Wiltshire policeman cleared of assault on appeal

[Bald Bouncer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7cqF4IHdcw

CCTV footage shows Ms Somerville being pushed to the floor, before getting to her feet with blood dripping from her head.
A Wiltshire policeman convicted of assaulting a woman in custody has been cleared on appeal.

Sgt Mark Andrews, of Wiltshire Police, was filmed dragging Pamela Somerville through Melksham police station in July 2008.
The officer was found guilty of causing her actual bodily harm and jailed for six months in September.

Sgt Andrews spent six days in prison, but was released on bail pending the appeal at Oxford Crown Court.
The appeal judge, Mr Justice Bean, said after the four-day hearing he was satisfied that Sgt Andrews did not intend to throw Ms Somerville into the cell and that injuries she suffered "were probably caused by her falling to the floor after letting go of the door frame".

'Unpredictable prisoner'
She had been arrested for failing to take a breath test but was never prosecuted.

After Sgt Andrews won his appeal, Wiltshire Police announced that an independent force would hold an internal conduct hearing into the officer's behaviour in early December.

Sgt Andrews told the appeal hearing that Ms Somerville, 59, was the most unpredictable prisoner he had ever come across and that she had been abusive to both him and his colleagues.


Mark Andrews spent six days in jail after being convicted

The court was shown CCTV footage in which he is seen throwing her on to the cell floor. A minute later she staggers to her feet, with injuries to her face and eye.

Sgt Andrews told the court: "I don't think I did anything wrong.

We are determined to learn any lessons that emerge from this case”

Assistant Chief Constable Patrick Geenty
Wiltshire Police
"She had been holding on to the cell door frame when she suddenly let go.

Insufficient evidence
"It was like pulling a cork out of a bottle."

Ms Somerville was arrested after she was found asleep in her car near her Colerne home and had been detained for failing to provide a sample for a breath test.

She denied any wrongdoing and the charges against her were later dropped due to insufficient evidence.

Sgt Andrews' barrister Jeremy Barton had put it to her at the appeal court that she had been so drunk on vodka the night the incident happened that she was an unreliable witness.

Mr Barton also suggested that she had refused to take a breath test because she knew how drunk she was.

Ms Somerville denied both of these claims.


Pamela Somerville, shown in a picture released by her family, suffered injuries to her face

Sgt Andrews was suspended on full pay following his conviction and had been expected to lose his job.

Following his conviction, Assistant Chief Constable Patrick Geenty said he was "a disgrace" to the force and added: "There is no place in Wiltshire Police for an officer like this."

Mr Geenty said at the time he fully supported the comments of the trial judge, Deputy District Judge Peter Greenfield, who said the officer had "presided over an atmosphere of bullying and intimidation upon Ms Somerville".

Following Sgt Andrews' conviction being quashed, Mr Geenty said due to the high-profile nature of the case the result of the conduct hearing into the officer's behaviour would be made public.

He said: "Sgt Andrews will remain suspended from duty until the conduct hearing and in accordance with national police regulations he will continue to receive full pay for as long as he remains a member of the force.

"Although this appeal hearing has concluded that no criminal offences had been committed we are determined to learn any lessons that emerge from this case and we welcome the fact that the Wiltshire Police Authority has commenced its own independent review of our custody practices."

Source & Video

[Nibb]

Fucks sake...one rule for them etc!

[Bald Bouncer]

The appeal judge, Mr Justice Bean, said after the four-day hearing he was satisfied that Sgt Andrews did not intend to throw Ms Somerville into the cell and that injuries she suffered "were probably caused by her falling to the floor after letting go of the door frame".

Total bollox if you watch the video you can see him looking to the place on the floor he intended her to be as the threw her.

[MoNkFiSh]

Do you think anyone would get let off if they "accidently" gave a pissed off duty copper a black eye like that?
And whys he still got his job? He was convicted and sent to prison so surely at that moment he was no longer a policeman? He should be applying to get his job back after he was released not automatically go straight back on the payroll.

Dont get me wrong pissed women are nightmares and Im sure she was being a pain in the arse - but thats his job to deal with those situations hes supposed to be a professional at handling things like that.

[4me2]

Nowhere in that footage can I see her holding onto the door frame.

Did the judge have different footage to us ?

[4me2]

Just come across this one too.

Pc dismissed for raping woman in police locker room

A Metropolitan Police (Met) officer has been dismissed for raping a woman in a police locker room.
The attack happened in March 2009 after the off-duty Pc took the drunk woman to St Pancras station in north London.
The victim complained but the Crown Prosecution Service ruled there was not enough evidence to press charges.
But a police misconduct hearing found the sex was "non-consensual". The Women Against Rape group said the decision not to press charges was "outrageous".
The woman, in her early 20s, had drunk several glasses of wine at a party at a hotel in central London and went outside when she began to feel unwell.


No memory

CCTV showed the police officer, who had been drinking in a nearby pub, starting to talk to the woman.
He then led her away from her party to nearby St Pancras train station where he was due to sleep in a locker room before starting work early the next day.
In interview he said during the night they had consensual sex.


When the woman returned home she told her friend she had little memory of the evening after leaving the party.

She said she recalled waking up to find a man having sex with her.
The matter was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which managed the investigation and the evidence given to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
A CPS spokesman said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute as it had to prove the offence had happened beyond all reasonable doubt.
But the Met's disciplinary hearing findings, based on the information gathered by the IPCC inquiry, are based on the balance of all probabilities, and found the police officer had non-consensual sex with the woman.
The IPCC refused to name the officer as he had not been charged with an offence.
IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: "The actions of this officer will rightly appal the public as they have appalled me.



