Guardian obtains footage of police officer firing Taser at naked man
PC Lee Birch cleared of assault and misconduct, but IPCC to
examine incident in which he fired at a naked man who flicked his
underpants at him
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PC Lee Birch firing Taser at naked man – video
Guardian obtains footage of police officer firing Taser at naked man
PC Lee Birch cleared of assault and misconduct, but IPCC will examine incident in which he fired at Daniel Dove - theguardian.com,
The Guardian has obtained CCTV footage showing a police officer firing a Taser at a naked man in a cell.
A chief constable tried to prevent the release of footage showing the Wiltshire constable Lee Birch shooting the Taser at 23-year-old Daniel Dove – despite a court agreeing it could be published.
The Guardian obtained the footage from another source.
It shows Dove, who had been arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, being subjected to a strip search in a custody suite.
He pulls off his boxer shorts and flicks them at Birch. The officer takes a Taser he had held behind his back and fires it at Dove's chest. The young man falls on to a mat that had been placed on the floor of the cell.
A crown court jury on Tuesday cleared Birch of assault causing actual bodily harm and misconduct in a public office. Charges were subsequently dropped against Dove.
However the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating five officers including Birch in connection with the incident and is also looking at why the force involved, Wiltshire, did not inform it about what happened.
The IPCC will now examine if Birch, 31, and four colleagues breached professional standards.
At the end of the trial, media organisations including the Guardian asked for the CCTV footage of the incident, which was shown in open court, to be released. They argued it was in the public interest for the footage to be published.
Neither the trial judge, the prosecution nor the defence objected to the release of the CCTV. Dove told the Guardian he was happy for it to be published.
But after taking instructions from the chief constable of Wiltshire, Patrick Geenty, police representatives said the force would be asking the Crown Prosecution Service not to allow the footage to be released.
The jury at Bristol crown court heard that Dove was arrested in Trowbridge town centre, Wiltshire, after being thrown out of a nightclub. He allegedly struck out at Birch and a second officer.
In the custody suite at Melksham, Dove was told to strip. He removed his wet boxer shorts and flicked them, striking Birch on the side of his face.
Dove told the jury: "As soon as I flicked my pants at him, he pulled his arm up from behind his back and shot me with a Taser. I had no time to react or move. I couldn't hide anywhere. I was in a police station so couldn't run off. There was a lot of pain."
Asked to explain why he fired the Taser, Birch said: "I am not saying what he did was particularly life-threatening, but it was an indication that he was still intent on carrying out assaults. I felt he would continue to assault either myself or one of my colleagues if I didn't use that device upon him."
Birch added: "He was now naked and was soaking wet and I would not wish to restrain a naked man. There was nothing to grab hold of – there's no clothing to grab. For the safety of myself and the others I drew my Taser."
The prosecution argued that the use of the Taser went beyond reasonable force as Birch was with two officers and other colleagues were just metres away. But the jury acquitted him.
After the trial, the IPCC associate commissioner Guido Liguori said: "The IPCC-managed investigation has been on hold pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings against the officer. It will now be progressed to consider whether PC Birch and four other officers have breached the standards of professional behaviour.
"It will also examine how the professional standards department at Wiltshire police handled matters following the incident. The IPCC has particular concerns around the use of Taser in confined spaces including police cells, and has asked all forces to notify us where a complaint involving Taser is made. The investigation will consider why the use of Taser wasn't brought to our attention earlier." The IPCC has carried out a review of Taser use in England and Wales which is expected to be published shortly.
Ch Supt Paul Mills, of Wiltshire police, said the College of Policing, the professional body for police in England and Wales, had reviewed the force's Taser policy and Wiltshire had rewritten its procedures and changed selection procedures for Taser training.
Speaking about the CCTV footage, he said the force was exercising its right, under a protocol drawn up between the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service and senior representatives, to ask for the material not to be released.
It is not the first time the treatment of people taken into custody in Melksham has embarrassed Wiltshire police.
