Oppn demand prosecutions over Taser

The WA opposition's legal affairs spokesman John Quigley has written to the state's
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) demanding it bring criminal charges against
police officers who stunned a man 13 times with a Taser.
Two WA senior constables face police disciplinary proceedings over the August 2008
incident in which a 39-year-old Aboriginal man was stunned multiple times with a
stun gun after refusing to comply with a strip search.
In CCTV released by the WA Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) on Monday, an
officer can be heard saying "do you want to go again" before stunning the man two
more times.
In the police disciplinary hearings, two officers were found to have used "undue and
unnecessary force" and were fined a combined total of $1950.
The WA Attorney-General Christian Porter said he was surprised the Aboriginal Legal
Service (ALS) had not started criminal prosecutions against the officers on the
man's behalf.
"I would have thought that footage alone was something in the nature of compelling
evidence," he said on Monday.
"And why it was there was not a prosecution proceeded with, I simply don't have the
answer to. And I'd like to know because, frankly, I find it surprising."
Mr Quigley agreed with the minister, saying he too was surprised the ALS did not
proceed with prosecution but added he had written to the DPP on Tuesday morning,
pointing out disciplinary action "is no bar to a criminal prosecution".
"I'm calling upon the director to get the police commissioner in and to institute
criminal charges for assault occasioning bodily harm," the barrister told reporters
on Tuesday.
"I stress these police offenders must be presumed to be innocent but must also be
put to a jury."
ALS chief executive Dennis Eggington slammed suggestions the legal service could
press charges against the officers. It just wasn't true, he said.
"I don't want to dignify anything the attorney-general has said. I can't make any
sense of it," Mr Eggington told AAP.
"He knows the ALS don't press charges ... He knows that depends on the police report
once that gets referred to the DPP and CCC for further action."
Mr Eggington said the ALS had not been in contact with the man and did not think
they would be as "it's entirely his call if he wants to take it further".
Mr Quigley said criminal prosecution against the officers was necessary to ensure
the public had confidence in the police force and the justice system.
"There's a reluctance to prosecute custodial officers because some take the view the
victim was only a prisoner," Mr Quigley said.
"We live in a civilised country where law applies equally to everyone and if these
police do not face a jury, then people will know once and for all there's a law for
police and a different law for the rest of the citizens of WA."