Officer threatened man on floor with Taser in bid to get his real name

HE ASKED COLLEAGUE TO TURN OFF HER BODY-CAM

A POLICE officer who threatened a man with a Taser to force him to give his real identity committed gross misconduct, a panel has found.

The officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made sure he would not be captured on camera before pointing the device at the man for several minutes.

The police constable, who has since resigned from the force, was called to the scene in Loughborough on Sunday, March 20 last year, after reports of a man trying to gain entry to a nightclub with a knife. The suspect left the area, but the officer and his colleague located him and began a stop and search procedure.

The misconduct hearing, held at force headquarters in Enderby, heard no knife was recovered, but wallets with multiple identities in them were found on the suspect.

After he continued to give different names, the suspect fell to the ground alleging he had been hit by one of the officers.

While the suspect was on the ground the now former officer turned to his colleague and asked if she was “rolling” - meaning he asked if her body-worn video camera was recording. He instructed her to turn the camera off.

The officer pointed his Taser at the man for about twoand-half minutes. The Taser threat was to “ensure his compliance” according to the report, with the man getting up off the floor and giving his real name and address.

Concerns about the level of force used in the stop and search were raised with superiors before a report was submitted. The officer defended his actions and in a use of force form submitted days later, he said the Taser had been used to protect himself and other officers as well as to “secure evidence” and “prevent escape”. He claimed the report had only been made against him because the other officer was friends with another officer he did not get along with.

The misconduct panel, led by legally qualified chairman David Tyme, found the officer had “exaggerated the perceived threat” of the suspect and had not logged the compliance aspect of the Taser use.

It was also found he had shown no “genuine remorse or insight” for the unnecessary use of the Taser.

Mr Tyme said in the report the officer’s conduct was “intentional”, his actions would cause a high level of harm to the force’s reputation and had the officer not already resigned, he would have been dismissed.

Detective Chief Inspector Ali Tompkins, of the force’s Professional Standards Department, said: “The panel found the former officer’s actions in responding to and making a record of the incident breached the standards of honesty and integrity, use of force and discreditable conduct. They determined this amounted to gross misconduct.”

He added that had the officer not already resigned, he would have been dismissed