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I went into a diabetic coma – and police shot me twice with Tasers
A MAN who slipped into a diabetic coma on the top deck of a bus has described how he was used for electric stun gun "target practice" after police mistook him for a suicide bomber.
Nicholas Gaubert was shot twice with a Taser gun in what he said was a chilling precursor to the death of innocent Jean Charles de Menezes in London just over a week later.
Mr Gaubert was on his way home from work in Leeds city centre when he suffered a hypoglycaemic fit and was found slumped in his seat by the bus driver at the end of the route in Headingley.
Police were called and two officers, who had been issued with Tasers just a fortnight earlier, boarded the empty bus and used the weapons twice on Mr Gaubert after he failed to respond to instructions.
He said he was then handcuffed and bundled into a police van and was only taken to hospital after he came round and started to shout that he was ill and needed medical attention.
Officers finally took him to Leeds General Infirmary, but the 34-year-old claims they refused to remove his handcuffs despite being told by a nurse he was suffering the effects of diabetes.
Mr Gaubert, who is now considering legal action, said he had remained silent until now but had decided to speak out after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed that no charges would be brought over the incident on July 13, 2005.
The complaint has been passed to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), and it is understood that sanctions suggested by senior officers have been rejected as not tough enough.
Mr Gaubert said: "I am absolutely disgusted that no action will be taken. I was totally innocent. The only thing that could have made people suspicious was that I had a black rucksack with me.
"But I am a white male, and if I was planning to blow up the bus, why didn't I do it when there were passengers on board? I have been told that I was the first person to be Tasered in West Yorkshire.
"Senior officers also told me after the incident that the policemen who came onto the bus had been instructed not to use weapons on me if I did not respond. But they did.
"I think the officers involved just saw it as an opportunity to try out their new toys. It should have been obvious that I was having a hypo and I wear a necklace alerting people I am diabetic.
"What goes through my mind now is what would have happened if they had been carrying real guns like they were in London. It gives me nightmares."
Mr Gaubert, who runs his own business and lives in Leeds, said he was now forced to take medication and his life "had completely changed" as a result of his ordeal.
He said West Yorkshire Police told him that he had been blasted twice with the weapons because after the first shock he had fallen from his seat and lay face down with one hand underneath his body.
Officers said when he failed to respond to requests to remove his hand, they felt they had to stun him again to ensure it was safe to approach.
Mr Gaubert, whose mother is a magistrate in Rotherham and both his parents are retired GPs, is now being advised by Sheffield law firm Irwin Mitchell.
He said: "I was going to stay quiet, but if this passes without being highlighted then it could happen to someone else. People think the police are always on their side but I was easy target practice.
"I couldn't let them get away with it. I broke down when the de Menezes case was reported recently. I just kept thinking that could have been me."
One of the two officers, who have not been named, has since transferred to South Yorkshire Police. Both South and West Yorkshire Police said they are "in discussions" with the IPCC.
An IPCC spokesman said: "The IPCC managed an investigation into an incident on July 13, 2005 in which West Yorkshire Police discharged a Taser at a man while he sat on a bus in Leeds.
"The man was mistakenly treated as a potential security threat when he was, in fact, in a hypoglycaemic state. The investigation report was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service in November 2006.
"The CPS returned its initial decision in February 2007 stating that no officers should be charged with any criminal offences. Consideration was then given by the CPS as to whether any offences had been committed under health and safety law.
"A decision was received recently to advise that no charges would be brought under this legislation.
"The IPCC must determine whether any disciplinary matters need to be considered against the officers involved. Initial recommendations regarding discipline put forward by the police forces involved have not been agreed by the IPCC and discussions are ongoing."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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