Bodycam footage from a police officer in Cardiff has gone viral on social media this week, which shows cops tasering a man after he allegedly threatened them with a microwave oven.
The video shows a 25-year-old man by the name of Nathan Caine being pursued by police officers through what looks like a cafeteria.
Take a look at the bodycam footage below:Resisting arrest on assault charges, Caine can be seen picking up a microwave to throw the device at the cops, while making loud threats at them. After being repeatedly being told to ''drop the microwave'', Caine was swiftly tasered. Collapsing to the ground as a result of the electric shock he received, Caine was apprehended and jailed soon thereafter.
South Wales police later uploaded the footage to Twitter, which they captioned: "Nathan Caine refuses to cooperate with officers and threatens to throw a microwave at them, after they attended a report of an assault in @SWPCardiff on February 4th. Despite a number of requests to put the oven down it was necessary to discharge a Taser."
In a follow-up post, the police department tweeted: "Tasers are used to ensure the safety of officers and members of the public. Caine ... was sentenced to [4] months in prison. The police are people, not punchbags."
According to a report by Wales Online, South Wales police forces are due to receive more than £273,000 to purchase 331 new tasers this year. Commenting on the initiative, Chief Constable Matt Jukes told Wales Online that: "Equipping officers to be able to protect themselves, their colleagues and, importantly, the public, is a priority."
Jukes also added: "This increase is not in response to a specific threat, but the nature of policing means officers frequently put themselves in harm’s way."
