A Judge has actually backed the actions of a police officer who, using no more force than was necessary, kicked a late night troublemaker in the face.
The Judge went even further by telling the defendant ‘it comes with the territory’ according to an article on DevonLive.com
Matthew Carr was arrested by police after becoming involved in a disturbance outside the Fever night club in Barnstaple before going home to fetch a metal bar, which he used to threaten a police officer.
Carr only dropped the large metal bar when the police officer drew his taser and ‘red-dotted’ him.
Carr got to his knees but the police officer kicked him over as Carr once again tried to reach for the metal bar again.
The officer, deployed with one of Devon & Cornwalls Armed Response Vehicles, aimed for Carr’s chest but the kick caught Carr square in the face instead.
Police Officers around the country will welcome the fact that the Judge in this case clearly understands that, in order to prevent violence then sometimes, as a police officer, you have to use violence.
Carr, aged 28, of Bedford Street, Barnstaple, denied possession of an offensive weapon but was found guilty by a jury at Exeter Crown Court and jailed for eight months, suspended for a year, and curfew for eight weeks by Judge David Evans.
Judge Evans told Carr:
“You armed yourself, expecting in all probability some form of trouble.
“Whether or not you knew immediately that the person who confronted you was a police officer, you realised it pretty quickly, yet you were threatening him with a metal bar.
“You were reluctant to comply and you did get a kick in the face and a cut lip.
“That is what comes with this sort of territory; having an offensive weapon, late at night, out on the streets of Barnstaple town centre when police were already dealing with an ongoing situation.”
Mr Ian Graham, prosecuting, said a police officer from an armed response vehicle was called to trouble near the club and saw Carr coming round the corner of Alexandra Road with a metal pole in his hand.
Carr raised the pole and advanced towards the officer and another man who was stood with him. The officer made eye contact and told him to drop the weapon.
He carried on moving towards him until the police officer who got out his taser and ‘red dotted’ Carr.
Carr responded to the prospect of being tased by, quite rightly, dropping the metal bar and going down on one knee.
The ARV officer then moved towards him and knocked him over with a ‘foot strike’ after seeing him reaching for the pole again.
Factory worker Carr denied holding the pole at any stage. He said it was already on the pavement when he was confronted by the police officer.
The moral of the story here is quite simple: If you don’t want to be on the receiving end of the police having to ‘lay hands’ on you, then don’t act like a buffoon.
We applaud the Judge in this case for actually sticking up for the police officer who was forced to act due to the aggressive nature of what was a completely avoidable (on behalf of Carr) situation.
Go out. Have a good night. Get a kebab. Go home. That’s what 99.9% of decent people do.
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40 years ago I was a regular in the predecessor club on that site, you never saw a copper outside, because there was no need for them to be there. The bouncers knew the regulars and vice versa, the guys from Chivenor (RAF) and Fremmington (Army) went to different clubs so no friction occurred. In the year I was in the area I can only remember one ‘minor’ (thankfully) stabbing (not at that club), now the violence the big cities have been experiencing for years has spread. A major source of friction and problems now is the emptying of the ‘North’ down the M6 and M5 into Devon every summer, where they run the tourist trap attractions, bringing their ‘culture’ with them, as we noticed 20 years ago where to hear a Devon accent you had to go out to the small isolated villages. Unfortunately the Devon born locals have learnt the hard way and may have adopted the same violent responses to the problem…
The Judge was right to support the officer, though a suspended sentence really doesn’t send the right ‘message’.
Rare for a judge to back the police,good on him, but he should have jailed this lout. Good on the policeman for doing a good job, he could have got hurt. People need to respect the police more.