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IOPC Probes Taser Use After Teen Dies on M5 Following Ambulance Exit

The watchdog has opened an independent investigation focused on the officer’s Taser use.

Overview

  • Logan Smith, 18, exited an ambulance that had stopped on the M5 northbound near Weston-super-Mare shortly after 11pm on 30 November.
  • Paramedics reported he entered live lanes and requested police assistance, and a single-crewed Avon and Somerset officer arrived soon after.
  • Body-worn video reviewed by the IOPC shows the officer attempted to engage him before discharging a Taser, causing him to fall.
  • He was struck by a car on the southbound carriageway moments later, received emergency first aid, and died at the scene.
  • The IOPC has taken initial accounts from the officer and ambulance staff, met his family, and confirmed the coroner has completed identification and a post-mortem, while the force says it made a mandatory referral and will cooperate.