A BRITISH security company run by retired police officers has been filmed demonstrating electric shock torture equipment at a trade fair in Birmingham.
The Squad Group Ltd, whose three bosses include a former assistant chief constable, has registered offices at Chesham in Buckinghamshire.
Human rights groups Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation said company representatives were filmed demonstrating the use of gloves which give a painful electric shock to anyone seized by the wearer.
The person volunteering to receive the shock — apparently a serving police officer — is seen grimacing in pain when the glove is used to grab his arm.
The human rights groups said the company has also promoted an anklet which delivers painful electric shocks via a remote control.
They said the evidence “raised serious questions about the enforcement of laws in relation to the prohibition of torture equipment as well as the staging of security equipment trade events.”
Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said: “It’s alarming in the extreme that torture equipment is openly being demonstrated at a UK trade fair, and West Midlands Police should urgently investigate this.”
He challenged the legality of importing the equipment.
Dr Michael Crowley, researcher at the Omega Research Foundation, said: “The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has specifically identified direct-contact electric-shock weapons and body-worn electric-shock weapons as inherently-abusive goods that should be completely prohibited.
“It’s disturbing that a UK company led by three former police officers has openly promoted these devices on its website and demonstrated direct-contact electric-shock weapons at an international trade fair.”
He called for Britain to “become a global champion in the fight against torture” and to support calls for “an international torture-free trade treaty.”
The Squad Group Limited markets itself as the sole UK and Ireland partner of Compliant Technologies, a US company promoting a range of electric-shock devices.
Adam Conn, the group’s founder, is a former police officer and emergency services worker and its chief executive, Matthew Nicholls, is a former assistant chief constable with Hertfordshire Constabulary.
Its chief operating officer, Simon Thompson, is a former police officer with the Metropolitan Police.
A group statement said: “We would like to address the implication that our officer safety product, The Glove, is a torture device by Amnesty International.
“To clarify, The Glove is not a torture device. It is CD3 technology which stands for Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device — a breakthrough technology designed to help law enforcement and corrections manage difficult situations effectively and humanely.”
