23/01/2017 Inside Out West Midlands

This week, we look at electric stun guns

used by police and ask, are

front line officers becoming too quick to draw their Tasers?

I felt the electricity in my body and

my body went to jelly and I fell straight on the floor.

A legendary radio presenter who has always

fought for the rights of the man on the street

is facing his biggest battle ever - against dementia.

Should I be getting strange signals or is

everything normal?

I don't know what normal is any more.

There's more surprising stories from right across

the West Midlands.

I m in Birmingham, the home of Aston Villa, the club

where striking legend Dalian Atkinson made his name.

Last summer, Dalian was tasered by police in Telford.

He died shortly after.

Dalian's is one of several deaths linked to the use

of Tasers and an even more

powerful version of the weapon is in the pipeline.

Qasa Alom has been investigating what's being done to make sure

police get it right.

This is a Taser ? it s a type of stun gun.

It looks like a brightly coloured pistol, but Tasers

are promoted as a less lethal alternative to firearms.

When fired, wires linked to the handset conduct 50,000

volts into the body.

The electric shock will stop suspects in their tracks -

buying police a few seconds to bring violent situations

under their control.

Tasers are used in more than 100 countries and one is deployed

somewhere in the world every two minutes.

The idea is simple enough and they re clearly popular.

But they re also controversial.

Tasers have been found to play a part in the deaths of two men in

England.

And investigations into eight other cases are still under way

including Dalian Atkinson s.

And it s been proven that sometimes police do get it wrong.

That s what happened to Ivan Martin.

Police called at hs home in February 2011,

they were looking for someone else

but mistook his identity.

He was a totally innocent man.

All three of them are coming through the door now.

So I went to go to the kitchen and the

next minute I know, I felt these two little

bullets for whatever going

into my back.

I turned round and as I turned round, I could see these

two wires attached to my back.

I felt the electricity in my body and

my body went to jelly and I fell straight on the floor.

Do you have any idea why they fired the Taser

in the first place?

Looking at it today, there's three of them and one

of me.

I haven't got a weapon on me, I haven't threatened them, I'm just

answering their questions.

Shoot first, ask questions later, that is

all wrong.

If you're going to deploy a Taser, deploy it at people

that have no alternative.

If the man's got a gun and is going to

shoot a police officer, yes, pull out the Taser.

For a one-to-one talk when you're talking

to someone on the doorstep, why do you need to Taser someone?

Why?

I don't get it.

In fact officers from West Midlands Police Force got it

so wrong that Ivan was awarded compensation in court.

Did you ever get an apology?

I got an apology, not from those three.

If they're going to pull out their Taser and Taser

somebody, there has to be consequences for them.

We brought up Ivan s concerns with West Midlands Police

but they told us they can t comment on individual cases.

Ivan said Tasers should only be used in life-threatening

situations and originally, that was exactly what

they were meant for.

Introduced in this country in 2004, at first Tasers were only given

to firearms officers as an alternative to using lethal

force, such as guns.

But four years later, that changed so other specially

trained officers, this time without a background in firearms,

were also allowed to use them.

That means Taser use has become much more common.

So why are Tasers the weapon of choice for police?

I'm about to meet David Davis, a Conservative MP,

but he was a Special Constable for nine years so he's got

the policing experience and he can really see the

benefits of Tasers.

If officers are using a teaser instead of a baton,

that's a good sign, because it's better to be hit

with a Taser than a baton.

Are you sure about that?

I'm certain about it.

Because people could hurt themselves as a

consequence of being Tasered?

Yes they could but a baton is not that

controllable because you make the mistake of thinking

that a police officer who is

trained to strike somebody on the leg at the gym is going to be

able to do that when confronted with a

violent person not in the gym but out on the street.

Arms, legs everywhere and people not doing what

they're meant to do.

The adrenaline is going so much that your hands are

shaking and you can't write notes for an hour afterwards.

It's not a nice situation to be in and honestly,

the people I work with, 99.99% just want to go home of an evening.

Resolving violence in the most peaceful way is something

Amnesty International UK wants to see.

They think Tasers should be used as they were first intended -

for life or death situations - and what they re most worried

about is the lasting effects on someone who s been Tasered.

I think of one person who was Tasered and his

description of what happened was, he felt he was burning up from the

inside, like his insides were being boiled alive.

And that s been part of the controversy.

In some cases, Tasers can leave a lasting impact.

And recently, it s been proven they're being used more often.

In England and Wales

in 2015 outside of London, Tasers were used the most by police

here in the West Midlands region as a whole with 1,548 deployments.

That s about 15% of the total.

But a Taser won t have been fired

often just drawing or pointing the handset has the desired effect.

