A teenager who got out of an ambulance on a motorway hard shoulder was Tasered by police before being hit and killed by a car, official watchdogs have said.
Logan Smith, 18, was being taken to hospital when the ambulance pulled off the northbound carriageway of the M5 in Somerset because paramedics were concerned. The Independent Office for Police Conduct said Smith left the ambulance near the junction for Weston-super-Mare and walked on to the live lanes of the motorway.
Paramedics called Avon and Somerset police for assistance at about 11pm on 30 November and an officer arrived a short time later.
The IOPC said body-worn video footage showed the officer tried to engage with Smith before firing a Taser, causing the Weston-super-Mare teenager to fall to the ground. He was then hit by a car travelling along the southbound carriageway and died at the scene despite emergency first aid.
Derrick Campbell, the director of the IOPC, said: “My thoughts and sympathies are with Logan’s family and friends and everyone affected by this shocking and tragic incident. We want to reassure everyone that we will independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident, including the use of a Taser.
“After being notified by the force, we sent our investigators to the police post-incident procedure to begin gathering evidence. We have taken initial accounts from the officer and ambulance staff involved. We met with Logan’s family on Tuesday, to give our condolences, explain our role and to provide some further detail about our investigation, including a Taser being discharged during the incident.”
The coroner has been informed and formal identification and a postmortem have taken place. Following Smith’s death, Avon and Somerset police said the on-duty officer had “attempted to bring him to safety to reduce the risk to him and other members of the public”.
On Monday, Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall said: “Our thoughts are with the man’s family at such a devastating time. We will support them in any way we can. This incident has had a significant effect on our officers and ambulance crews who are understandably incredibly upset by what happened.
“As well as providing support to the man’s family, we are also making sure that the appropriate welfare arrangements are in place for our staff and also for those members of the public who were either directly involved or who witnessed the incident.
“A mandatory referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct by our professional standards department. It’s already begun an independent investigation into the circumstances, which we will fully cooperate with.”
