Met Police cop who Tasered 10-year-old girl ‘threatening woman with garden shears and hammer’ should face gross misconduct proceedings, watchdog rules after force review cleared him of wrongdoing
- The incident in January last year saw the officer tase the 10-year-old at her home
- Four days later, The Met cleared the officer of any wrongdoing over the incident
- But the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) ruled today that it had found the officer in question ‘has a case to answer for gross misconduct’
- It is believed the girl is the youngest in the UK to have been struck with a taser
A Metropolitan Police officer who tasered a 10-year-old girl ‘threatening a woman with garden shears and a hammer’ at her home should face gross misconduct proceedings, a watchdog has ruled.
Scotland Yard’s own review cleared the police officer of wrongdoing over the incident in January last year, with the force saying four days later that ‘no misconduct was identified’.
But the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) ruled today that it had found the officer in question ‘has a case to answer for gross misconduct,’ Sky news reported.
‘Our investigation into this matter has concluded and we have found a Metropolitan Police Service officer has a case to answer for gross misconduct in relation to the tasering of a 10-year-old girl,’ a spokeswoman for the IOPC told the broadcaster.
It is believed that the schoolgirl is the youngest person in the UK to have been hit with a taser, that deploys 50,000 volts to its target.
A Metropolitan Police officer who tasered a 10-year-old girl ‘threatening a woman with garden shears and a hammer’ at her home should face gross misconduct proceedings, a watchdog has ruled. Pictured: An officer fires a stun gun (file photo)
Reports at the time said officers arrived at a flat on a private estate in Southwest London, where the girl had allegedly been threatening her mother with a hammer and shears.
‘An officer yelled at the girl to drop the weapon and when she didn’t comply, a Taser was used on her,’ it was reported.
The girl was not injured in the incident. It is not clear whether the girl was arrested, though the legal age of criminal responsibility in England is 10.
The Met Police told Sky News that the watchdog’s ruling was in relation to the officer’s use of force against the girl, and that a misconduct hearing would be held on a date that will be confirmed later.
The force added that the officer is currently on restricted police duties, but following a assessment by the Crown Prosecution Service, will not be subject to any further criminal charges.
Details of the shocking events were reported in March last year after a complaint was passed to the IOPC by the girl’s family.
A Met Police spokesman said at the time: ‘Officers attended the scene and entered the property. A police Taser was discharged.
‘The girl was uninjured but taken to hospital as a precaution.’
Reports at the time said officers arrived at a flat on a private estate in London, where the girl had allegedly been threatening her mother with a hammer and shears. It is believed that the schoolgirl is the youngest person in the UK to have been hit with a taser, that deploys 50,000 volts to its target
The Met Police added it had carried out a review of the incident and ‘no misconduct was identified’.
Following a complaint received on February 27, the case was passed to the IOPC.
Mick Neville, a former Chief Detective Inspector in the Met Police, described the use of a Taser against the child as ‘extremely rare and disturbing’.
In the year to April 2019, police officers in England and Wales drew their Taser on 22,059 occasions.
Of these, 29 were when dealing with a child under the age of 11, with one case involving an 89-year-old.
The figures do not indicate whether the taser had to be used.