Police PAVA spray use in Annan pub arrest 'justified'
- Published
The investigation followed the incident in Annan in March last year
An investigation has concluded police were justified in using a PAVA spray during an arrest in Annan.
It followed an incident in a pub in the town in March last year.
The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) found the "incapacitant" let officers deal with the issue "quickly and safely".
A 27-year-old man was arrested and has since been given a nine-month prison term for possession of an offensive weapon and resisting arrest.
Commissioner Kate Frame did find there were "inaccuracies" in the information provided by Police Scotland during her investigation.
She urged them to take steps to ensure officers gave a full account of the circumstances surrounding any use of CS/PAVA spray.
The information provided by Police Scotland claimed:
the spray had been deployed from about 1.5m - when CCTV showed it was actually about 30cm from the man
no members of the public had been in the area - but footage showed that they were
nobody else was affected by the spray - when two people said they had been
aftercare was administered to the people affected - but witnesses said none had been provided
Ms Frame said: "When police approached the man they knew he was a violent individual who routinely carried weapons.
"When he began to struggle during the arrest the discharge of the PAVA spray was justified in the circumstances, to allow officers to control the man quickly and safely.
"However, inaccuracies in the information provided to the Pirc investigation has again highlighted an ongoing problem in relation to the accuracy of information provided by Police Scotland on the CS/PAVA Spray Discharge Report. "
Difficulty breathing
The incident happened shortly after midnight on 19 March 2017 at a pub in Annan when police were called to a disturbance.
They saw a man standing in the foyer who they believed was wanted in relation to outstanding warrants.
When officers informed him that he was under arrest, he began to struggle with them and one of the officers then discharged PAVA spray into the man's face. Two members of staff were also affected.
The man was handcuffed and placed into a police van where he admitted that he had taken drugs earlier that night and was now having difficulty breathing. He also told the officers that he suffered from asthma.
He was taken to hospital where he was kept in for observations until later that day. Officers later retrieved a "knuckle duster" from the floor of the police van.
The man was subsequently charged with a number of offences and later admitted them in court.