Judge refuses application to block Taser victim’s testimony
A police officer has failed to prevent a race relations adviser she allegedly Tasered in the face from giving evidence in court.
Police Constable Claire Boddie’s lawyers argued that Judah Adunbi’s testimony was “irrelevant” because the incident was captured on body-worn video (BWV).
A judge refused the application at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
PC Boddie, 47, of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, denies assault by beating and faces trial on Friday (May 18) at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court.
Her lawyer also claimed that a witness’s account should not be permitted as evidence because the issue in the case is the officer’s perception of what happened and whether her actions were reasonable.
Mr Adunbi, 64, was allegedly hit in the face with a Taser in Bristol on January 14 after officers mistook him for a wanted man.
BWV footage of the incident was widely shared on social media. It later emerged that he had previously been mistaken for the same suspect in 2009.
Prosecuting, Richard Posner argued that witness evidence and other video footage should be included in the trial.
He told Judge Tan Ikram that Mr Adunbi denied being the person the officers thought he was and only activated their body cameras as they began following him.
Judge Ikram ruled that video footage showing other angles of the incident will be shown in court on Friday.
