A Metropolitan Police officer is standing trial for grievous bodily harm after a man he Tasered fell from a wall and was left with catastrophic, life-changing injuries, a court has heard.
The Incident: A Chase and a Fall
Leonard Sandiford is now tetraplegic and confined to a wheelchair after falling from a height of five to six feet in Woodford Green, East London. The fall occurred on April 24, 2022, after he was Tasered by PC Liam Newman, 31, while attempting to escape from police.
Prosecutor Irshad Sheikh told Southwark Crown Court that officers had been responding to a report of an attempted burglary at a bookmakers on Chigwell Road at around 5am. The officers located a white Ford van driven by Mr Sandiford and cut it off. PC Newman struck the driver's side with his baton, opened the door and tried to pull the driver out.
Mr Sandiford initially held his hands up but then ran away, leading to a pursuit. He eventually climbed onto the wall of an outbuilding in a cul-de-sac. "Mr Sandiford was simply running away. He was not a threat to either of the officers," Mr Sheikh told the jury.
Prosecution Case: An 'Unreasonable' Use of Force
The prosecution argues that PC Newman's decision to deploy his Taser was an unreasonable and unlawful use of force. The court heard that Newman fired his Taser twice during the chase and then twice more when Mr Sandiford was on the wall of the shed.
"PC Newman, as you would expect, had been on training programmes for the deployment and use of Tasers," Mr Sheikh said. "That training highlighted the risks involved where subjects were running away and the risk of injury being increased as they would be moving at a higher speed. That risk increased further when a subject was at a height."
He stated that the risk of a severe injury from an uncontrolled fall in such circumstances should have been obvious to the trained officer. The first Taser shot on the wall caused Mr Sandiford to yell out, but he continued. The second discharge incapacitated him, causing him to lose muscle control and fall to the ground, sustaining a spinal cord injury.
Life-Changing Consequences and Ongoing Trial
The consequences for Leonard Sandiford were devastating. The fall rendered him tetraplegic, meaning he has lost use of all four limbs and his torso. He now requires the use of a wheelchair.
PC Liam Newman denies one count of grievous bodily harm. The trial, which opened on Monday, January 5, 2026, continues at Southwark Crown Court as the jury considers whether the officer's actions were a criminal assault or a lawful use of police power.
The case raises significant questions about police use of force, Taser deployment guidelines, and the split-second decisions officers must make in high-pressure situations.
