A Met police officer is facing a misconduct hearing after tasering a 10-year-old girl black girl in home, responding to a report of her threatening her mother with garden shears and a hammer.

A misconduct panel has been informed that a Metropolitan Police officer, PC Jonathan Broadhead, deployed a taser on a 10-year-old girl inside her residence.

PC Broadhead and a colleague were sent to the girl's home following a report from her mother, who claimed that her daughter had brandished garden shears and a hammer in a threatening manner in January 2021.

Upon PC Broadhead's arrival, the mother opened the front door, and according to a description of bodycam footage presented to the panel on Monday, the girl picked up the shears from the ground.

The officer entered the house, shouting at the girl to 'put it down now,' and within a 10-second timeframe, discharged his taser at her twice, as recounted during the hearing.

The police watchdog informed the panel that the young girl moved away from PC Broadhead and was ‘moving up the stairs' at the moment the taser was deployed.

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The mother, who is also black, mentioned her daughter consumed 'edibles,' affecting her behaviour, but only disclosed this after the arrest.

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PC Jonathan Broadhead faced no criminal charges after evaluation by the Crown Prosecution Service.

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Despite not facing criminal charges, he faces allegations of gross misconduct due to employing force that was deemed 'unnecessary, unreasonable, and disproportionate.' If proved, these charges could result in his dismissal.

Although the officer acknowledges using the taser on the girl, he argues the assertion that it constituted unnecessary or unreasonable use of force.

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During the panel hearing, the officer's representative stated that the woman had informed emergency services (999) that she felt 'frightened' and incapable of reasoning with her daughter, particularly after confiscating her phone.

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Olivia Checa-Dover, of the Independent Office of Police Conduct , stated: ‘The officer accepts the factual elements. The issue is not whether this happened, but whether it was consistent with the high standards that apply to all police officers.
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‘What happened upon arrival is captured on [the officer’s] body worn footage.

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‘[Child A] appears to pick something up – now understood to be garden shears – from the floor.

‘The officer instructed her to put them down, which she didn’t do. She walked away from this person, moving up the stairs of the home.
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‘The officer didn’t speak to Ms A [her mother]. He advanced into the house, indicating he was a police officer with a taser.

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Checa-Dover continues the account saying - ‘[PC Broadhead] is seen using a taser on her as she was on the stairs. He had been at the property for about ten seconds.

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‘As she was running up the stairs, she was shot with the taser. They saw her sitting there with the shears and the hammer and instantly reacted to that.’

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