A man who pulled out a taser in a popular Cork city park was arrested by Gardaí. The man was taken into custody by Gardaí after producing the weapon.
The incident involved a man in his 20s and occurred at Bishop Lucey Park in the city centre at approximately 11:15 pm on Friday night. Thankfully, no injuries were reported as a result. The man was conveyed to a Garda Station in Cork city.
The taser was seized by Gardaí from the City Centre Policing Unit, and the man has since appeared in court charged with the incident.
A photograph of the seized stun gun was shared on social media by An Garda Síochána Cork. The weapon is a Scorpy Max and is advertised on online self-defence websites as a battery-powered “2 in 1” stun gun with pepper spray, capable of delivering a nasty 500,000-volt shock.
They can be bought online for around €100. The user manual claims that as little as 3 seconds will “make (an) attacker fall to the ground, disorient him and cause him shock for several minutes.”
Tasers are a highly illegal weapon in Ireland, and are only carried by specially trained Gardaí. It is an offence to possess, buy or carry any taser or stun gun here, even for self-defence. Having one is an offence under the Firearms Act 1925.
An Garda Síochána are rolling out a taser and bodycam scheme for frontline officers. The scheme is now across Dublin, Waterford, and, most recently, Limerick. Since the introduction of the programme in December 2025, hundreds of Gardaí have successfully completed their training and have been authorised to carry Tasers on duty. They are usually deployed by Gardaí when a suspect becomes extremely aggressive or has a weapon.
Tasers have been used by An Garda Síochána since 2007, previously authorised only for specialist Armed Support Units and Emergency Response Units.