Taser Police Officers recieve £25,000 payout from Merseyside Police

Two police officers who were libelled on live radio by one of their bosses have received £25,000 in damages and an apology by Merseyside’s Chief Constable.

Former PCs Joanne Kelly and Simon Jones were sacked in October 2013 after using a Taser on a man called Kyle McArdle in the back of a police van.

But they appealed their dismissal and were reinstated in June 2014 when the Police Appeals Tribunal concluded the findings of the misconduct panel had been unreasonable and unfair.

Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Ward appeared on BBC Radio Merseyside a month later and was asked what his force had learnt following the sacking of the officers for the Taser attack.

instead of correcting the interviewer and saying Miss Kelly and Mr Jones had been reinstated, he said the incident “demonstrated his force would not tolerate inappropriate use of Tasers”.

In a statement read out at the Royal Courts of Justice today, Jeremy Clarke-Williams, head of libel at legal firm Slater and Gordon, said: “By doing so, he suggested not only that Joanne Kelly and Simon Jones remained sacked from the force, but also that their case was a prime example of conduct which Merseyside Police would not tolerate.”