Questions raised after police tasered autistic man

Actions of police who tasered an autistic man and wrongly accused him of assault in St Paul’s have been condemned.

Campaigners and politicians have spoken out against what has been described as “another incident of excessive and unnecessary” use of the weapon in Bristol.

The man, who has learning difficulties, was charged with assaulting an officer, but the case collapsed when his mum provided CCTV footage from The Laurels sheltered accommodation depicting a different version of events to those described by police.

Officers were called to the St Paul’s premises, where the now 28-year-old lived, on August 12 2015 in response to a 999 call that said an “intoxicated” man has broken a window and was “terrorising other clients”.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary says the incident was subject to a detailed and robust two-year investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which found there was no case to answer for misconduct for any of the officers involved.

But Green councillors and Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy have said the incident has raised serious questions about the use of the taser and police conduct.

Kerry McCarthy says a number of questions remain unanswered

McCarthy said: “I was contacted by the mother of this constituent and have met her a number of times.

“I have a number of concerns about the conduct of Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s handling of this case, not least why officers deemed it necessary to taser and handcuff a vulnerable man, why the investigating officers did not uncover the CCTV footage of the incident, and why this footage differed markedly from the officers’ accounts of events.

“I have discussed my concerns with chief constable Andy Marsh and will be following up with Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens and the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

“I was pleased to be reassured by the chief constable that better training for police officers on how to handle people with invisible disabilities has already been introduced, but many other questions remain unanswered.”

Cleo Lake has reacted with shock and dismay to the incident

Lake, who is a leading member of the Justice for Judah campaign, formed in response to a tasering incident in January 2017, said:  “The Green Party is against the casual and increasing use of taser as a weapon of choice.

“I am disturbed to learn that, along with the ongoing Judah Adunbi case, there has been another incident of excessive and unnecessary use of taser in our city.

“I applaud the tenacity of the taser victim’s mother, who was able to get the CCTV footage in court as evidence, and it is deeply concerning that without it her son may have gone to prison.”

She raised concerns about the inconsistencies between police officer accounts and the CCTV evidence, saying it is disappointing that the police watchdog concluded there is no case for misconduct.

The police issued a statement in response to the incident, saying: “The decision to arrest the man for criminal damage and assaulting an officer was necessary and the report stated both the arrest and use of taser were reasonable in the circumstances.

“There was no evidence officers used any more force than they needed to.”

The force admitted a performance issue has been identified regarding securing CCTV evidence and said a management system has since been put in place to address this.

A second IOPC investigation also highlighted issues surrounding the identification of vulnerable people in custody and making sure appropriate adults are provided during interviews – something the police say they have taken measures to address.

The statement continues: “We fully accept the IOPC’s recommendations and have made significant progress in the areas identified for improvement.

“We now have a dedicated force lead for autism who is a member of the National Police Autism Association and are looking to introduce the nationally recognised Autism Champions scheme, which will ensure a trained officer will be a first point of contact for advice and guidance.”

Further training has been introduced for all officers and the force says it has made extensive changes to the way it responds to the mental health crisis.

But Lake questioned “how many incidents will they continue to get wrong and how many more years of learning must they do before actually taking responsibility for wrong actions and disciplining accordingly?”

Avon and Somerset have issued a statement about the use of tasers:

Read more: 1,300 sign Justice for Judah petition