A West Midlands Police (WMP) officer has been dismissed from the police service for ‘gross misconduct’ after allegations were made that he had used ‘excessive force’ during two arrests.
During the first incident, PC Sunil Narr arrested a male after police were called to reports of a domestic disturbance back in April 2017.
During the investigation that was carried out by officers who responded to the call for help, PC Narr arrested a male.
During the arrest, PC Narr had to restrain the suspect and he was accused of ‘kicking’ and ‘punching’ him.
During a second incident that happened in Feb 2017, PC Narr used his baton to strike a male who had just been involved in a police pursuit.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigated both incidents.
As a result of these two investigations, IOPC investigators submitted two files to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) with a view to charging PC Narr with two counts of assault.
The CPS agreed to bring charges against PC Narr, and in April 2018 PC Narr was charged with assault following the arrest of a male for the domestic-related incident in April 2017.
However, hearing the evidence against PC Narr, Hereford magistrates decided that he had no case to answer and dismissed the charge.
The CPS also brought charges against PC Narr after he struck a fleeing male, who had just been involved in a vehicle pursuit, with a police baton.
A jury cleared PC Narr at Birmingham Crown Court following a trial in June last year (2019).
Despite being found not guilty of both of the charges brought against PC Narr, he was told that he would face a gross misconduct hearing over the incidents.
Following the nine-day hearing last month (July 20), an independently chaired disciplinary panel found the cases against PC Narr, relating to the allegations that he used excessive force, as proven.
He and a second officer were cleared of a further gross misconduct allegation that they had breached standards of honesty and integrity over their accounts of the police pursuit that had led to the arrest of a male in Feb 2017.
IOPC Regional Director for the West Midlands, Derrick Campbell, said:
“Police officers have a duty and responsibility to only use force that is necessary, reasonable and proportionate.
“Following our thorough investigations, West Midlands Police agreed a gross misconduct panel should hear all of the evidence.
“A disciplinary panel has now decided that two of three allegations against PC Narr were proven, amounting to gross misconduct, and dismissed him from the Police Service.”
The news comes at a time when record numbers of police officers are resigning from the force.
Over the last two years alone, 2,363 police officers have handed in their resignation, which has severely dented the efforts of the government to recruit more officers into the police service.
Many officers have also expressed their concerns over what they perceive to be a lack of experienced officers on 999 response teams, as seasoned officers are either resigning from the police or are moving off response teams.
Part of the reason for officers leaving is owing to the fact that many of them do not feel supported in their roles and due to the efforts of some sections of the mainstream media to undermine their purpose.
As an example, the current ‘trend’ of uploading partial video clips to social media of officers having to restrain violent, or potentially violent suspects, has led to a perceived biased negative press against the police.
This negative bias has led many officers to call in to question whether or not they wish to remain in the police.
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