'Intolerable behaviour'

"His behaviour was in my view predatory and he exploited the vulnerability of a young woman.
"His conduct would be contemptible from anyone - from a police officer it is nothing short of despicable."
A Women Against Rape spokeswoman said: "This woman was very courageous. It is very difficult to report a police officer to the force that the rapist belongs to and we know of a lot of women who are to scared to do that.
"She has been determined and done a great deal of good."
Commander Mark Simmons said: "This officer acted in an intolerable way and it is only right that once such dreadful behaviour was found proven the man was dismissed."


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11787634

[evilsatan]

The judge needs shooting.

[Nuvoix]

Time and time again they get away with it....anything from from speeding to outright murder. The joke independent police commision are simply taking the piss out of joe public.

[Geko]

How about the fact she was pissed, refused a breath test and had the charges dropped?


Are you all Daily Mail readers?

[Agent47]

no wonder i laugh when pigs get killed. these cunts get away with everything.

scum

[Nuvoix]

How about the fact she was pissed, refused a breath test and had the charges dropped?


Are you all Daily Mail readers?

So what if she was? Does this warrant her being assulted? Big man that can slap a pissed up women Argue the toss if she was asulted or not, The copper is supposedly trained with scenarios like this and he has abused his position.

[Bald Bouncer]

How about the fact she was pissed, refused a breath test and had the charges dropped?


Are you all Daily Mail readers?

So you must be a Daily Mail reader if you think Police having to abide by the laws of the land is wrong, what a retarded comment, the reason she was arrested or what happened with her case has nothing to do with it the Police are employed to uphold the law and protect the public not break the law and abuse the public.

What's your logic on the Rape case, just a perk of the job and she was asking for it?

[Thalamus]

Dont get me wrong pissed women are nightmares and Im sure she was being a pain in the arse - but thats his job to deal with those situations hes supposed to be a professional at handling things like that.

She was pissed and probably threw every name under the sun at him and a few insults at his family I bet. Still no excuse for the way he treated her should have walked away and instead snapped, obviously not cut out for the job and there must have been earlier signs of this.

Can't agree with some of the derogative remarks made in this thread Any kind of trouble and we all find ourselves on the blower.

[Tommy J]

ffs, so she should be wrapped in cotton wool and given a hug before bedtime.

If our police were allowed to use a little more (ok, not excessive) force, then there might be a few less arseholes on the streets.

[Bald Bouncer]

ffs, so she should be wrapped in cotton wool and given a hug before bedtime.

If our police were allowed to use a little more (ok, not excessive) force, then there might be a few less arseholes on the streets.

No one suggested she should be wrapped in cotton wool there is a big difference between using reasonable force and what's shown in the video, these are the actions of someone who knows he is on camera I wonder how many not on camera incidents there have been involving him.

Not sure what you are suggesting by Police should be allowed to use a little more force as they are allowed to use reasonable force and anything more is allowing them to appoint themselves Judge, Jury and execut1oner and that is not there job nor should it be.

[Tommy J]

this is the second case recently where someone has fallen and been injured (the other fatally).

The fact is, if the police cannot use "some force" then there powers are simply going to be worthless (which it appears they are fast becoming) and criminals will soon be ranked higher value than officers.

This woman wasn't beaten with a stick (which if I recall use to be the method not so long ago), she was mearly pushed into a cell for the safety of the community, the office used force to put her there and from the earlier footage this was likely because of the attitide of the woman.

[Bald Bouncer]

this is the second case recently where someone has fallen and been injured (the other fatally).

The fact is, if the police cannot use "some force" then there powers are simply going to be worthless (which it appears they are fast becoming) and criminals will soon be ranked higher value than officers.

This woman wasn't beaten with a stick (which if I recall use to be the method not so long ago), she was mearly pushed into a cell for the safety of the community, the office used force to put her there and from the earlier footage this was likely because of the attitide of the woman.

Do you not understand the concept of reasonable force?
Do you not understand that the Police have to uphold the law and not break it?

The officer clearly lost his temper and deliberately threw the woman to the floor cutting her eye open so badly she still needs an operation on it.

The Police have a multitude of gadgets they are able to use to control people any one of which he could have chosen to use, by your logic people either injured or killed by police handing out street justice to them is ok.

I really don't know why I bother posting on here any more I think it may well be time for me to move on the people and attitudes on here are so far from the place I joined I don't recognise the place.

[B.I.G.]

The fact is, if the police cannot use "some force" then there powers are simply going to be worthless (which it appears they are fast becoming) and criminals will soon be ranked higher value than officers.

Thats a bit shite that m8 we don't employ the police as some form of vigilante group they are there to keep the peace.I have no qualms with the police using force even excessive force but only when the situation warrants it.Some sixty year old female pisshead thrownin a bit of abuse about shouldn't be a problem at all to a decent police officer.

she was mearly pushed into a cell for the safety of the community, the office used force to put her there and from the earlier footage this was likely because of the attitide of the woman.

She wasn't merely pushed into a cell m8 was she though she was thrown to the ground by a sober much larger man trained to deal with shit like this.She was drunk and possibly a bit abusive she wasn't doing a Raoul Moat or anything.

[Over Carl]

Simple way to boil this arguement down. If the policeman is incapable of following the law himself, he is totally devoid of any moral authority, therefore he is totally unable to apply the law to others.

[Tommy J]

don't get me started on Moat....

OK, I'll go with the majority on this one then and say it was an awful thing to have happened to the defenceless drunken abusive lady, lets give her a few hundred thousand for damages. and call it quits.