In 2010 Sgt Mark Andrews was caught on CCTV dragging 57-year-old Pamela Somerville into a cell. Andrews was initially jailed for causing actual bodily harm but later won an appeal against conviction.
A chief constable tried to prevent the release of footage showing the Wiltshire constable Lee Birch shooting the Taser at 23-year-old Daniel Dove – despite a court agreeing it could be published.
The Guardian obtained the footage from another source.
It shows Dove, who had been arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, being subjected to a strip search in a custody suite.
He pulls off his boxer shorts and flicks them at Birch. The officer takes a Taser he had held behind his back and fires it at Dove's chest. The young man falls on to a mat that had been placed on the floor of the cell.
A crown court jury on Tuesday cleared Birch of assault causing actual bodily harm and misconduct in a public office. Charges were subsequently dropped against Dove.
However the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating five officers including Birch in connection with the incident and is also looking at why the force involved, Wiltshire, did not inform it about what happened.
The IPCC will now examine if Birch, 31, and four colleagues breached professional standards.
At the end of the trial, media organisations including the Guardian asked for the CCTV footage of the incident, which was shown in open court, to be released. They argued it was in the public interest for the footage to be published.
Neither the trial judge, the prosecution nor the defence objected to the release of the CCTV. Dove told the Guardian he was happy for it to be published.
But after taking instructions from the chief constable of Wiltshire, Patrick Geenty, police representatives said the force would be asking the Crown Prosecution Service not to allow the footage to be released.
The jury at Bristol crown court heard that Dove was arrested in Trowbridge town centre, Wiltshire, after being thrown out of a nightclub. He allegedly struck out at Birch and a second officer.
In the custody suite at Melksham, Dove was told to strip. He removed his wet boxer shorts and flicked them, striking Birch on the side of his face.
Dove told the jury: "As soon as I flicked my pants at him, he pulled his arm up from behind his back and shot me with a Taser. I had no time to react or move. I couldn't hide anywhere. I was in a police station so couldn't run off. There was a lot of pain."
Asked to explain why he fired the Taser, Birch said: "I am not saying what he did was particularly life-threatening, but it was an indication that he was still intent on carrying out assaults. I felt he would continue to assault either myself or one of my colleagues if I didn't use that device upon him."
Birch added: "He was now naked and was soaking wet and I would not wish to restrain a naked man. There was nothing to grab hold of – there's no clothing to grab. For the safety of myself and the others I drew my Taser."
The prosecution argued that the use of the Taser went beyond reasonable force as Birch was with two officers and other colleagues were just metres away. But the jury acquitted him.
After the trial, the IPCC associate commissioner Guido Liguori said: "The IPCC-managed investigation has been on hold pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings against the officer. It will now be progressed to consider whether PC Birch and four other officers have breached the standards of professional behaviour.
"It will also examine how the professional standards department at Wiltshire police handled matters following the incident. The IPCC has particular concerns around the use of Taser in confined spaces including police cells, and has asked all forces to notify us where a complaint involving Taser is made. The investigation will consider why the use of Taser wasn't brought to our attention earlier." The IPCC has carried out a review of Taser use in England and Wales which is expected to be published shortly.
Ch Supt Paul Mills, of Wiltshire police, said the College of Policing, the professional body for police in England and Wales, had reviewed the force's Taser policy and Wiltshire had rewritten its procedures and changed selection procedures for Taser training.
Speaking about the CCTV footage, he said the force was exercising its right, under a protocol drawn up between the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Crown Prosecution Service and senior representatives, to ask for the material not to be released.
It is not the first time the treatment of people taken into custody in Melksham has embarrassed Wiltshire police.
In 2010 Sgt Mark Andrews was caught on CCTV dragging 57-year-old Pamela Somerville into a cell. Andrews was initially jailed for causing actual bodily harm but later won an appeal against conviction.
- copy http://www.theguardian.com/
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