A police officer who punched a man in a fit of “youthful stupidity” in a Bristol city centre pub while off-duty has been sacked for gross misconduct. PC Jedd Perry was dismissed without notice at an Avon & Somerset Police misconduct hearing on Friday, January 20, into the incident on the dancefloor of the Green House on College Green in August 2021.
The officer, then 21, was on a night out with colleagues when he struck the man twice in the face because he believed his girlfriend, also a constable, was being “sexually assaulted”. PC Perry, who admitted misconduct but denied gross misconduct, insisted he was right to defend PC Jennifer Daly, with whom he was in the early stages of a relationship, after he saw the man lay his hand on her lower back.
But the panel ruled at the end of a four-day hearing at force headquarters in Portishead in November that the attack was unprovoked and his actions unjustified. It found that the Bristol-based student officer had “no reasonable basis for a belief that PC Daly was being sexually assaulted”.
Read more: Police officer accused of misconduct warned he faces sack after throwing punch in bar
The incident sparked a “melee” on the dancefloor and, although the officer went outside, the man he hit, who was not hurt, followed and retaliated by punching him, cutting his eyebrow. PC Daly was accidentally hit during the exchange of blows, suffering a sore head for two weeks.
Barrister George Thomas, representing the force, told the resumption of the hearing on Friday: “PC Perry is extremely fortunate the member of the public was not injured. PC Perry was drunk at the time, possibly very drunk.
“The assault was entirely unprovoked and he was entirely to blame. PC Perry is perhaps lucky he did not face prosecution.
“It is extremely serious for an officer to have acted in this way off-duty. It’s the role of police to prevent incidents like this and protect the public, not to be the perpetrators of this violence.
“A member of the public would be appalled that a police officer acted in this way. It undermines public confidence in the police.”
PC Perry’s barrister, Sarah Barlow, said he should receive a final written warning, not dismissal. She said: “At the time he was 21 and there is a significant degree of immaturity in this case.
“There is a degree of youthful stupidity. There is reputational harm but there was no actual physical harm.
“PC Perry did not face prosecution – there is no conviction or criminal offence. There was an unjustified punch. It was not premeditated, it was drunken and of a brief duration.
“He was young, immature and frankly very stupid. He has shown a level of maturity since the incident and has indicated he would act very differently in future.”
She said PC Perry was of an exemplary character and very highly thought of by colleagues, and that, informed of all the facts, the public would consider a final warning to be appropriate because he would be an asset to the police. Mr Thomas said the standards of professional behaviour were not flexible depending on an officer’s age.
Announcing the sanction, Legally Qualified Chair Adrian Phillips said that although the behaviour of the man PC Perry punched was disrespectful, the attack was unprovoked. He said: “The panel considers a final written warning will be insufficient in this case and no lesser sanction than dismissal would be sufficient.”
PC Perry, who is also now barred from policing, was cleared of gross misconduct on a second count of making a discriminatory comment along the lines of “Why don’t you go back to your own country” to a female colleague of Romanian heritage 12 days before the Green House incident. He admitted misconduct on that allegation and the panel accepted it was an “ill-judged attempt at humour” rather than being intentionally malicious or racist.
The man PC Perry punched did not wish to make a formal complaint but the incident was referred to professional standards by a supervisor, and CID subsequently carried out an investigation. Detectives provided evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which concluded the threshold had not been met for a charge of affray, and because the statutory time limit of six months for summary-only offences had passed, a lesser alternative charge of battery could not be brought.
After Friday’s hearing, head of professional standards Supt Jane Wigmore said: “These are two incidents which happened when PC Perry was off-duty and at social events with colleagues. On both occasions he was intoxicated. Both incidents are highly concerning and indicate behaviours and attitudes which are absolutely not in keeping with the high standards expected of an officer who’s pledged to serve and protect the public.
“We’d like to thank the officers who reported incidents either to line managers or to professional standards. It’s imperative that officers and staff flag any incidents of concern they see or hear about, and we have confidential reporting systems in place to allow them to do just this.”
Read next:
Police officer accused of misconduct says he thought his girlfriend was being 'sexually assaulted'
Bristol cop 'crossed the line' with alleged racial slur weeks before throwing a punch in bar
Off-duty Bristol cop punched man in bar for trying to dance with female colleagues
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