Because Tasers are being used more frequently, complaints have also

gone up and that s something Staffordshire Police

in particular are working on.

They ve cut Taser use in half over the last three years,

after being criticised for using them too much.

I want to know what s changed.

I instigated a review into the way Tasers is used and the

police, I think, looked at themselves,

they looked at the way they were

using Taser and I think it just worked.

Some things you can't entirely explain, that extra

scrutiny is in place, that body cams are being used when Taser

is used now just really sharpens that mind.

And he s convinced these bodycams have made the difference.

Very quickly I saw the benefit of body cams where it was a black

and white decision.

Since 2014 all police officers in staffordshire have had body cams

and PCSOs and specials and it has changed

the relationship and there it is.

Not statements, but disagreements, it is

there in pictures and audio.

Video camera OK?

Matthew thinks body cam worn video is part of the solution to solving

issues with Taser use

so I want to see one up close for myself.

You just push the red switch down and when you want to switch it

off, push the red switch back up again.

I'm surprised at how sharp the picture is and the benefits are

just as clear.

It's safer for the public, for the police officers if

they're wearing them.

No one can dispute what is said or done if it's all

on video.

So we know body cams are an essential bit of kit in

Staffordshire but are other West Midlands forces on board as well?

These guys are going to be using them, too,

specifically alongside Tasers.

We'll have a system by which is a Taser is deployed, it

will automatically trigger the body worn camera

so that the officer is

filmed in what he is doing and everything is there for a senior

officer to look at or for me to scrutinise in terms

of work the police do.

OK, that's two West Midlands Policing authorities on

board with body worn video but what about

the West Mercia Police Force?

It was officers from here who have been swept up the latest Taser

controversy, the death of Dalian Atkinson.

The circumstances surrounding the death of the ex Aston Villa

footballer is still under investigation so although I'm here

to meet the Police Commissioner, he can't talk about Dalian but there's

plenty more I'd like to ask him.

I've been reassured that on every Taser

deployment, there is the appropriate investigation and understanding of

the facts of why it was drawn which gives reassurance to my community

that it's only being drawn when necessary.

I also see body worn video as being essential so we will over

the next 12 months ensure it is rolled out

across the force.

These things do take time.

We have to invest in infrastructure and architecture that

sits underneath the technology.

I could organise the kit that they wear tomorrow

but the ability to be able to store the images and manage

the images afterwards do take a while to get that investment.

At the moment, how many officers are actually

wearing body cams?

We don't currently have body worn video in the

force.

I think our front line officers want it, they don't

understand why we haven't delivered it yet and I think it's a failing of

the organisation that we haven't.

Is that good enough?

It isn't good enough, no, and thats

why I've got the project moving.

Since speaking to us, the Commissioner, elected last May,

has agreed a ?1 million contract for

body worn video so to the police in West Mercia will be kitted out this

year.

Different forces have different policies but that is

changing.

It seems only a matter of time before every officer armed with

a Taser is also wearing a body cam.

You can drop us a tweet - @bbciowm.

If you've missed any of the films, why not head over to the iPlayer?

And it s [email protected] if you d like to get in touch.

A couple of million people live in Birmingham and the Black Country

and over the last 40 years, many of their lives have been

touched by one radio legend.

Broadcaster Ed Doolan.

But Ed is now bravely facing by far his biggest

battle ? against dementia.

He opened up about how it s affecting him and about how he s

determined to stay behind that microphone just as long

as he possibly can.

Australian born broadcaster Ed Doolan is a radio hero.

He's brilliant.

He is just such a sociable person.

He is seen as part of the DNA of the West

Midlands.

He's a broadcasting legend.

He's an institution really.

He revolutionised local radio.

Born in Sydney in 1941, the young Doolan only ever had one

dream ? to make it in radio.

The most wonderful job and I wanted it.

Eventually I got it, but wow!

Ed began his UK radio career at Birmingham 's commercial

station, BCMB, before moving to the BBC in 1982.

He made a name for himself championing the rights of his

listeners and taking on some of the big corporations.

His success on radio led to similar TV programmes

but it wasn't just consumer rights that kept him busy, during his

career, he also interviewed just about everyone going.

A lovely man.

But all good things come to an end and in 2011,

Ed decided to call time on his daily radio show.

No one would have begrudged him a happy

retirement but life was about to deal him a cruel blow.

I started to notice that driving was becoming

more difficult.

There were several times when he came

home and the side of the

car had been grazed because he hadn't been able to judge

an entry or exit from the car park.

Eating is fine except until you look down and

realise that there's a goodly amount of it on the floor.

These were early warning signs and in 2012

Ed was formally diagnosed with vascular dementia, the second most

common form of dementia after Alzheimer's.

