Tasers used at two weekend incidents

A drunk and menacing Mount Maunganui man and a Coromandel man inflicting injuries on himself were both tasered by police over the weekend.

Bay of Plenty police used a taser shock gun on a "highly agitated" and drunk man at a violent domestic incident in Mount Maunganui on Saturday night.

Called to a residential street about 8pm police were approached by a drunk, shirtless man, bleeding from the nose and mouth, who said he had been in a fight.

A short distance away was a car which had crashed into a fence, with a distressed woman and several young screaming children inside, police said.

A second drunk man appeared at the scene, and was "highly agitated" and screaming and shouting at police.

He was threatening and refused to comply with directions, and "his state was such that he could not be reasoned with", police said.

When he approached the woman and children in the vehicle, the taser was fired.

The man, a 31-year-old local, was arrested and charged with disorderly behaviour.

He would appear in Tauranga District Court on Friday.

Yesterday, a taser was used on a self-harming 46-year-old man at a Coromandel Peninsula settlement.

Police were called to Te Kouma house about 10.30am where a man was using a sword and other weapons to harm himself.

The man refused to comply with police demands to put the weapons down and allow medical treatment to be provided.

Police said a taser was used for the safety of medical staff and police.

The man was taken to Thames Hospital for further medical treatment. The self-inflicted injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Police said the man had been arrested, but would not comment further while the matter was before the courts.

- NZPA