Four police officers in the dock over a bar brawl during which a man claimed he was battered in a toilet cubicle have been cleared after a three week trial.
However a spokesman for Merseyside Police said, despite the acquittals at Preston Crown Court yesterday, the officer's actions will be "considered" through misconduct proceedings. Disciplinary hearings rely on a lower threshold of proof than criminal trials and can lead to officers being sacked without notice and barred from policing jobs for life.
The Merseyside PCs, based at Edge Lane police station, were off-duty and on a night out celebrating a colleague getting a new posting when violence erupted at Ava's Bar in Renshaw Street, on July 28, 2020.
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Jack Bennett, then 18, claimed he had been battered by PCs Sean Miley, 31, and Paul Grimes, 37, in a disused toilet cubicle while 26-year-old PC John Thompson grappled with his older brother, Mark Bennett. Jack Bennett told a jury he had been repeatedly punched, had his head smashed into a toilet and was stabbed in the leg by PC Miley using a shard of broken porcelain.
CCTV had captured him being pushed into the cubicle by Miley, who was followed inside by Grimes, but what happened inside occurred off-camera. The three men remained inside for a minute and 30 seconds, before Miley and Grimes walked out, followed a few seconds later by Mr Bennett sporting a bloody nose.
Outside, Mr Bennett emerged to see Thompson grappling with his brother, and responded by smashing a pint glass over Thompson's head, knocking him to the floor. He was initially charged with wounding for that incident, but the charges were dropped before reaching trial.
Miley and Grimes were each charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and denied any wrongdoing, claiming they were simply restraining Mr Bennett to prevent him assaulting their colleagues. Thompson was charged with affray over the clash with Mark Bennett, while the fourth officer, Lucy Donaldson, 40, was also charged with affray for allegedly grabbing the hair of bar worker Lorraine Brady.
All four officers claimed they had acted in self-defence and were using reasonable force after the incident erupted. Charlotte Rimmer, representing Grimes, and Philip Astbury, representing Miley, each suggested Mr Bennett had lied about what happened in the toilet cubicle and even smashed it up himself during a six minute period when CCTV showed him re-enter it alone after glassing Thompson.
Ms Rimmer suggested Mr Bennett could have cut his leg himself while smashing up the toilet, while Mr Astbury suggested it would have been "impossible" for Miley and Grimes to pick him up and smash him into the toilet in such a confined space. Mr Bennett maintained his account and said he had been beaten up "while I cried".
The defence also claimed Mr Bennett had been snorting cocaine on the night, referring to a clip of CCTV which appeared to show him brushing his nose with his fingers and rubbing his gums. Mr Bennett denied taking cocaine saying "I don't do that stuff", but Richard Orme, representing Thompson, told the jury his medical records showed he had discussed his "cocaine use" with his GP around 10 months before the incident.
The jury also heard from Temporary Inspector Emma Haffenden, who was also in the bar on the night out and was the supervisor for each officer in the force's Targeted Team, based out of Edge Lane. Under questioning from Stephen Grattage, representing Donaldson, she said she was "grateful" her colleague had restrained Ms Brady and said there had never been any concerns about the integrity or use of force of any of the defendants in the past.
Donaldson was cleared before the jury were asked to deliberate following an application from Mr Grattage suggesting his client had no case to answer. Judge Elizabeth Nicholls granted the application, throwing out the case against Donaldson, but dismissed similar applications from the other three defendants and allowed the jury to retire to deliberate on those charges.
After around 10 hours of deliberation, the jury returned not guilty verdicts for each count on a majority decision, meaning not all 12 jurors were in agreement.
Speaking after the case, Deputy Chief Constable Ian Critchley said: “We acknowledge the decision of the court, and whilst there is still one other matter outstanding in the magistrates court involving one of the officers, we will now consider the actions of the officers under misconduct regulations.
"We expect the highest standards of integrity and behaviour from our officers, whether on or off duty, and will always investigate and take the necessary action if those standards fall short. It is vital that we maintain those standards so the public can have the confidence in us to provide a professional service with integrity, compassion and understanding."
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