A police officer who tasered a naked man who threw his underwear at him has been cleared of assault.
PC Lee Birch, 30, of Wiltshire Police, fired a taser into the naked chest of Daniel Dove during a strip search after Dove was arrested for being drunk and disorderly in December 2012.
The drunk and disorderly charges against Dove were eventually dropped, but during his arrest, Dove is accused of punching PC Lee Birth and repeatedly kneeing PC David Read in the groin.
Dove was then taken to Melksham Police Station where he was booked and a strip search was authorised.
As Dove took his underwear off during the strip search, he flicked them at PC Birth’s face. PC Birth reacted by throwing the boxer shorts against the wall, producing a taser, and firing it at Dove’s chest, which the prosecution claims went beyond a “reasonable” use of force.
However, colleagues of PC Birth described Dove as aggressive and posing a threat to officers while in custody, and so his behaviour may have warranted such a use of force.
After deliberating for more than an hour, the jury at Bristol Crown Court acquitted Birch on charges of assault and misconduct in a public office.
