My client, Cornelius Thomas had been diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. His condition first appeared in 1999 and he subsequently received help from mental health services from 2001 onwards due to it repeatedly recurring.
On Friday 10 June 2011, Cornelius sadly suffered a deterioration in his mental state triggered by a combination of life stressors and a failure to take his medication.
After a mid-afternoon visit by his mental health doctor, Cornelius’ mental health team decided that he should be sectioned under the Mental Health Act. The team requested police assistance and an ambulance to attend.
Four Officers from West Midlands Police were assigned and, that evening, met the mental health team outside Cornelius’ home in Birmingham.
Cornelius, who was unaware of the decision to section him, had been out of the house with his 8-year-old daughter. At about 8pm he arrived home in his car with his daughter safely in the back seat. He saw two police cars and an ambulance near his house.
Cornelius was forcibly extracted from his car and then tasered four times inhis chest, then to his upper torso, then to his torso again, before finally in his back.
On each occasion he was tasered, Cornelius said he felt a surge of electricity, intense pain and fear which caused him to fall to the ground and suffer multiple minor soft tissue injuries.
After the fourth taser assault brought him to the ground Cornelius was handcuffed and transported to hospital where he was de-arrested and detained under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Although liability was disputed and court proceedings necessary, in due course West Midlands Police agreed to an out-of-court settlement of substantial damages and legal costs.
Read more: Does an unjustified taser assault point to a wider trend?
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