Why was 63 year old Judah Adunbi tasered?

Judah Adunbi , the man who set up an advisory group to help the police have better relationship with the city’s Black communities was tasered within an inch of his life. For what?

The shocking video highlights a law abiding citizen acting within the law, finding himself, wondering whether or not he is going to live or die. You look at this video and think could this happen to my father, my uncle, my brother?

Judah is on his way home, he was asked by two police officers to give them identification about who he is. He tells them, ‘No, I’ve done nothing wrong, I’m going home’. Going home is not crime. Moreover, Judah is under no obligation to give his ID.

On the Met website it clearly states, and in part bold that:

You do not have to give this information if you don't want to, unless the police officer says they are reporting you for an offence.”

At no point was Judah reported for an offence.

When Judah, refused and attempted to enter his own property the police not only pursued him, but in effect attempted to physically drag him from his back yard. The video shows Judah resisting being man-handled. Judah finds himself back on the public path, threatening no one and not behaving in a manner in which any officer could percieve as being in danger. He is then tasered to the ground.

Anyone looking at Judah Adumbi could see that he is not a young man, and that tasering a man at that age could be fatal, but worse still he was posing no threat to the officers, and just wanted to go home.

Official guidelines for UK taser usage:

The threat of violence, which can come from any section of the public.... In addition, officers who are trained and equipped with Taser must decide on the most reasonable and necessary use of force in the circumstances. The level of force used must be proportionate to achieve the objective and officers are individually accountable in law for the amount of force they use on a person.”

When we see what occurred in this video it is deeply troubling to know that Police authorities around the country have asked the Home Secretary for more of their officers to be equipped with Taser guns. This incident is precisely why more police officers should not be equipped with Tasers.

First and foremost there is a legitimate concern with those who already have them and are not following their own guidelines. Furthermore, as a result an innocuous situation that occurred in Bristol could have so easily turned into an innocent man’s death.

This video nasty, which in many ways one gets the the feeling that too many police officers view Black men, even elderly frail men as dangerous and should be tasered to the ground at the slightest confrontation. This video raises so many questions, many of which we hope the Home Office and the police authorities will effectively confront.

Simon Woolley