Police officer denies punch was 'excessive force'

A police officer who punched a suspect three times has denied using excessive force despite appearing to knock the man unconscious.

West Yorkshire Police officer Brian Long is currently facing a gross misconduct hearing over the incident in October 2022.

On Monday the hearing was told PC Long gave the suspect a "backhander" after being spat at, then punched him in the face three times following a headbutt.

A solicitor acting on behalf of PC Long, who could be sacked if he is found guilty of gross misconduct, said his actions were "reasonable and proportionate".

Opening the case against the officer at West Yorkshire Police's headquarters in Wakefield, Ian Mullarkey said PC Long had an "apparent reputation for using force" among his colleagues.

The incident took place during the arrest of a domestic abuse suspect on suspicion of false imprisonment at an address in Knottingley on the evening of 14 October.

Mr Mullarkey said the officer was "abrasive and confrontational" towards the man throughout his arrest and was not merely acting in self-defence, as he had suggested.

He added there was no evidence of the suspect making "any aggressive movements" prior to his detention.

However, according to Mr Mullarkey, PC Long "throws him into the fireplace" before pinning him to the floor.

Body-worn camera footage played at the hearing showed him hitting the man twice to the stomach while he was pinned down.

The officer later told a colleague he "had to give him a couple of light strikes" during the arrest.

Earlier in the evening PC Long had used offensive language to describe the suspect following a conversation with the complainant and called him a "weapon" while transporting him to custody.

After he stopped the vehicle he had been transporting the suspect in to search him, PC Long gave the man what he described as a "backhander" when he appeared to spit at him.

Upon arrival at the custody suite, PC Long told the suspect he was "all mouth" before CCTV footage showed the man headbutting him.

The footage then showed PC Long punching him to the head three times, which appeared to knock the suspect unconscious.

PC Long was then seen to drag the man by his clothing into a holding area. While he was being dragged along the ground, he hit his head against a door frame and was later taken to hospital for treatment on his injuries.

The officer later told his colleague: "He's horrible. You want to see what he's done to this lass.

"He's got a little bit of his own medicine."

He also claimed the man had "asked for it", adding: "I'm not going to stand there and be anyone's punchbag."

According to Mr Mullarkey, when another colleague told PC Long "I hope you chinned him twice", he replied: "I did actually" and began to laugh.

Defending his actions, the officer said he was "lucky" to maintain consciousness after being headbutted to the jaw.

He claimed he acted "immediately and instinctively" by striking the suspect to the face three times "as his head was the weapon he had used attacking me".

"It was just to stop a further assault on me and my colleague".

The officer, who is expected to give evidence in his defence on Tuesday, said he "didn't recall" the man banging his head on a door frame.

The hearing continues.

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