A West Midlands Police officer has been charged with three assaults which allegedly took place during separate incidents in Birmingham over four days.
The investigations were promoted after a partial clip of the officer’s interaction with a suspect was widely shared on social media.
The IOPC has said that the charges are in connection with a series of ongoing investigations into allegations of ‘excessive use’ of force by police officers in the city earlier this year.
The 29-year-old officer has been charged with common assaults concerning the detention of a male at Newtown on 21 April; the stop and search of a man at Aston on 20 April; and the stop and search of another man at Handsworth on 23 April.
The IOPC said that they began an independent investigation into the circumstances of the incident at Newtown following a voluntary referral from West Midlands Police on 30 April.
A spokesperson for the IOPC said:
‘Our investigations in respect of the incidents at Aston and Handsworth followed complaints referred to us in May.
‘We passed files of evidence from our enquiries to the Crown Prosecution Service which has now authorised the charges’.
The officer, who is based in Birmingham, will make his first appearance before Coventry Magistrates Court on 18 November. He is currently suspended from duties.
Sarah Hammond, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS West Midlands, said:
“The CPS has authorised the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to charge Declan Jones, a West Midlands Police Officer, with three counts of common assault against three complainants.
“The allegations relate to incidents which took place between 20 and 23 April 2020.
“This decision was made following careful consideration of the evidence presented to us by the IOPC.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against [the officer] are now active and that he has a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
To stay up-to-date with more news relating to the frontline work of the emergency services, then remember to follow us on Twitter. Our handle is @ES_News_ and remember to also subscribe to our free newsletter so that you never miss out on our top stories and videos – Subscribe HERE.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
