Use of Taser and injuries during arrest - Metropolitan Police Service, October 2017
On 19 October 2017 Metropolitan Police officers were deployed to an address in Barnet, north London following a call from a member of the public who had seen two men enter her neighbour’s house through a window. One of the officers had a Taser device.
One of the men was seen climbing out of the back bedroom window. An officer pointed the Taser at the man, activated a red dot, and shouted commands including for him to go back into the house, or to climb down slowly. The man jumped from the window onto a wooden cupboard that was against the house and directly next to a fence. The officer then fired the Taser when the man was in an elevated position. The man jumped over some garden fences and was detained by two officers and arrested. During the course of events he sustained a hand fracture. The other man was seen jumping from the first floor front bedroom and was detained and arrested. He sustained an ankle fracture during the incident.
As part of the investigation, investigators obtained witness statements from police officers attending the incident, body-worn camera footage, custody records and other documents including use of force forms. We interviewed under misconduct caution the officer who deployed the Taser for allegations that they failed to adequately consider the risks of serious injury posed to the man when deploying their Taser at him at height, and for failing to consider other options available. The officer gave a prepared statement in response to the allegations.
The officer explained that they used the Taser due to fear for their own safety and that of colleagues because they thought the man had been armed. The officer explained that they considered other options, such as incapacitant spray and batons, but believed they would not be effective in view of the distance.
Based on the evidence available, at the end of the investigation, we found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.