BackOn 18 March 2012, Roberto Laudisio Curti, a 21-year-old Brazilian man, died after being tasered by NSW Police in the Sydney CBD. The NSW Police Force set up a critical incident investigation team to investigate the death and announced that the NSW Ombudsman will provide independent oversight of the investigation. The Minister for Police made the announcement and both he and the Commissioner said they are pleased that the Ombudsman will have a role in reviewing the specific incident.
The NSW Ombudsman is responsible for independently reviewing the way the NSW Police Force handles complaints about serious misconduct and investigating particular areas of police practice in the public interest. Information from complaints is used by the Ombudsman to identify and proactively investigate and recommend improvements to practices and procedures.
In 2008, the Ombudsman reported on his investigation into the use of tasers by specialist commands, identifying certain risks with the decision to provide tasers to general duties police officers and making recommendations to strengthen the standard operating procedures, training and accountability mechanisms for using tasers.
Following this report, a number of taser-related incidents occurred, raising concerns about their continued use. These incidents drew considerable public and media attention, prompting a second review by the NSW Ombudsman into police use of tasers. The final report for this two year review is due to be released in the next few months.
For more information on the Ombudsman’s work on police use of tasers, visit the website of the New South Wales Ombudsman.
Source: Press Release from the Office of the New South Wales Ombudsman
