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| PCs sacked over Taser misuse on man in Liverpool | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two police officers have been sacked after a man was wrongly arrested and shot five times with a stun gun in Liverpool. | |
| The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) upheld a complaint by Kyle McArdle, who was arrested for urinating in an alley in 2009. | |
| Mr McArdle was later cleared by magistrates of assaulting two PCs. | Mr McArdle was later cleared by magistrates of assaulting two PCs. |
| Merseyside Police said it welcomed the watchdog's comments and it was now reviewing its use of Tasers. | Merseyside Police said it welcomed the watchdog's comments and it was now reviewing its use of Tasers. |
| PCs Simon Jones and Joanne Kelly were dismissed for gross misconduct after a disciplinary hearing while a third officer, a sergeant, had already been dismissed from the force for an unrelated matter. | PCs Simon Jones and Joanne Kelly were dismissed for gross misconduct after a disciplinary hearing while a third officer, a sergeant, had already been dismissed from the force for an unrelated matter. |
| 'Barbs removed' | |
| "I feel that justice has now been done and I can get on with my life," said Mr McArdle. | |
| The 26-year-old was arrested in December 2009 when he was spotted urinating in an alley off Elliot Street. | |
| He was put into a van and shot five times with a Taser, three times with the weapon pressed against his chest, leg and upper abdomen. | |
| The arresting officers claimed he was violent and Taser was needed to restrain him. | |
| Taser barbs were also removed from his chest by an officer despite guidelines which say they should normally be removed by a medical professional. | |
| The officer claimed he feared Mr McArdle would remove them himself to use as weapons. | |
| Mr McArdle complained that the repeated use of a Taser in the confined space of a police van was disproportionate. | |
| The IPCC upheld his subsequent appeal and recommended Merseyside re-investigate, considering if the Taser use would be justified had the victim been lawfully arrested. | |
| Merseyside Police's leading Taser instructor found that the Taser use was "necessary, proportionate, reasonable and in line with the officers' training". | |
| The watchdog upheld a second appeal, finding that the officers should have been served with notices for gross misconduct and interviewed under caution. | |
| IPCC Commissioner James Dipple-Johnstone said: "While we welcome the robust action eventually taken by the force in response to our appeal findings it is a concern that Merseyside's lead Taser instructor lacked objectivity and presented as fact the officers' version of events without challenge." |