Met is more likely to target black suspects with Tasers

Met police chiefs are being asked to explain why officers armed with Taser stun guns are using the weapon "disproportionately" more against black suspects.

The non-lethal weapon is used to challenge armed criminals and is also part of riot squad officers' equipment.

Figures show the Met's armed units - including the specialist firearms team CO19, the Diplomatic Protection Squad and the Heathrow armed squad - deployed Tasers 89 times last year.

A total of 30 per cent of the "targets" involved were white, 50 per cent were black, four per cent Asian and eight per cent of mixed race.

The others were unknown ethnicity. Over a three-year period, statistics showed that 29 per cent of those targeted were white and 44 per cent black.

A Met report states that Taser officers are deployed in response to calls about a threat.

It adds they are routinely deployed to boroughs with social and economic deprivation which are "demographically diverse", many with higher levels of gun crime and offences involving violence.

However, the Metropolitan Police Authority has urged investigation into the use of Tasers.

Member Cindy Butts said: "We want to make sure that Tasers are being used proportionally and fairly."