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Already considered something of a contentious ‘non-lethal’ weapon, the electric Taser pistol is once again in the news after shocked police officers in Australia watched in horror as a man they had Tasered abruptly burst into flames.
Almost not so \'non lethal\'. Image: herman turnip/Flickr.
Called to the site of a domestic dispute north of Perth, Western Australia, attending officers were forced to employ a Taser device against 36-year-old Ronald Mitchell when he charged them carrying a cigarette lighter and a bottle of what the police thought to be fuel.
Once hit with the Taser charge, Mitchell instantly became engulfed in flame and was only saved from death when one of the quick-thinking officers rolled him on the ground and patted out the fire.
Taken to prison in Perth, where he is recovering from third-degree burns to around 10 percent of his body, Mitchell has subsequently been charged with assault, resisting arrest, and for also being in possession of a sniffing substance.
According to Mitchell’s sister, Morinda West, her brother had been sniffing petrol fumes before the police arrived and ran outside towards them brandishing a lighter and a juice bottle when they rolled up.
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