Stretford Taser arrest: Son, 5, thought dad 'had been shot'

Campaigners staged a protest at the petrol station where Mr Mombeyarara was Tasered

An NHS worker who was Tasered by police in front of his son said the boy thought he had "been shot".

Desmond Mombeyarara, 34, said he passed out leaving his five-year-old son "terrified" and screaming: "Daddy".

Mr Mombeyarara's drink-driving arrest in Stretford, Greater Manchester, sparked outrage when footage of it was shared on social media.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has voluntarily referred the matter to the police watchdog.

The force said Mr Mombeyarara was stopped after a vehicle was seen "being driven unsafely" on Thursday.

Footage shows him and two police officers on the petrol station forecourt.

He puts down his crying son before he falls after a Taser is fired.

Speaking in his back garden in Sale Moor, Mr Mombeyarara said his son was "traumatised".

He said: "The whole thing was horrific. I have spoken to him since and he told me, 'They shot you'. He was terrified that I had been hurt."

'Little one'

Mr Mombeyarara added: "I was trying to reason with them. As much as I was in the wrong, I was trying to get the little one away.

"I was saying to the officers, 'Let us calm the situation for the little one because the little one doesn't feel comfortable'.

"But they were making out like I was using him as a human shield to avoid interaction.

"I said to one of the officers, 'You have got kids too; you are a father'. Then I turned around and got Tasered. It was just unnecessary heavy-handedness by the police."

About 15 people held signs and banners in a protest against the Taser incident

Mr Mombeyarara admitted speeding, drink-driving, failing to stop and unnecessary travel when he appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Friday.

He denied two counts of resisting a constable in the execution of their duty, and the case was adjourned until July.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Supt Mark Kenny of GMP said officers "made sure the child was safe".

The force said the arrest had been reviewed by its professional standards branch and the matter had been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)

An IOPC spokesperson said it was assessing the evidence sent to it, including body-worn video from the officers involved.