Complaints against officers

[Fedster + 1,307]

BTP officer successfully appeals against conviction for common assault.

BTP Federation chairman Nigel Goodband

Date - 14th November 2019
By - Gary Mason

2 Comments

 

The BTP Federation says that the successful appeal by an officer who was convicted of common assault after using a taser and incapacitant spray on a man at a railway station, should be used as “guidance” by the IOPC in future cases.

PC Andrew Spiby had his common assault conviction quashed at Birmingham Crown Court this week.

He was found guilty of assault following a two-day trial in April.

The 56-year-old officer had been deployed to deal with a reported disturbance at Derby railway station on 28 May 2018.

In a statement, the BTP federation said it hopes PC Spiby's case will be used as "guidance" by the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), which finished its investigation into PC Spiby and a colleague in October last year and then sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised charges in January.

“We hope the IOPC use this case as guidance when considering similar circumstances in the future. It is extremely difficult to fully understand what goes through an officer's mind as they assess what's happening in front of them.

“There is a world of difference between an officer acting with an honestly held belief about the threat facing them or others, and an officer deliberately and recklessly intending to harm someone. The latter is completely unacceptable, but the former is a split-second decision made with the benefit of both training and experience.

“We are pleased this has been recognised and that PC Spiby's appeal has been upheld by the courts.

“This has been an extremely difficult and stressful time for PC Spiby and this Federation will continue to support him.”

In his chairman’s blog in October BTP Federation head Nigel Goodband said he believed that “the IOPC are attempting to demonstrate their independence by targeting officers who were simply attempting to discharge their duties, upholding the law in a violent situation.”

He said officers who made a split second decision in very challenging circumstances face scrutiny from those that “don't understand policing and have never faced an 'angry man'.”

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[Zulu 22 + 4,571]

Wishful thinking. If we have ever learned anything about the IOPC is that they do not listen and learn lessons from their failures.

[IrateShrike + 1,846]

34 minutes ago, Zulu 22 said:

Wishful thinking. If we have ever learned anything about the IOPC is that they do not listen and learn lessons from their failures.

I would propose that they do listen, but simply don't care because it doesn't fit within their agenda.

[Zulu 22 + 4,571]

3 minutes ago, IrateShrike said:

I would propose that they do listen, but simply don't care because it doesn't fit within their agenda.

That ism a good reason why they should drop the word "Independent" from their title.

[Radman + 2,163]

We're all very happy for PC Spiby.