Amnesty doubts on safety.

HUMAN rights group Amnesty International said last night it was "not satisfied" that the Taser gun had been sufficiently tested to prove its safety.

The group has been monitoring the use of the stun-gun in the US and a spokesman said figures revealed more than 100 people had died after being shot with a Taser.

He said: "We have been doing a lot of work on Taser and we are still not satisfied that it has been sufficiently tested to prove it is safe. We wouldn't be happy if they were deployed more widely as we don't feel the public should be put a risk.

"Our research shows that since Tasers were introduced in the US more than 100 people have died after being shot. And now many police forces across America have been withdrawing Tasers."

Last month Amnesty International called for a "prompt, impartial and independent investigation" into the death of Brian Loan, 47, from a suspected heart attack after he was shot twice with a Taser stun-gun and once with a plastic bullet, during an arrest at his home in Sacriston, near Durham. But the Independent Police Complaints Commission said there was no evidence to show that his death was linked to the events surrounding his arrest.

CAPTION(S):

SUSPECTED HEART ATTACK: Brian Loan, 47, of Sacriston.