Merseyside PCs Sacked For Tasering Man

Two Merseyside police officers have been sacked after they wrongly arrested a man and Tasered him five times.

The pair were only dismissed after a legal battle which saw them twice cleared by their own force and after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) upheld two complaint appeals. 

26 year old Kyle McArdle was detained by officers from Merseyside Police in December 2009 when he was spotted urinating in an alley off Elliot Street in Liverpool city centre. He was put into the back of a police van and hit with five Taser rounds, including three times in drive-stun mode - where the weapon was pressed against his chest, leg and upper abdomen. 

The arresting officers said he was violent and the Taser was needed to restrain him. 

Taser barbs were also removed from Mr McArdle's chest in contravention of Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) guidelines which say they should only be removed by a medical professional unless there is an "operational necessity''. The officer who took them out said he feared Mr McArdle would remove them himself and use them as weapons. 

Mr McArdle was charged with assaulting two of the officers but was found not guilty at a Magistrates' Court hearing. 

He said: "After three Merseyside Professional Standards Department investigations and nearly four years since the original complaint, I'm very happy that it went to a misconduct hearing. I would like to sincerely thank the IPCC for upholding my appeals. I feel that justice has now been done and I can get on with my life.''