An armed police officer accidentally shot a driver in the arm while trying stop his car, a police watchdog report has concluded.<\/p>\n
Officers stopped the Mercedes car in Castle Lane West, Bournemouth, on 7 August 2018.<\/p>\n
The officer put their hand on the driver’s door but accidentally fired their Glock pistol when the car pulled away, the report said.<\/p>\n
The two people in the car later had proceedings against them dropped.<\/p>\n
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) inquiry concluded the officer had not committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner that would justify disciplinary proceedings.<\/p>\n
Investigators also looked into the planning and safety of the operation by Dorset Police.<\/p>\n
They concluded it was carried out where no members of the public were in the immediate vicinity and the Mercedes had slowed to a crawl close to a roundabout.<\/p>\n
Catrin Evans, IOPC regional director, said: “We are satisfied the shot fired by a Dorset Police officer into the car window was unintentional, and brought about by the Mercedes moving off.”<\/p>\n
The officer has been advised to complete a refresher armed response training course before returning to full firearms duties.<\/p>\n
Dorset Police Assistant Chief Constable Julie Fielding said a “full debrief” would be held into the events of the night to see if there are any “learning points”.<\/p>\n
The passenger in the Mercedes was later charged in connection with a stabbing but no evidence was offered on the first day of his trial and a not guilty finding was returned.<\/p>\n
The driver was charged with dangerous driving in relation to the police stop and assisting and offender. His case was discontinued and not guilty verdicts returned.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"