British cop 'fired 50,000-volt Taser stun gun at suspect inside prison cell'

A police officer has been charged with firing a 50,000-volt Taser stun gun at a suspect inside a prison cell.

Pc Lee Birch, 29, allegedly fired the weapon at Daniel Dove after booking him into a police custody unit.

The officer appeared before a magistrates court yesterday accused of assaulting Mr Dove. Birch is also accused of misconduct in a public office. This charge relates to the way he handcuffed Mr Dove and strip-searched him in the cell.

Yesterday prosecutor Ann Ellery outlined the charges against Pc Birch at Swindon Magistrates Court.

‘The deployment of the Taser itself is covered by the assault,’ she said. ‘Thereafter there is the removal of the barbs from the chest.’

She said the misconduct charge related to ‘the twisting of the handcuffs while being booked in, the manner of the strip search and the putting to the knees in the cell.’

John Nutman, defending, said his client was in the ‘strange position’ of being prosecuted before an investigation by the police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, had concluded.

District Judge Simon Cooper said he had issued a summons against Birch ‘on the strength of seeing video evidence from the police cell’.

He told the court: ‘Under the circumstances there is no alternative but to send Mr Birch to trial at Swindon Crown Court.’ The officer was granted unconditional bail and ordered to appear at Swindon Crown Court on August 16.

Wearing a grey suit, Birch was allowed to sit next to his solicitor, rather than in the dock. He spoke only to confirm his name and age and his address.

A spokesman for the IPCC confirmed that the case had been referred to them by Wiltshire Police on Thursday.

Original report here




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