Moment police officer Tasers suspected burglar on shed before fall left him in wheelchair is shown in court

This was the moment a police officer tasered a suspected thief who was left wheelchair-bound after falling from a shed, a court heard.

Leonard Sandiford, 61, was left tetraplegic after PC Liam Newman, 31, fired his stun gun twice while pursuing him in East London.

Metropolitan Police Constable Liam Newman, 31, of Ilford police station, is on trial at Southwark Crown Court after denying grievous bodily harm was caused to Mr Sandiford.

Prosecutors claim PC Newman’s deployment of the Taser was an unreasonable use of force and was therefore unlawful.

But PC Newman said this was the ‘only tactical option’ available and told the court he believed Mr Sandiford was ‘trying to kill’ him when he allegedly tried to run him over.

The court was shown police body camera footage of a thrilling chase through residential streets by a punter and the moment Mr Sandiford squealed in pain and fell after being tasered.

Jurors heard Mr Sandiford fell ‘uncontrollably’ from almost 6 feet and suffered a spinal injury that left him paralyzed and wheelchair-bound.

In his interview read to jurors, PC Newman said he and colleague PC Colin Searle were called to a Coral bookmaker in Woodford Green to reports of a ‘loud explosion’ during an apparent break-in.

Mr Sandiford fell from shed after Taser was fired a second time

PC Liam Newman, 31, is on trial at Southwark Crown Court after denying causing grievous bodily harm

After approaching a van with Mr Sandiford at the wheel, PC Newman said the truck began to reverse as he tried in vain to get inside with his baton.

PC Newman insisted Mr Sandiford was trying to run him over and posed a “real and immediate threat” to his life.

Giving evidence later in the session, PC Newman told the court he feared his colleague would be dragged to death by Mr Sandiford’s van.

The court heard Mr Sandiford jumped from the van and ran down Chigwell road before crashing through a gap in hedges behind some houses.

Both officers gave chase and PC Newman said he was concerned for children or elderly people on the properties as he followed behind the hedge gap.

He said: ‘I had a genuine belief that people on the properties were at risk of harm from the suspect.’

As Mr Sandiford continued to flee, PC Newman fired the stun gun for the first time; He claimed it was the ‘only tactical option’ to prevent him from reaching the gardens.

Prosecutor Irshad Sheikh said Mr Sandiford ‘yelled but kept going’.

He continued running and climbed over a concrete wall onto the shed when the officer fired again, according to the interview read to the court.

PC Newman said his target was ‘on a flat surface’ when he struck a second time and he did not believe he was in danger.

PC Newman told the court he was concerned for his own life, as well as the welfare of his colleague and local residents.

However, this second shock incapacitated Mr. Sandiford and he fell from the shed.

Mr Sandiford had previously told jurors he remembered running from police and being struck by something in his neck or back.

He said: ‘Then my lights went out. About two months later I woke up in the Royal London Hospital.’

He denied trying to rob the betting shop and claimed he only ran from police because he was “scared”.

PC Newman said he was in “imminent danger of harm from the suspect” and described the tasering as a “pre-emptive attack”.

He said: ‘From the beginning to the end of the incident, from the moment I stopped the man in the minibus until he was shocked and help arrived, it took approximately 5-7 minutes.

‘Throughout the entire incident the male never complied with anything I told him, he showed no interest in anyone else, his sole focus was on getting away from us and he didn’t care who he hurt in the process.’

The officer insisted his ‘sole focus during this time is on keeping me, my colleague and everyone around safe’.

Giving evidence, PC Newman denied being in an ‘aggressive mood’ at the time.

The trial continues.