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| Wiltshire Police officer cleared of Taser assault | Wiltshire Police officer cleared of Taser assault |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A police officer who used a Taser on a naked man who threw his underpants at him has been cleared of assault. | A police officer who used a Taser on a naked man who threw his underpants at him has been cleared of assault. |
| Wiltshire PC Lee Birch, 30, fired the stun gun into Daniel Dove's chest during a strip search at Melksham Police station in December 2012. | Wiltshire PC Lee Birch, 30, fired the stun gun into Daniel Dove's chest during a strip search at Melksham Police station in December 2012. |
| Mr Dove, 24, was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and assault, but the case was later dropped. | Mr Dove, 24, was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and assault, but the case was later dropped. |
| The jury at Bristol Crown Court also found the officer not guilty of misconduct. | The jury at Bristol Crown Court also found the officer not guilty of misconduct. |
| It took the jury of six men and six women just more than an hour to acquit unanimously PC Birch. | It took the jury of six men and six women just more than an hour to acquit unanimously PC Birch. |
| The jury had heard Mr Dove had been arrested after a disturbance outside a nightclub in Trowbridge. | The jury had heard Mr Dove had been arrested after a disturbance outside a nightclub in Trowbridge. |
| Took off boxer shorts | Took off boxer shorts |
| PC Birch had told the jury that Mr Dove "appeared to be drunk" and he considered the threat posed by him was "extremely high". | PC Birch had told the jury that Mr Dove "appeared to be drunk" and he considered the threat posed by him was "extremely high". |
| The court had previously heard that during the strip search in a police cell Mr Dove took off his boxer shorts and flicked them at the officer, hitting PC Birch on the side of his face. | The court had previously heard that during the strip search in a police cell Mr Dove took off his boxer shorts and flicked them at the officer, hitting PC Birch on the side of his face. |
| CCTV footage of the incident shows PC Birch ripping the boxer shorts from Mr Dove and throwing them against the wall of the police cell. | CCTV footage of the incident shows PC Birch ripping the boxer shorts from Mr Dove and throwing them against the wall of the police cell. |
| He fired his Taser and then shouted "you have assaulted me for the second time". | |
| Mr Dove was left "prostrate on the ground" while PC Birch removed the prongs of the Taser from his chest. | Mr Dove was left "prostrate on the ground" while PC Birch removed the prongs of the Taser from his chest. |
| Speaking outside court, Ch Supt Paul Mills from Wiltshire Police said: "The use of Taser is one of a number of tactical options available to selected officers who have undertaken rigorous training and assessment. | |
| "During their training it is highlighted to officers that the level of force used must be reasonable and necessary to achieve the purpose. | |
| "Officers are individually accountable for the amount of force they use on a person and will always have to justify their actions as being necessary and proportionate under the law." | |
| Mr Mills added the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) had begun an investigation into whether PC Birch "breached the standards of professional behaviour expected of all police officers". | |
| He added that Wiltshire Police had commissioned an independent peer review by the College of Policing in relation to the force's Taser policy and procedures. | |
| Mr Mills added that the force had now rewritten its Taser policy in light of the review and changed its selection process for Taser-trained officers. | |
| He added: "I also wish to emphasise that the safety of all detained persons in our care is of paramount importance and taken very seriously indeed by the force." |