Case against officers who tasered settler closed
Police Investigations Unit says video that showed arrest of Boaz Albert was ' tendentiously edited'; circumstances justified used of electroshock weapon
Albert, a resident of Yitzhar, was arrested last August in his home by special police forces for violating a restraining order. He claims to have been tasered several times without posing any resistance.
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But the Police Investigations Unit claims that Albert failed to adhere to the officers, resisted arrest and escaped to the children's room. "Meanwhile his family called for 'backup.' The officers used a taser gun against Albert on only two occasions throughout the arrest (only one of which was inside the house)," the statement said.
According to the statement, the stun gun was needed to "complete the arrest as Albert lay on the floor. The officers were forced to act quickly and efficiently and were within their rights to use force. Under the complex circumstances, determination to complete the task in an area that could turn hostile justified sending a limited amount of electric shock in accordance with Israel Police protocol and the weapon's instructions."
The taser is a non-lethal weapon that temporarily limits control over one's muscles and causes muscle spasms.
Albert's arrest and the publication of the video documenting the event caused uproar and stirred public criticism. Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino suspended use of stun guns and ordered an examination into the use of electroshock weapons. However, it was later reported that Danino plans to reinstate the weapon.
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