It was hard hearing the news but it made sense of a lot of

the things they had been living through.

We began to realise there were some things he had covered up

for some time.

One of the things that sticks in my mind is when we

used to go to restaurants and he would say to friends, oh, Chris

knows what I want.

So I would choose his food.

Maybe it was the reading of the menu or making the decision

as to what to have, but he was finding a way

round that process.

Dementia takes many forms and it's believed there are over 850,000

people living with one form or another in the UK today.

Many sufferers find even simple everyday

tasks become challenging.

You do find that the use of the toilet, the

use of different implements in toilets and other things like that,

I don't have to draw you pictures do I?

No!

Ed and his wife's world changed.

Life was now a mixture of medical appointments, prescription drugs

and the challenges that come from living

with dementia.

One of the consultants Ed sees regularly is

Professor Tartarus.

It's a chance for Ed and Chris to discuss his

medication but it also chance for Ed to say how he's really finding life.

Should I be getting strange signals, or is everything normal?

I don't actually know what normal is any more.

Living with dementia isn't easy but it's important to realise it

doesn't have to be the end of life as you

know it.

People with dementia, especially when diagnosed early on,

can maintain the function for a very long time.

If we diagnose the dementia early, get the support early, people

can live well with dementia.

Dementia is not the end of the road, it is a journey.

In fact, Ed is managing his dementia so well, he is

remarkably still broadcasting on BBC WM.

It's only once a week and it's a pre-recorded show but even so,

it's pretty incredible.

I was capable for many years, just to sit down, if it's

a script, go for it.

If it isn't a script, go for it anyway.

Ed was even known as One Take Doolan.

She was filming the third series of...

It's a little different today though.

A lovely day it was when they filmed it...

Now I have to do it with some help and we don't do it in one take any

more.

The producer has worked with Ed since the 90s.

I can read his mind most of the time, I know

exactly what he's going to next because we've been working

together for so many years.

Back in 2005...

I think it's great for him.

When he comes in, he's in the zone and it's something he can look

forward to, something he can think about each week.

And there's something else for Ed to start

thinking about, too.

Regular listeners to the radio station will

know that for more than 20 years, Ed has been hosting

the annual Ed Doolan

Christmas show at the Birmingham Symphony Hall.

A live show featuring top music and comedy acts.

It's August and it's time to start planning.

We're about to announce on the air that we've got another

Symphony Hall show, Christmas show.

Ed is excited and keen to be as involved as possible but he knows

he's going to need some help.

It's going to be in September.

No, it isn't.

It would help if I remembered the date!

Hello, mate.

To help oversee things, BBC producer Adma Bridge

has stepped in, something Ed is very grateful for.

Oh yes because I need someone.

Absolutely.

Although the show has been going for over 20

years, there's a lot riding on it this time.

I've been saying for the last little while that this is the

last one.

I suppose it's possible this might be the last Christmas

show.

I think doing this one will be a pretty good challenge.

If he feels he can't contribute in the way that

he would wish to, then he won't go.

Back in the day, it wasn't just Ed's name on the ticket.

He organised everything.

Nowadays, it's a joint effort with Adam.

Ed's thing is more about the comedy more than

anything.

That's his forte.

Whereas I tend to look after the music

because of it's too contemporary, Ed hasn't got a clue about that.

But there's one act Ed in particular is keen to sign.

Have you heard yet back from Jasper?

I haven't heard.

Jasper Carrot and Ed Doolan are great friends but

they can't even get hold

of him at the moment.

He doesn't accept anonymous calls.

Hang on.

I'll try his mobile.

They'll just have to treat keep on trying.

It's October and there are six weeks until the show.

Ed is back home and he's not finding life particularly

easy.

It's just difficult at the moment.

Yesterday I noticed you put your shoes on the wrong feet.

It just means that essentially, the order of things and his way

of doing things are all jumbled up sometimes,

doesn't it?

Yep.

So, life's not without its challenges but just when Ed

needs a distraction, he gets one.

His sister, Barbara, has come all the way

over from Australia and you

know what brothers and sisters can be like!

He treats me the same now as he did when I was his little sister,

sitting on the floor, playing monopoly with him

when he had to be the banker.

You've been talking to my sister?

She's charming, delightful.

I can't remember why!

How can you be horrible?

Look at your darling little sister.

It's only been five months since her last visit

but she has seen a big change.

I thought at first it was only physically,

that he was having more trouble

walking but it's not, it's also mental deterioration

in that time but it's sad,

very sad to see.

He'll watch the same TV programme over and over

again, forget he's watched it.

Day-to-day life is hard for Ed but also hard for Chris.

