Three soldiers cleared over brain damage to ‘human battering ram’

THREE soldiers accused of using their colleague as a ‘human battering ram’ were yesterday cleared because he could not remember if he consented to the prank.

Matthew Dight, 29, a lance corporal in the Household Cavalry, was medically discharged after suffering life-changing injuries including brain damage and memory loss. He suffered from a fractured spine and traumatic head injuries after the men used him to bash through a door.

Vice- Judge Advocate General Michael Hunter yesterday ordered a panel of five Army officers to clear the accused soldiers of grievous bodily harm. He said Mr Dight cannot remember the incident or whether he was ‘in on the act’.

He told the panel at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire: ‘It is my duty to tell you to acquit these three men. The claimant does not remember the event so cannot confirm or deny whether he gave consent to be used as a battering ram. There is also evidence in a police interview at the time suggesting it may have been his own idea.

‘ The prosecution are claiming that, although he might have consented, he may not have consented to that level of force being used. These are different scenarios we do not know the answers to so it would not be right to charge these three men with grievous bodily harm. For that reason, I am acquitting all three.’

The court had been told Nicholas Coventry, Anthony Murphy and Samuela Matakibau – all lance corporals – picked up their 9st 6lb colleague horizontally and ‘shoved’ him head-first through a heavy door.

The incident took place in 2015 at a Ministry of Defence training centre on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. The soldiers were doing an exercise where they had to complete a maze breaching up to seven doors.

It was at the final door that Mr Dight was injured. The trio denied acting without Mr Dight’s consent. The court heard that he had mentioned it would be ‘funny’ to use a human battering ram but ‘didn’t expect his joke to be taken seriously’.

The men allegedly shouted ‘ Deploy the Dight!’ before thrusting him through the door. Giving evidence in court, Mr Dight said: ‘We were discussing it would be funny to use someone as a battering ram.

‘My next recollection is being on the floor and in a lot of pain. I was not expecting it to happen, I was upset and didn’t understand why it happened.’