Officer given suspended sentence after punching handcuffed teenager in police van

The incident was captured on the officer’s body-worn video camera and PC Jacob Swallow, 25, based in Bradford district, was found guilty of one charge of common assault.

He was sentenced at York Magistrates’ Court last week to 22 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, pay £200 in compensation and £940 in costs.

The charge relates to an incident in June last year in Keighley. Officers were called to a report of a disturbance and a 17-year-old male was handcuffed and placed in the rear cage of a police van.

West Yorkshire Police said after the cage doors were closed, the male started banging his head against the cage door.

“Two officers opened the van door to restrain him, and he bit one of the officers,” the force said.

“After the cage doors were closed again, the male continued banging his head. At this point, PC Swallow opened the van door and punched the male once to the face, causing his head to recoil backwards and bang against the back of the cage, resulting in a bleeding nose.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Nicola Bryar, head of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “The law recognises that there are situations where police officers may be required to use force. It is vital though that it is only used when reasonable, necessary and proportionate.

“In this incident, the victim was handcuffed and secured in a police vehicle. While the male was being aggressive both to himself and officers, this was no justification for punching him in the circumstances and the court has recognised the officer’s actions to be unlawful.

“This incident was captured on officer’s body-worn video. This is there to protect both our officers and staff and the public. On this occasion it was a key piece of evidence used to convict PC Swallow. The force has mandated that all officers and staff on frontline duties will activate body-worn video when engaging their policing powers. The public should have confidence that this footage provides an ‘independent witness’ to interactions between the police and members of the public and that it is reviewed and acted on, as in this case.

“PC Swallow has been suspended from duty and now that this court case has concluded, we will move forward with misconduct proceedings.”