Police officer dismissed for attacking handcuffed man in the face

A police officer who kicked at a handcuffed man “like a football” as he was being held down by four colleagues has been dismissed from the service.

Sergeant Mark Cooley was found guilty of two counts of gross misconduct by a West Midlands Police disciplinary panel.

Sgt Cooley denied attacking Daniel Rogan in the head on two separate occasions during an arrest at a flat on August 23, 2013 in Stechford, Birmingham.

Mr Rogan, who had been restrained by other officers before the incidents occurred, lost a tooth and needed hospital treatment.

Police Constable Nicola Lea, who claimed at the hearing she had witnessed two kicks aimed at Mr Rogan, has since tendered her resignation from the force.

Assistant Chief Constable Michele Larmour, chair of the three-person panel, said the attacks by Sgt Cooley had been an “unnecessary, unreasonable and a disproportionate use of force”.

Ms Larmour, who accused the officer of discrediting West Midlands Police, said: “Unpalatable as it is, it’s more likely than not that police sergeant Cooley kicked Daniel Rogan in the face as he was being carried down the stairs.”

She said the evidence was “complex, challenging and contradictory” before ruling that the officer was guilty of two counts of gross misconduct.

The panel dismissed the “highly commended and respected” officer without notice.

The misconduct panel was told in evidence last month that Mr Rogan had been at the funeral of his grandmother earlier in the day, had been drunk and abusive and resisted arrest when officers arrived.

The panel found that Sgt Cooley, who had been a police officer for 14 years and a civilian worker for eight years before that, kicked the handcuffed Mr Rogan while he was being held down by other officers over a pouffe.

They also found him guilty of aiming a second kick at his face as he was being carried handcuffed down the stairs minutes later by four officers.

Giving evidence in front of the three-person panel, PC Lea, said: “It was as if he (Sgt Cooley) was about to kick a football.

“He (Mr Rogan) was fully restrained and posed no threat whatsoever. He was handcuffed and officers were holding him down.”

On the allegation that he was kicked a second time PC Lea said: “From the top of the stairs he kicked him in the head again and his head rocked back. I thought for a split-second that he had broken his neck.”

PC Lea only reported the allegations four months after the incident, and claimed that she had been told by Sgt Cooley to not name him in an official report written immediately after the incident.

She went on to claim that some officers had accused her of “being a snitch” and had refused to speak to her when she subsequently made statements to the force’s Professional Standards Department.

Three other officers, who were involved in the arrest, gave evidence at the hearing and said they had not seen either of the kicks aimed at Mr Rogan.

Ms Larmour said: “The public expects police officers to act with self control, tolerance and good judgement, upholding the law and not breaching it.”

She told Sgt Cooley: “Your conduct has fallen far below what is expected of an officer, particularly a supervisor. You have let yourself and West Midlands Police down.”

David Mason QC, on behalf of Sgt Cooley, described the officer has having an unblemished record and somebody who was “highly commended, highly respected and very well thought of.”

A spokesman for Mr Cooley’s legal team said after the hearing that he planned to appeal the decision of the panel.

Daniel Rogan welcomed the decision to dismiss the officer and said he hoped it made other officers “think twice” before attacking members of the public.

Speaking after the hearing to the Birmingham Mail, he said he was relieved that the two-year ordeal was over.

He said: “When I arrived at the hearing I thought it was me against the whole police force, because I had no idea that another officer had witnessed what happened.

“I was shocked when I found out that she gave evidence about witne