Police Taser Man Holding Knife Outside Buckingham Palace

Guardian- A man believed to have been holding a knife to his own throat has been Tasered by police outside Buckingham Palace during the changing of the guard ceremony.

Police said the man was seen with two knives outside the centre gate at 11.50am on Sunday. “He was not making threats to members of the public but he was challenged by police. He acted aggressively and a Taser was discharged,” a spokesman said.

The man, thought to be in his 50s, was arrested on suspicion of affray and taken to a central London police station. The Queen and Prince Philip were at Sandringham at the time. A palace spokeswoman said they would not comment as it was a police matter.

Police at the scene told members of the public that a man “tried to make an exhibition of himself during the guard change” and that there were “mental health issues”.

The scene was cordoned off with police tape 30 metres from the palace gates and an ambulance was parked to the side of the building. Inside the cordoned-off area lay two knives with six-inch blades, a pair of Nike high-top trainers, a hat and a black carrier bag containing paper material. There was also Taser wire on the ground. Kevin Burrows, 33, from Surrey, said he saw the man break through a cordon as the changing of the guard was about to happen.

In a video posted on YouTube the man takes a series of swipes at an officer as the stun gun is fired. But as it connects he falls to the ground watched by hundreds of tourists who had assembled to watch the changing of the guard and take photographs of the palace.