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A police officer tearfully thanked the jury which found him not guilty of causing actual bodily harm with a Taser on the side of a motorway.

PC James Clements was accused of attacking Michael-Lee Quinn on the M5 slip road at junction 14 for Falfield, in South Gloucestershire.

The 32-year-old, from Radstock in Somerset, denied wrongdoing after the incident on December 4 last year.

He stood trial at Bristol Crown Court and the jury found PC Clements not guilty today (November 22) after less than two hours of deliberation.

Following the unanimous verdict, PC Clements let out a deep sigh of relief and thanked the jurors as they left the courtroom.

Judge Julian Lambert said: "For the record, I found nothing at all questionable about PC Clements' conduct."

How the case unfolded

The PC was part of a pursuit of a van containing Michael-Lee Quinn, from which items were being thrown.

He accepted he smashed the driver’s window and twice hit Mr Quinn in the face with a Taser, but these actions were found to have been necessary and proportionate.

The acquittal came after prosecutor Anna Midgley and Helen Elder, defending, gave closing speeches today.

Ms Midgley told the jury: “I am not suggesting the force of the blow is the problem. It’s the question of whether the blow or blows should have been delivered at all.

“It’s clear he ended up with a fractured eye socket, but that’s not what I suggest PC Clements to be responsible for.”

She pointed out PC Clements can be heard in footage of the incident shouting “stop f****** ignoring me” and “I f****** told you, get back”.

Ms Midgley said she attributed the cut to Mr Quinn’s nose, the cut to his forehead, or both, to PC Clements.

She continued: “I want to guard against an idea: you are faced with a van full of criminals and you may think they deserve what they got.

“Not a very attractive bunch, some of their conduct very unpleasant. They certainly don’t deserve any prizes for what they did that evening.

“Throwing items out of the back of a van is a serious risk to other road users. We don’t know who did that. We don’t know if Mr Quinn committed a crime.

“But there is a process for what happens to someone when they commit a crime. I want to guard against the idea that these people deserve whatever they get.”

She argued PC Clements did not need to do anything to retain his weapon when he struck Mr Quinn for the second time.

The prosecutor added: “Something to be considered is a police officer giving evidence after the event can blow a smokescreen of technical terms about the training they received.

“I’m not saying you should treat PC Clements like any other citizen who hits someone in the face. He has particular powers, he is armed. But don’t let police-speak distort reality.

“It doesn’t matter if you call it a ‘check strike’ or a smack in the face. It wasn’t justified. It wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t proportionate.”

She claimed PC Clements had “had enough of being got at” by Mr Quinn

In the defence’s closing speech, Ms Elder told the jury the decision to box and stop the van was taken by “police command”, not PC Clements.

She added: “They were aware it was a vehicle registered in South Wales and it had gone past the obvious turnings.

'Out of control'

“They don’t know how many persons are in the vehicle. They approached the scene quickly not knowing what they would find.

“PC Clements strikes the window with a hammer and breaks it. That goes straight back into his pocket.

“There is an immediate engagement with anyone in the van so they know police are in attendance.”

Ms Elder said PC Clements needed to prevent anyone from trying to escape in the van, as the key was in the ignition.

She continued: “The first strike happens very quickly as the van has been stopped and all this commotion is going on.

“PC Clements has drawn his Taser which is bright yellow, so it is a clear warning to people. What happens is he is shouting, ‘Get back, get back.’

“One of Mr Quinn’s arms begins to move, so PC Clements is not sure what he has got. The key is in the ignition. His eyes are white and, PC Clements says, ‘popping at me’.

“Maybe that’s just his way, but that’s not the point. That’s what PC Clements was faced with in the van.”

Ms Elder described Mr Quinn as “acting in retaliation and anger”. She said he was “out of control”.

She added: “The threat had escalated from him leaning round the seat and mouthing off, to standing up and moving forward.

“You may think in those circumstances a single, very quick strike is entirely proportionate to the potential threat.”

'Very shy'

PC Clements’ superior officer, Sergeant James Quinn, took to the witness box before the closing speeches.

He said: “When I first met James I thought he was the last person you’d expect to find in the firearms department.

“He was very shy, introverted, quiet. I was taken aback.

“But I was immediately struck by his competence when attending firearms incidents with him.

“He showed composure, clarity of thought, professionalism and the ability to make split-second decisions in response to threats.”

Ms Elder also called retired police inspector Darren Jarvis, another former superior to PC Clements, to the stand.

Mr Jarvis said PC Clements was an armed response officer who was “very, very good and switched on”.

“I always found him to be a very, very level-headed officer,” he added.

“He was proactive in a professional sense that he would seek to work, and he would use the technology available more than other officers to proactively seek out crime.”

Mr Jarvis told the court PC Clements was going through the process of becoming a police sergeant.

He said: “Shortly after I retired I was contacted to let me know he was successful in that process, but now of course we have the current delay.

“As well as being very knowledgeable about the law and systems police use, he’s always struck me as a man with integrity, an honest man. I have a lot of time for James.”

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