Officers praised for way they handled crossbow incident in Llanelli

18 Jul 2019 03:16 PM

Firearms officers who used a baton round to incapacitate a man with a crossbow in Llanelli dealt with the incident professionally, an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation found.

Our investigation found officers used a less lethal option to safely detain the man who was acting an unpredictable and threatening manner, armed with a weapon in public.

The incident happened in Marine Street, Llanelli on 26 March 2019 after a man had made threats to kill officers on the phone to Dyfed-Powys Police.

Armed response police officers were deployed, and the man in possession of a crossbow approached officers.

Officers negotiated with the man for around 15 minutes, but he refused to listen to instructions to drop his weapon.

Two baton rounds were discharged which struck the man to the front and rear of his torso. He was then arrested and conveyed to Prince Phillip Hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured wrist. 

Our investigators attended the scene, carried out house to house enquiries, took witness statements and analysed CCTV footage, body worn video and mobile phone footage.

Director for Wales Catrin Evans yesterday said:

“I would like to congratulate the officers for the professional way they dealt with this incident.

“Police officers are always expected to use the least amount of force necessary to achieve their aim and in this case, they successfully gained control of the situation through the use of a less lethal weapon. 

“The officers showed real concern for the man’s welfare in a challenging situation where one of the officers said he feared for his life.

“We have carried out our investigation as quickly as possible and, in our opinion, it is clear from the evidence we have gathered that their use of force was justified."

Our investigation concluded in June and all officers were treated as witnesses. The officers involved were from South Wales Police working on the joint firearms unit with Dyfed-Powys Police.

Our investigation was unable to confirm with certainty whether the man’s wrist injury was caused by the baton round.

The man was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting making threats to kill, making threats with an offensive weapon, and possession of Class B drugs.