Met Police officer who twice Tasered girl, 10, as she was threatening her mother with garden shears and a hammer is cleared of misconduct

A Met Police officer who twice Tasered a 10-year-old girl who was threatening her mother with garden shears and a hammer has been cleared of misconduct.

PC Jonathan Broadhead was found to have not breached police standards of professional behaviour after he fired his Taser at the youngster twice at her home in south west London on January 21, 2021. 

He and another officer had rushed to the house after a ‘frightened’ mother called to report her daughter was threatening her with garden shears and a hammer for confiscating her mobile phone. 

PC Broadhead told the girl to put down the garden shears three times before he discharged his Taser twice within ‘approximately eight seconds’ of entering her home.

The girl was left with ‘three barbs in her skin’, which were taken out by paramedics and she was taken to hospital but fortunately did not sustain serious injuries. 

PC Jonathan Broadhead (pictured) did not breach police standards of professional behaviour relating to the use of force against the girl, a hearing ruled

The Met Police constable was accused of using force ‘which was not necessary, reasonable and proportionate’ against the girl. Pictured: File image of the New Scotland Yard sign outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London

PC Broadhead was accused of using force ‘which was not necessary, reasonable and proportionate’ against the girl, referred to as Child A during his Met Police gross misconduct hearing at Palestra House in London. 

On Thursday the panel’s chairwoman, Catherine Elliot said: ‘Having considered the evidence in great detail… the panel has concluded that Pc Broadhead’s use of Taser on Child A was necessary, reasonable and proportionate in all the circumstances. The allegations are therefore not proved.’

The facts of the case were not disputed but PC Broadhead argued the ‘Taser was the best option I had’ after the girl ‘armed’ herself with the shears on his arrival, posing a risk to him and others in the house.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, he said: ‘I was worried what her intentions were with the shears, why, as soon as she’d seen us, she’d picked the shears up. I was worried what she was going to do with them.’

Olivia Checa-Dover, presenting the case for the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog, argued Child A posed ‘no immediate threat’ and claimed her age was not properly factored into Pc Broadhead’s decision making.

The child’s mother, Miss A, previously said she was ‘shocked’ by ‘the way things were handled’ by Pc Broadhead, who she hoped would help verbally de-escalate the situation.

Body-worn footage played during the hearing showed how Pc Broadhead said ‘Put it down now’ three times, referring to the shears, and ‘Police officer, Taser’ before tasering the girl as she tried to go upstairs. 

Miss A called police after Child A threatened her with the tools after she confiscated her mobile phone due to a safeguarding concern, the panel previously heard.

She feared the girl’s behaviour may have been affected by consuming cannabis edibles and on Monday said that Child A hit her with the hammer after she called 999.

PC Jonathan Broadhead was found to have not breached police standards of professional behaviour after he fired his Taser at the youngster twice at her home in south west London on January 21, 2021 (Stock image)

The incident left Child A with ‘three barbs in her skin’ which had to be removed by paramedics and she spent a night in hospital, Ms Checa-Dover previously said.

Commander Jon Savell said: ‘This is an extremely rare and unusual case. In the immediate days after the incident a senior officer visited the address to apologise for the trauma caused to the girl and her family. Although no misconduct has been found, we repeat this apology today.

‘The panel found that PC Broadhead did not breach professional standards based on the information known to him at the time and the clear threat presented, and that he had acted in accordance with his training for the safety of all those involved.

‘Tasers provide officers with the ability to de-escalate situations and protect others from harm. We welcome scrutiny around the use of Taser and are working hard to engage with communities to involve them in monitoring how we use this tactic.

‘From January to October 2023, Taser has been ‘used’ over 5,300 times but only discharged on 359 occasions, a less than 7 per cent discharge rate. Every time a Taser is charged, the incident is reviewed and the officer receives an in-person debrief carried out by lead Taser instructors.

‘It has been almost three years since this incident took place, which has been challenging for the PC and the family of the girl involved. Our officers expect to be held accountable for their actions but this case highlights the importance of the ongoing Home Office Accountability Review and we look forward to its findings.’

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