Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicosIslands, October 9, 2023 – One Turks and Caicos family is raising questions about the use of force in the country’s prisons, following an incident where they say their family member was injured by a taser as the correctional officers tried to break up a melee. 

Magnetic Media received photos of a bloody knee and wrist allegedly belonging to an inmate in Her Majesty’s Prison, which is said to be the result of being tased by an officer as he tried to alert prison guards about an ongoing fight. His family claims the injured man wasn’t even involved in the brawl. 

Under UK Law, Tasers may only be used by trained officers, and from the moment it is drawn, aimed or fired, it is considered ‘used.’

“Any use of the Taser must be proportionate, lawful, accountable and absolutely necessary. Its use for a reason other than mitigating a threat of violence, may engage Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights,” the UK says. 

In addition, the UK government says a review of Taser use by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2014 warned against use of the weapon on the basis of its availability rather than of its necessity.

Magnetic Media immediately reached out to Michael Woodbine, Superintendent of Prisons and Director of Rehabilitation to find out the situation behind the use of the Taser, whether the force had been necessary, what sort of training had been given to officers to use the weapon, what circumstances necessitated Taser use inside the prison and whether the injured inmate received medical attention. 

The circumstances behind the use of the weapon remain murky. We also reached out to the Turks and Caicos Human Rights Commission for their comment on the issue.

The response from Woodbine, while swift to the prison’s credit, answered none of our questions.

“In all cases of the use of force, whatever the degree, the circumstances are fully reviewed as soon as possible. It would not be appropriate to comment on any uses of force or individual incidents. If you have received concerns from family members, please ask those people to direct their concerns to me so that I can address them directly,” the news team was told. 

No update was provided on the prisoner’s condition and Woodbine did not indicate if he received medical care. No answer was provided on whether it was protocol to use a taser to break up a fight rather than simply getting between inmates. 

We are told the injured man has filed an official police report against the officer who reportedly caused him the injury.