• “Wherever you come from … Justice must be done”. RAPAR Chair, from Afghanistan, joins Jordan’s mother, grandparents and auntie
Coroner Nigel Meadows is presiding over the inquest process relating to the death of 23 year old Manchester man, Jordan Begley, on July 10th 2013 following a Greater Manchester Police(GMP) officer’s use of a Taser weapon at Jordan’s home in Gorton.
There are already six barristers involved in the proceedings: the Counsel for the inquest itself is joined by barristers for Jordan’s family, Greater Manchester Police, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), the Home Office and, currently, a single representative for the police officers. It is these five police officers who want to remain anonymous at the inquest.
Questions drawn up by the Counsel for the Coroner, Mr Willems, and Home Office Counsel, Mr Moss, together with the barrister acting for Jordan’s family, Mr Edwards, raised “the issues of the restraint that followed the use of the taser to be addressed and whether the use of force was necessary, or the use of taser was appropriate.”
The Chair of RAPAR, Manjeet Kaur, who is fighting for her own safety following her journalist husband’s disappearance in India, joined the Begley family on Friday to observe the pre inquest proceedings:
“I went to the court as chair of RAPAR to support the family for their loss. As asylum seekers we go through trials to prove that our stories are not a bunch of lies. Now, sat there in that court room, not for an asylum case but for British citizens I was reminded that, wherever you come from, it is always a battle for justice to be done.”
RAPAR’s Why Did Jordan Begley Die? campaign is aware that many comments are circulating on social media about the circumstances surrounding Jordan’s death.
Speaking on behalf of the family, the Campaign considers it most unhelpful for anyone who was not there, and therefore cannot know what happened nor be in command of accurate facts, to post any material of this nature. We respectfully request that people stop doing this immediately.
For more information: Dr. Rhetta Moran 07776264646 / [email protected]
Background notes
Originally introduced in 2003 as an alternative to firearms, the Taser is a weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt the human being’s voluntary control of muscles. This usually causes the person to freeze on the spot or fall immediately.
In 2007, it was authorised for use in a much wider range of situations – where there is a threat of severe violence.
In June 2009, police forces became required to refer all public complaints about the use of Taser to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Between 2009-2013 there was a 232% increase in Taser use to 10380 recorded uses in 2013. In the same time period, recorded complaints about Taser use have increased by 211%.
Tasers are not a non-lethal option. The police and IPCC refer to them as a less lethal option to reflect their perceived intention that Taser use will not be fatal.
Almost half of all recorded Taser use nationally is accounted for by five police forces, one of which is Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who have recorded 816 Taser uses during 2013. This means that, on average, out of every 100 GMP officers, 11 of them have used Tasers in the last year.