Five Sussex Police officers are cleared of assaults (From The Argus)
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Five Sussex Police officers are cleared of assaults
1:10pm Friday 21st December 2012 in News By Ben Parsons, Crime Reporter
Five Sussex Police officers have been cleared of attacking a family at their home.
The officers, a sergeant and four constables, were accused of attacking members of the High family at their home near Horsham after they had rowed with a taxi driver over £2.50.
Eighteen months later, and after a three-day trial at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, the officers were told the force they had used was reasonable.
Sergeant Chris O’Leary and PCs Lucy Fenney, Natalie Jennings, Jacqueline Peel and Oliver Pullen were all based at Horsham Police Station at the time of the incident on Saturday, June 25, last year.
They arrived at the High family home in Mile Ash Road, Barns Green, Horsham, at 1.40am.
‘Stamped on’ A taxi driver had complained that Jamie and Joshua High, aged 26 and 24, had refused to pay his £27.50 charge, offering only £25 instead.
Police at the time believed he was reporting an assault.
Wrists marked
Jamie High claimed when he answered his front door to officers minutes later, they said: “£27.50 now, or you’re nicked.”
He claimed that during the struggle that followed he was hit with punches and a baton, sprayed with Captor spray and stamped on while handcuffed. He said the cuffs were so tight it took two officers to unlock them, and his wrists were marked afterwards.
Police said they had heard Jamie High tell Joshua High to “get the shooter”, which Jamie High denied.
When police dropped their inquiry in December last year, the Highs launched their own private prosecution, which was taken over by the Crown Prosecution Service in July this year.
James, Joshua, the men’s father, Andrew, and their mother, Jane, all claimed they were assaulted.
Denied charge
PC Fenney, 30, PC Jennings, 28, PC Peel, 42, PC Pullen, 30, and Sgt O’Leary, 34, all denied counts of assault.
Giving evidence, PC Pullen said Jamie High had taunted the officers when they threatened to use their Captor spray, by swearing and saying: “Go on, spray us.”
PC Fenney described how she sprayed Jamie High, saying: “I thought he was going to injure Sergeant O’Leary. I did it in defence of him.”
She described Jamie High as “revved up, sparring for a fight”.
PC Peel said she was “devastated” by facing the charge.
Reasonable force
She confirmed she had been disciplined in the past with a final written warning for giving conflicting evidence at a coroner’s court.
Lee Harris, prosecuting, said: “I’m not saying you are a bad officer, or any of you are bad officers, I’m saying you and your colleagues got the wrong end of the stick to start with and went over the top.”
PC Peel said: “No.”
Deputy District Judge Andrew Lewis considered the evidence yesterday afternoon (December 20). He acquitted all the officers of assault, saying the force they used was reasonable.
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Comments(12)
Algeria Touchshriek
says...
1:21pm Fri 21 Dec 12
still waiting
says...
1:47pm Fri 21 Dec 12
markiemark1
says...
2:16pm Fri 21 Dec 12
lorrie1
says...
4:48pm Fri 21 Dec 12
Why do the police ALWAYS get away with incidents like this?
AmboGuy
says...
5:02pm Fri 21 Dec 12
lorrie1 wrote:Ha ha still waiting was right.
Police 1, citizens 0, Same old, same old.
Why do the police ALWAYS get away with incidents like this?
Well done lorrie1 for the first really stupid post of the thread.
angrymonkey
says...
5:10pm Fri 21 Dec 12
greeg2
says...
11:19pm Fri 21 Dec 12
still waiting wrote:"Ambogay" you're so smart you should be involved in the space program ! You obviously have never stepped over the threshold of your front door if you think the cops can do no wrong.Mendacity is part of their game,if you don't know that,you don't know anything.
Just waiting for the resident trolls to trot out their All Cops Are Guilty Anyway posts. But I bet nobody who lives near this family is going to question the verdict....
funkyyoyo
says...
2:13am Sat 22 Dec 12
elephantsandowls
says...
1:41pm Sat 22 Dec 12
@funkyyoyo: go live next to the notorious High family, would you? They might actually be able to assist you with your spelling.
D360
says...
3:13pm Sat 22 Dec 12
funkyyoyo wrote:And I suppose all the armed forces are evil murderers too because of bloody Sunday? What does Hillsborough have to do with anything? The story here is the police were called to a family of scummy parasites who then made a malicious complaint, likely for some compo. It's just a shame the cost of the Court hearings can't be deducted from their benefits.
lets not forget hillsborough, they crossed the line in a monster way,and these big wigs will goto prison,not forgetting plebgate too!! the sweeney days are far from over,the corruption is rife and just hidden in a different way,which always surfaces in the end,so theyve only got themselves to blame,time to ween out the bad apples once and for all
AmboGuy
says...
7:10pm Sun 23 Dec 12
greeg2 wrote:And the runner up prize for moronic comments goes to greeg2. This silly little student needs to grow up and live in the real world.
still waiting wrote:"Ambogay" you're so smart you should be involved in the space program ! You obviously have never stepped over the threshold of your front door if you think the cops can do no wrong.Mendacity is part of their game,if you don't know that,you don't know anything.
Just waiting for the resident trolls to trot out their All Cops Are Guilty Anyway posts. But I bet nobody who lives near this family is going to question the verdict....
D360 says...
1:18pm Fri 21 Dec 12