Police officer faces sack for tasering girl, 10, who 'threatened woman with garden shears and hammer'
19 September 2023, 14:09 | Updated: 1 December 2023, 10:22
A Met police officer accused of shooting his Taser twice at a girl aged 10 will face a misconduct hearing later this year and could be sacked.
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PC Jonathan Broadhead of the Met allegedly used the taser on the girl in January 2021 after she had picked up a pair of garden shears during an altercation which took place at a property in south-west London.
She was not hurt but was taken to hospital as a precaution.
PC Broadhead is now facing a gross misconduct hearing with police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) from November 27-30. He has also been put on restricted duties.
He is accused of using force against the child which was "not necessary, reasonable and proportionate in all the circumstances".
Read more: Met officer cleared of GBH after man left paralysed after being Tasered
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Police said after the incident that they had not identified any misconduct. The Crown Prosecution Service earlier decided not to prosecute PC Broadhead for excessive use of force.
A CPS spokesperson said: “Following a careful review of the file sent by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, we determined that there was no realistic prospect of conviction in this case.
"Our decision took into account all of the available evidence and the officer’s use of a taser in light of the circumstances and the law.
"The decision not to charge was upheld following a Victim’s Right to Review, and we explained our decision to the girl’s family.”
The girl's lawyer said in a blogpost that "although my client was ‘armed’ with the shears, there was no suggestion that she was actively seeking to attack anyone with them".
If a police officer is found to have committed gross misconduct, they may be fired or demoted, among other possible punishments.
It comes after Met bosses warned it would take years to rid the force of corrupt officers.
10,000 Met police officers to carry tasers by the end of 2022
About 1,000 officers out of the 34,000 in the force are currently suspended or on restricted duties.
Some 60 officers could face the sack each month for at least the next two years in the clean-up - about 30 will face misconduct proceedings and 30 gross incompetence hearings.