There are approximately 700,000 carers in

the UK looking after loved ones with dementia.

This is expected to rise to 1.7 million by 2050.

He is so dependent on her and she's so wonderful.

It's fantastic but as hard as it is for

Christine and as sad as it is for me to watch it,

it must be worse for him because he's aware.

Ed is back in the BBC for another meeting with Adam.

Things are taking shape for the show and most of the tickets have gone

already.

It's still not even November.

We've got an orchestra which are a 56 piece,

a bunch of singers from Britain's Got Talent.

There's a few more in the pipeline.

Just trying to get sorted.

Aren't there?

One or two biggies.

But there's still no work from Jasper,

but for Chris, that's not the most important thing.

Whenever we see the doctor, one of the first things he

always asks about is his work and he's always delighted that Ed is

still working because obviously it is very important and it is the man

that Ed has always been.

Dementia sufferers are generally advised to

keep as active as they possibly can.

You don't need to host a sell-out Christmas show,

but anything you can do to keep your mind ticking over

can really help.

Something Ed's living proof of.

To be able to do the work that he's doing is the greatest

therapy.

The day of the show finally arrives.

After months of organising, there's no turning back.

You could push!

Come on, behave yourself, I'm absolutely fine.

Whilst the engineers and crew rig the stage,

Ed heads to his dressing

room where he finds old mate and fellow radio

star Les Ross waiting.

The Christmas show to me is keeping Ed company in the dressing room.

It's only a break in my Christmas shopping, you understand!

Although Ed no

longer compares the whole show, he'll still be

going on stage to welcome

the audience, a daunting prospect for a dementia sufferer,

particularly when you're having a bad day.

We were also talking about dementia and I wanted you to know that

it's in full kick today.

Really good stuff.

I think he's a bit apprehensive, quite anxious in the

weeks coming up to it but now we're here and he's confident that it's

happening.

There's an audience and it's all coming good.

The fans are arriving and they're here for one

man only.

Lovely to see you this morning!

No, it's not him!

It's the first time I've been to the Ed Doolan show.

I've been listening to Ed for over 30 years.

We listen to it on the radio usually and I enjoy his

old shows on a Sunday morning.

Caroline Martin who hosts the lunchtime show has the honour of

leading Ed on stage.

Fantastic colleague, somebody I've looked up to

for years.

I used to listen to him before I worked here so it's amazing

to be able to go out and introduce Ed and he's become

a good friend as well, so very proud.

It's time for the 2016...

And finally, after weeks of operation...

Please welcome to the stage, Caroline Marton

and the legend that is Ed Doolan!

APPLAUSE.

Welcome to the Symphony Hall to the Ed Doolan Christmas show.

All these people, Ed.

Can I thank you very much for coming along?

That's the first thing.

Most experts would agree that dementia doesn't have enough

publicity and Ed is not going to waste an opportunity

to help out in that regard.

Who is involved with this wonderful dementia thing?

Who's got it?

LAUGHTER.

With the moment Ed was most nervous about over, he and

Chris can enjoy the show and even the star act is about to arrive,

as if that was ever in doubt.

Jasper Carrot!

I can't do it, he's spoiled it!

There's 2,500 people out there and they didn't come for me.

They didn't know I was coming.

They're here for Ed.

His esteem in the business is enormous.

The esteem is hard-won.

It's over many years.

From Australia, all through his history.

It's a hard-won esteem and rRightfully so because it's

a very hard business but he's always

had a twinkle in his eye.

He's always had a sense of humour.

He endears himself even to the people

that he insults and berates.

That's a rare talent.

The show has been a huge success, as it always has

been, but will it be the last time?

Who knows?

I wish you well and we'll see you again next time.

Never say never!

The warmth from that audience, it was just

extraordinary.

I was really moved by that.

His whole life since a tiny boy has been about being on the

radio and the fact that even for everything

that has happened, he's

still able to do that, it's just wonderful.

That's nice.

On a really bad day, I can fall!

You've got to live with it.

You can't run away with it.

It's what's happening to you now and you've got to embrace it

and truly make the best of it that you can because otherwise, where do

you go with it?

Both Ed and Chris know that life isn't going to get any

easier but they are living proof that you can still live well with

dementia and that's worth us all remembering.

That s Ed Doolan.

Ed, we all wish you the very, very best.

That s it for this week.

I dont know where we'll be next week you'll have to watch to find out.

I'll see you then.

Next week, the shocking abuse experienced by young girls

as they watch their favourite bands.

There s an epidemic of groping and sexual assault taking place

at concerts, including girls in their early teens.

So why isn t the security industry doing more to protect them?

That s here on Inside Out next Monday evening.

Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90 second update.

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who's died at the age of 75.