A suicidal teenager was threatened by police with a taser after becoming distressed on a motorway bridge, a court has heard.
The 16-year-old girl, referred to in court documents as 'HT,' who has a complex history of mental health issues was also accused by officers from Lancashire Constabulary of "wasting their time."
It followed an incident earlier this year in which the youngster had to be talked down from a motorway bridge after taking an "excessive" amount of paracetamol.
READ MORE: Boy accused of 'concocting' allegations of sexual activity and texts with teacher
A formal complaint has since been lodged against the police force after a High Court Judgement revealed the girl was threatened with being tasered and told she was wasting police time.
"The court has requested a statement from the Chief Constable of Lancashire setting out an explanation for the approach taken by the police towards a clearly distressed and suicidal 16 year old young person," Mr Justice Macdonald said in his ruling.
His judgement stated that the Chief Constable of Lancashire "maintains that the conduct of the police during the course of the incident was entirely appropriate."
"A formal complaint has been lodged with the Lancashire Constabulary. In the circumstances, I comment no further on the matter at this stage," Justice Macdonald added.
The court was told the girl had made a series of previous attempts on her own life, and had been moved between various mental health facilities in a bid to meet her needs.
Around the time of this incident, social workers from Blackpool Council were in search of a registered children's home placement but to no avail. The local authority were said to have undertaken 67 placement searches but no offers of an alternative accommodation had been made.
Concerns had been raised by the teenager's guardian about her current placement after HT became aware of messages between staff at the facility referring to her a "wild animal" after having stolen their phone.
In a family court judgement published last month, the judge authorised the continuing deprivation of the girl's liberty in a placement where she watched by three members of staff for 24 hours a day.
Mr Justice Macdonald wrote that it was "yet another example, amongst many examples, of a case in which the acute lack of appropriate resources, for children assessed as not meeting the relevant criteria for detention under ss 2 or 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (the 1983 Act) but requiring therapeutic care within a restrictive environment for acute behavioural and emotional issues arising from past trauma, creates tension between a local authority and the NHS."
A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: "This was a difficult and dynamic situation where there was a significant and realistic threat to the life of a vulnerable 17-year-old girl. Ultimately there was a clear risk that this girl was going to try to kill herself and the officer, by his actions, has prevented her from doing that. Our first duty is to prevent loss of life and we have done that."
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
