Officers '˜right to use plastic bullets on man with swords'
PSNI officers were justified in using AEP baton rounds and Tasers against a man armed with machete-type swords during an incident in Antrim last year, the Police Ombudsman has concluded.
Police and civilian witnesses reported that the man had used the swords to hit himself on the head and cut his throat in the Stiles Way area of the town in the early hours of January 17, 2015.
The man later told Police Ombudsman investigators that he had been depressed and admitted asking police to shoot him. He thanked police for the way they dealt with the incident.
The officers who discharged the weapons were found to have been properly trained and authorised.
Police Ombudsman, Dr Michael Maguire, concluded that the use of AEPs and Tasers had been justified and proportionate to the threat posed.