Ex-Avon and Somerset PC's pension docked over teen assault

An ex-police officer jailed after he kicked a handcuffed teenager in the face will forfeit part of his pension.

Adam Kitchener was imprisoned for 14 weeks in October 2019 after he admitted a charge of common assault against a 15-year-old boy in Bristol city centre.

Colleagues said he "used his foot as a weapon" and told the boy "Oops, sorry mate, I didn't see you there."

Outgoing police and crime commissioner Sue Mountstevens ruled Kitchener would lose 10% of his pension in April.

It is the first case of its kind in Avon and Somerset, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

Police officers can be made to forfeit their pensions if they are convicted of a criminal offence committed in connection with their service as a member of a police force that could result in a serious loss of confidence.

Kitchener had been a police officer for 10 years before the assault and joined Avon and Somerset Police in 2016, having previously worked for Thames Valley and Metropolitan Police forces.

He was charged following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into the boy's arrest in Marsh Street.

Kitchener resigned from Avon and Somerset Police the day before he was jailed.

A colleague told investigators he was in "disbelief" at seeing Kitchener assault the boy and he had "never seen such use of force in 10 years of policing". 

The IOPC found evidence "strongly suggested the level of force used" by Kitchener was "disproportionate".

Ch Con Andy Marsh told a misconduct panel in November 2019 that Kitchener, then 36, would have been sacked, had he not resigned. 

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