A police officer who fired a Taser at a 10-year-old girl who was holding garden shears has been cleared of gross misconduct. Jonathan Broadhead, a Metropolitan police constable, faced the charge after using the weapon on the child twice within a few seconds of entering her home. He and a colleague were responding to the mother’s 999 call, made after the girl threatened her with a hammer and the shears. He was accused of using force that was “not necessary, reasonable and proportionate” against the girl, referred to as Child A during his hearing at Palestra House in London. On Thursday, the panel’s chair, Catherine Elliott, said: “Having considered the evidence in great detail … the panel has concluded that PC Broadhead’s use of Taser on Child A was necessary, reasonable and proportionate in all the circumstances. The allegations are therefore not proved.” The facts of the case were not disputed but PC Broadhead argued: “Taser was the best option I had” after the girl “armed” herself with the shears on his arrival, posing a risk to him and others in the house. Giving evidence on Tuesday, he said: “I was worried what her intentions were with the shears – why, as soon as she’d seen us, she’d picked the shears up. I was worried what she was going to do with them.” Olivia Checa-Dover, presenting the case for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog, argued Child A had posed “no immediate threat” and claimed her age had not been properly factored into PC Broadhead’s decision-making. The child’s mother, referred to only as Miss A, previously said she was “shocked” by “the way things were handled” by PC Broadhead, who she hoped would help verbally de-escalate the situation. Body-worn footage played during the hearing showed how, referring to the shears, PC Broadhead said: “Put it down now” and “Police officer, Taser” before using the weapon on the girl as she tried to go upstairs. Miss A had called police when Child A threatened her with the tools after she confiscated her mobile phone over a safeguarding concern, the panel heard. She feared the girl’s behaviour may have been affected by consuming cannabis edibles and, on Monday, said Child A had hit her with the hammer after she called 999. The incident left Child A with “three barbs in her skin”, which had to be removed by paramedics, and she spent a night in hospital, Checa-Dover previously said.