chris Dawson on Monday admitted the man was stunned with a Taser
again a week later by corrective services officers.
ALS chief executive officer Dennis Eggington said he was shocked by the footage but
grateful that the rest of country was now aware of how some police were abusing
their power.
Mr Eggington said that despite the horrific incident, sadly it was not an isolated
event.
"We know in Warburton a man was Tasered between the eyes and consequently caught
fire and he's now suffering terrible burns to the majority of his body and he will
never recover," he told AAP.
"We know of a case of a young lady, who was very late along in her pregnancy, was
Tasered multiple times.
"I'm aware in the Pilbara a gentleman who had a metal plate in his head was Tasered
and, of course, there's the stream of complaints that we get on a regular basis."
The CCC report found Tasers were being used disproportionately against Aboriginal
people and that the police's use of Tasers on Aboriginal people had doubled in the
past two years.
Mr Eggington said the CCC's findings vindicated the view the ALS had held for a long
time that "our people are being targeted".
"There's a history of the way that the police have treated Aboriginal people in this
country and, more particularly, in this state," he said.
"We have seen the increase in Aboriginal imprisonment which means there must be an
increase in the interaction between our people and the criminal justice system."
He said the increase in Taser use, especially against Aborigines, co-incided with
tougher powers for police and more stringent public order policies.
"There's this concerted effort to look for the mentally ill in society, Aboriginal
people, anyone who doesn't look right and treat them differently and try to put them
out of sight," Mr Eggington said.