Bridgetown.
Coroner Faith Marshall -Harris has recommend the use of Taser guns by the Royal Barbados Police Force, she made the comment after ruling the September 6, 2009 death of Hugh Austin Springer an accidental shooting in police action.
Springer was shot in the head as he disembarked from a ZR van in the Nursery Drive Terminal by Police Constable Fabian Audian with a Glock gun. The police was responding to reports of a fight in the terminal, scene which Marshall said resembled the "Wild West".
Constable Audian was trying to apprehend Anderson Calderon one of the men involved in the fight. He had drawn his gun after he realised Calderon was armed with a knife.
Marshall Harris stated that in mitigation, Audian gun was pointing away from the struggle and it seem to have been fired in the air,but in these circumstances would quite likely have made contact with a person walking nearby.
"PC Audian no doubt recognised that his failure to not immediately reholster his weapon turned out to be a fatal one, excused only because the circumstances were so intense and dramatic. It is in these situations that the court urges the use of Tasers guns which could be of considerable assistance dealing with what could be very chaotic and life threatening situations", Marshall- Harris said.
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