Police officer given final written warning after firing Taser at man in River Thames
A police officer who Tasered a suspect five times after the man had fallen into a river has escaped with a final written warning.
Pc Karl Bassom chased the suspect over Hammersmith Bridge in London in the early hours of March 9 2019, on foot and in a passing Uber.
He fired his Taser at the man as he was on the Thames footpath and the suspect fell into the river. Pc Bassom fired five more times while the man was in the water.
The officer was found to have committed gross misconduct by an internal Metropolitan Police disciplinary panel, as well as discreditable conduct.
It said that he had committed misconduct by keeping his Taser armed and his finger on the trigger while in the back of the taxi, and gross misconduct for the final three Taser discharges.
The suspect was not injured as a result of being Tasered.
Watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigated the incident and found a case to answer for gross misconduct, although there was found not to be enough evidence to support criminal charges.
IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: “It is important that officers are held accountable for their use of Taser where it is used inappropriately.
“In applying the test for use of force as decided by the Court of Appeal in the recent case of W80 v IOPC, the police disciplinary panel has concluded that PC Bassom’s use of Taser and his handling of the device was poor on this occasion and breached police professional standards.
“The panel found that PC Bassom’s actions undermined public confidence in policing and brought discredit on the Metropolitan Police Service.
“Clearly the public expects very high standards from police officers so we support the panel’s decision to give PC Bassom a final written warning.”