The Mossos d’Esquadra have fired their 120 electric guns a total of 212 times since 2018. The use of what are known as Taser guns has left 209 people unharmed, one injured and one dead, according to data provided by the Ministry of the Interior to questions from the Commons deputy in Parliament Andrés García Berrio. A dangerous dog was also electrocuted in 2023.
The Catalan police began using electric guns in June 2018. Since then, this type of weapon has been immersed in controversy due to its potential harmful use, proven in the case of the man who suffered from a psychiatric illness from Badalona who died in 2021 after the shot of a Taser. The case is under judicial investigation after the Barcelona Court pointed out deficits in the internal audit of the Mossos.
After more than five years of operation, the assessment carried out by the Catalan police itself also confirms that the death of a person shot by a Taser has been an exception. The vast majority of impacts ended with people unharmed (the shot produces slight erosions, either due to the contact of the electrical probes with the skin or in the fall after motor paralysis). Only in one case were there more serious injuries.
Its use has been frequent, but not widespread, with just over three shots per month on average. In 2019, the year with the most Taser shots recorded, there were 40 uses; 2020 follows with 39; 2023 with 38; 2019 with 37 and 2021 with 34. In 2018 there were only four shots (they began to be used in June) and so far in 2024 there have been 20. The use of these weapons has also spread among 74 local police forces in Catalonia, and Barcelona City Council wants to acquire them for the Guàrdia Urbana.
No recordings in some cases
In her parliamentary response to the Commons, the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, states that the Catalan police are in the process of incorporating 800 personal cameras to record actions with Tasers, as established by the protocols, to correct the deficit of recordings. detected. Some camera batteries had “deteriorated”, which meant that some stun gun shots were not being recorded.
“As time went by, the percentage of non-recordings increased,” warns Parlon, who does not specify the number of performances that were not recorded.
The department points out that the new recording devices “have better technology and longer battery life,” and that the new cameras will allow video images of the entire Taser action from the moment the gun is drawn. “Automatic recording is no longer activated when using [la Taser]but when the safety is released, whether or not the probes project [eléctricas]”Parlon highlights.
The Commons demand changes in protocols
The protocol for the use of this type of weapon has not been reformed since 2018. The internal regulations continue to contemplate cases of use of Tasers that the Sindicatura de Greuges de Catalunya (equivalent to the Ombudsman) or entities such as Amnesty International (AI) claimed restrict.
Given the impossibility of the agent to know at a glance whether the person who is shot has heart disease, psychiatric problems (as ended up happening in the case of the dead man in Badalona) or has consumed alcohol or drugs (suppositions that can have serious consequences when receives the discharge of 50,000 low amperage volts), these organizations requested a much more limited use of the guns than the then Ministry of the Interior, in the hands of Junts, he ignored
Furthermore, the Mossos’ prohibition on using electrical devices against “infants” is limited to minors under 12 years of age, as understood by the Catalan law on the rights of children, while the Parliament advised against their use towards all minors. 18 years old.
For García Berrio, the time has come to update and review the protocols drawn up six years ago and include all the recommendations made by the Gregues Syndicate, especially to explicitly prohibit its use towards all minors.
The Comuns parliamentarian also considers it necessary to evaluate the Taser shots already carried out by a commission of experts that includes not only professionals from the Mossos d’Esquadra, but also representatives of the L’Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalonia (IMLCFC). “Today the only audit is carried out by the Mossos themselves, and this has generated reproaches from Justice,” recalls García Berrio.
In her response to García Berrio’s questions, Minister Parlon explains that the Catalan police “participate in training” organized by the gun marketing company, Taser, a circumstance that the Comuns parliamentarian considers “not very rigorous” and lack of independence. “A complete evaluation of the use of force would have to be guaranteed,” reflects the deputy.
In these trainings, adds the head of the Interior, the agents are given “a minimum of one shock,” but “many” uniformed officers are given two electric shocks “so that they know the effect of use on other people.” “There is no knowledge that any agent has experienced any health problems after the formation discharges,” adds Parlon.
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