Police Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Grievous Bodily Harm Charge in Taser-Related Fall Incident

A Metropolitan Police officer has entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm. The accusation stems from an incident where he allegedly Tasered a man, who subsequently fell from an outbuilding and sustained injuries described as life-changing. PC Liam Newman, stationed at Ilford Police Station, faces an accusation of unlawfully and maliciously wounding Leonard Sandiford, aged 61, in Woodford Green, east London, on 24 April 2022. He formally denied the charge during an appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. PC Newman, who resides in Hornchurch, received unconditional bail in advance of his subsequent court hearing, scheduled for 18 December at Southwark Crown Court. During the court proceedings, it was stated that the 30-year-old police officer was pursuing Mr Sandiford on foot along Chigwell Road. Mr Sandiford then ascended “a shed structure” and subsequently fell after a Taser was deployed, as reported by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The IOPC conducted an investigation spanning a year before forwarding its findings to the Crown Prosecution Service, which subsequently approved the charge.