She said she feared Smith was about to strike Burgess with his baton and felt she had no choice but to intervene.
“I’m not a trigger-happy officer,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ve fired my taser.”
In a statement read to the court by prosecutor Paul Jarvis KC, Comotto further explained her reasoning:
“Our objective was clear — it was to disarm Mr Burgess as quickly and safely as possible.
I do not believe that my use of the taser was disproportionate. I believe he posed an immediate and significant risk to himself.”
Use-of-Force Expert Weighs In
Force expert Ian Mills testified that while no tactic is without risk, police must make rapid decisions under pressure.
