The Tasering of a man "cowering" from numerous police officers "has the very real appearance of being an action only to punish him", a court has found.
"Inexplicably, the offender was Tasered as he was sitting in the vehicle," Justice Louise Taylor said on Friday, noting the man did not appear to be an immediate threat.
The judge expressed her concerns over the police conduct before sentencing 22-year-old Nathaniel Coulter in the ACT Supreme Court.
He was handed a three-year-and-two-month jail sentence as a result, which will be suspended after 14 months behind bars.
The judge's remarks were especially significant because the Tasering was not factored into sentencing Coulter for leading a dangerous high-speed pursuit while under the influence of drugs.
Justice Taylor said no explanation had been offered for the weapon's "questionable" use during the arrest and, in her experience, the incident was not an isolated one.
Police 'obligations exist in every instance'
As described by the judge, Coulter was submissive, wearing a seatbelt, not attempting to flee, surrounded by police, and had his hands up in the air when he was Tasered.
"I'm not resisting, so please don't hurt me again," Coulter said while being arrested.
Justice Taylor said her remarks did not undermine the seriousness of the man's conduct and she did not underestimate the difficulties that came with community policing.
But, the judge said, the boundaries of police powers could not be blurred by conduct like Coulter's and the seriousness of an offender's actions was not a license to disregard the obligations of officers.
"These obligations exist in every instance," she said.
Using a conducted energy weapon for punishment or compliance goes beyond police powers.
Justice Taylor's remarks come only a week after another ACT police officer admitted Tasering a man five times in an effort to handcuff him was "unnecessary and unreasonable".
'Impulsive and senseless' pursuit
Coulter previously admitted two counts of driving a motor vehicle near police, and single counts of aggravated dangerous driving, driving a motor vehicle without consent, and driving while disqualified.
Coulter's arrest came after he led an approximately 20-minute-long police pursuit through multiple Canberra suburbs and on several major roads around midnight on October 19, 2023.
The driver dangerously evaded capture by running through red lights, driving on the wrong side of the road and across median strips, and driving on tyres blown out by deflation devices.
The judge said police officers had to take evasive action to avoid the runaway car and that Coulter was eventually driving on just rims, before he stopped and was finally arrested.
Coulter, who was on bail at the time, was found to have been reckless about the safety of the police officers.
"These were impulsive and senseless offences," Justice Taylor said.
She said the criminal conduct brought with it "potential for serious harm to other road users and police officers".
Justice Taylor noted Coulter had expressed remorse for his conduct and empathy towards "innocent" member of the public he had put in danger.
She also said his moral culpability was reduced due to a "profound history of adverse childhood experiences" and the drug dependency they had caused.
The judge said she was hopeful for the man's rehabilitation prospects and that he could be guided to positive change.
- An earlier version of this story named the wrong police officer as having deployed the Taser. That initial information was incorrectly reported by the court.
