4 days ago
20
Scotland Yard has settled out of court with a retired ballet dancer who sued after he was shot with a Taser weapon in his own home in a bungled dawn raid.
Roy Morton, who has a pacemaker and lives alone, was stunned, restrained and arrested by firearms officers who forced entry into his home in Cricklewood, north-west London, on 28 December 2021.
Morton is white and was then aged 80. Police were looking for a black man in his 20s and had gone to the wrong address because of a call handler’s error. Morton was detained for 11 hours before being released without further action and said he felt “diminished” by his ordeal.
His civil claim against the Metropolitan police alleged negligence, assault and battery, false imprisonment and breaches of his rights under article 8 (private life) of the European convention on human rights.
The case was expected to be heard in February but the Met has now agreed to settle out of court without accepting liability. No misconduct matters were identified by an internal Met investigation.
Bodycam footage captured armed officers entering Morton’s home, shining torches and shouting, before firing a Taser weapon at close range. Morton fell backwards and was then restrained, arrested and handcuffed. He was transferred to hospital over concerns relating to the effect of being shot with the stun gun on his pacemaker.
Rachel Harger, of Bindmans law firm, who represented Morton, said: “There was an early public acknowledgment that a serious error had occurred, yet Mr Morton was forced to pursue proceedings to the brink of trial to achieve any finality. Prolonged denial and delay can itself become a source of real harm.”
Morton said: “I lost my sense of safety and calm in my own home. I felt physically and mentally diminished in a way I never had before. I felt as if I had aged into an old man overnight. This process has been exhausting and distressing, particularly at my age.”
DCS Neil Smithson, who leads on professionalism at the Met, said: “We wholeheartedly apologise to Mr Morton and understand the impact this incident has had, while also recognising the amount of time it’s taken to reach a conclusion in this case.
“We hope Mr Morton is able to move forward and thank him for his patience. We have reviewed the circumstances of this incident to identify any learnings and implemented specific training procedures to avoid similar instances in the future. This includes delivering training to each and every call handler within the Met.”
