Police sergeant who tasered her force's own race relations adviser found not guilty of assault

Claire Boddie fired stun gun at Judah Adunbi after mistaking him for a suspect

Judah Adunbi, a police race relations adviser who was tasered in the face by one of the force's own officers, told the court he had frequently been mistaken for a suspect (Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

A police officer has been cleared of unlawfully tasering her force’s own race relations officer in the face after mistaking him for a suspect.

Avon and Somerset acting police sergeant Claire Boddie, 47, stood trial after being accused of unlawfully discharging a taser and hitting Judah Adunbi, 64, in Bristol.

Salisbury Magistrates’ Court heard he had repeatedly been mistaken for a suspect before and after the incident.

District Judge Tan Ikram found Ms Boddie not guilty of assault by beating.

PC Claire Boddie was found not guilty (PA)

There was silence in the court as the verdict was announced with the 47-year-old sat in the dock looking at the floor. Mr Adunbi and his supporters left the room immediately after the judge left.

Judge Ikram said: “The issue for me is whether the prosecution have persuaded me that she didn’t act in self-defence. The prosecution failed to persuade me and she is found not guilty of assault for that reason.”

During the trial, Ms Boddie – regarded as a well-trained officer with more than 20 years’ experience of frontline policing – said she felt the use of force was reasonable in self-defence, to defend her fellow officer PC Darren Weston, and in order to make an arrest.

The pair approached Mr Adunbi from behind in Colston Road in the Easton area of Bristol and repeatedly asked him to identify himself, telling him he looked like a man they wanted to speak to, the court heard.

Mr Adunbi, a 64-year-old black man, was a member of the force’s independent advisory group which raises policing matters which could cause the public concern.

The court heard he had been mistaken by members of the force for wanted man Royston McCalla on several occasions before and after the incident.

During the encounter, Ms Boddie told Mr Adunbi he looked “familiar”. There was a scuffle and Mr Adunbi fell to the floor after the Taser bar hit him in the jaw, the court heard.

Giving evidence at her trial, Ms Boddie said: “I was not sure it was Mr McCalla. I wanted to give him the opportunity to identify himself and calm him down.

“If he wasn’t Mr McCalla, then the incident would be resolved there and then. If a person is wanted by police, very often they will deny who they are.”

She later admitted she had met McCalla during an earlier police operation, adding: “I could not say for definite that [Mr Adunbi] was or was not him.”

In a statement made after the incident, which was read to the court, she described Mr Adunbi as “hostile from the start”.

In the witness box, she described the sequence of events as “dynamic” and “volatile”, claiming Mr Adunbi was “very agitated and angry”.

In footage captured on the officers’ body-worn cameras, Mr Adunbi can be heard becoming increasingly angry. He shouts and swears, telling them to leave him alone and it is his right to withhold his identity.

He is heard shouting: “Why you coming to torment me? Go f*** off about your business and don’t follow me. Stop, stop, if you put your hand on me I’m gonna f*** you up.

“I’m not threatening you. I’m telling you if you put arms on me I’m going to defend myself. This is not the first time you have done this.”

She said she was aware McCalla’s file had a warning for violence and weapons, so was concerned Mr Adunbi had keys in his hand.

Additional reporting by PA