Man who shot police officer detained under hospital order

A man who shot a police officer in the face resulting in the loss of one of his eyes has been detained under a hospital order.

Matthew Tearle fired a number of rubber balls from a paintball gun through the front door of his flat in Rugeley, on 19 October 2014, striking Sergeant Jon King at close range in the eyes. Jon had to have his eye removed due to the damage caused by that shot.

Jon, a sergeant based in the Cannock at the time, who had been a police officer for 26 years, and his colleagues had been called to help paramedics at Tearle’s flat on Wat Tyler Close.

Tearle was subject to a hospital order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act in February 2016 following a ‘trial of act’ at Stafford Crown Court, after he was deemed unfit for trial following a mental health assessment.

Forty-four-year-old Tearle, of Rugeley, has now pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and being in possession of a prohibited weapon (a paintball gun). He pleaded guilty at Stafford Crown Court on 25 October 2024.

He was detained on 5 December under a hospital order with restrictions based on the risk posed to public safety.

Jon retired from the force on medical grounds in 2015 but later re-joined Staffordshire Police as an investigative officer, based in Lichfield, in October 2020.