taser
© Carl De Souza / AFP
A police officer has been charged for allegedly tasering her force's own race relations advisor after she reportedly mistook him for a criminal suspect.

PC Claire Boddie has been charged with assault for allegedly tasering Avon and Somerset Police's race relations advisor, Judah Adunbi, during an incident in January.

Adunbi, a 63-year-old grandfather, was initially arrested for assaulting a police officer, but the case was dropped within days.

Boddie and her partner were searching for a suspect when they encountered Adunbi.

After an altercation, Boddie used the 50,000 volt electroshock weapon she had been issued to subdue him from close range.
"An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation concluded in June and a file of evidence was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)," an IPCC spokesperson told the Mail newspaper.

"The CPS decided there was sufficient evidence and it was in the public interest to charge the officer.

"The IPCC began an investigation after the police force voluntarily referred a complaint about the incident, during which a 63-year-old man was Tasered," the spokesperson added.
An Avon and Somerset Constabulary spokesperson told the paper,
"Now criminal proceedings have started, this prevents us from commenting further on the circumstances surrounding this matter, other than to reiterate that we're continuing to fully cooperate with the IPCC as their investigation progresses.

"Chief Constable Andy Marsh has made clear from the start of this investigation that we will discuss the matter fully and publicly once the investigation has concluded."
Adunbi has been a central figure in decreasing tensions between police and Bristol's black community for many years and helped set up a special advisory group to improve race relations.