CCTV shows PC Tasering man in Wiltshire police cell
The BBC has obtained footage of a police officer Tasering a naked man in a police cell in Wiltshire.
PC Lee Birch was cleared of assaulting Daniel Dove, 24, at Melksham police station but now faces an IPCC inquiry.
The Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police Patrick Geenty tried to stop the video being broadcast but now accepts it is inevitable it will be seen.
He said it was his duty to ensure nothing prejudiced the forthcoming investigation.
"There is an ongoing IPCC investigation and in my view releasing the video to the media could have been prejudicial," he said.
"I am the responsible authority for ensuring investigations are fair and in my view releasing it could prejudice their investigation.
"That's why I objected to its release."
Still on duty
A copy of the CCTV footage was handed to BBC Points West's Home Affairs Correspondent Steve Brodie.
It shows 30-year-old PC Birch firing the stun gun into Mr Dove's chest after he threw his underpants at him during a strip search in December 2012.
Mr Dove had been arrested for being drunk and disorderly and assault, but the case was later dropped.
A hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday found PC Birch not guilty of assault or misconduct.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has begun an investigation into whether PC Birch breached standards of professional behaviour.
Wiltshire Police said PC Birch has remained on duty since the incident and throughout the trial, and had never been suspended from duty.
In 2010 a woman was dragged across a floor and thrown head first into a police cell by a police custody sergeant, also at Melksham police station.