Police Taser their own race relations leader in Bristol

Police officers Tasered their own black community relations champion after they mistook him for a wanted man, it has emerged.

Two officers were filmed by a passer-by confronting 63-year-old Judah Adunbi, whose job is to create better relations between police and the black community.

The officers, who stopped him near his home, in Easton, Bristol, demanded to know his name but he refused, saying: "I'm not telling you my name. I've done no wrong."

The footage shows him walking to the gate of his house while the officers try to stop him. One then shouts "Taser" and fires the weapon.

A neighbour can be heard shouting that Mr Adunbi is just trying to get into his home.

"He's one of our neighbours. He's a lovely guy, leave him alone," he says.

Mr Adunbi, one of the founders of the Independent Advisory Group set up by police with the black community in Bristol, is seen falling to the ground after being Tasered.

He said he was "humiliated" by the incident last Saturday in which he thought he would lose his life.

"I felt that was it. Because of the way I fell back. The way I fell backward on the back of my head. I was just paralysed. I thought that was it," Mr Adunbi said.

"I thought they were taking my life."

Chief Superintendent Jon Reilly, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "After reviewing what happened, we voluntarily referred a complaint about this incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

"Although we don't have to refer an incident in which a Taser has been discharged to the IPCC, we want to be as open and transparent as possible.

"I've met with Mr Adunbi and we had a constructive conversation.

"We're aware of concerns within the local community and we take these concerns very seriously. We would like to answer their questions, but we need to be mindful that an investigation is ongoing which makes that difficult.

"However, I would like to reassure them that the incident was captured on the officers' body worn video cameras."