By Samantha Jones-
A South Wales Police officer who repeatedly punched a man while holding him in a headlock has been dismissed without notice.
A disciplinary panel found PC Rowan Knight had used “excessive force during an unlawful arrest” and had later given a dishonest account of the incident. He even asked the man ”do you want some more”, after punching him.
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The panel heard how PC Knight took an “angry and confrontational tone of voice” before grabbing the barefoot and semi-naked man by the throat.
PC Knight, who was accompanied at the incident by two other officers, had claimed to be acting in self-defence.
Incredibly, PC Knight was found not guilty of assault in relation to the same incident at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court in October 2021, exposing the flaws in the Magistrates Court system where judges are lay men , not trained lawyers. Justice was clearly not served in his case.
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However, an IOPC spokesperson said: “The thresholds for standards of proof in police disciplinary proceedings are different to those at a criminal trial.”
And IOPC director David Ford said: “Police officers should only use the minimum amount of force required in any given situation they face. In our view the physical force applied by PC Knight was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate in the circumstances. The body-worn video of the other officers present did not support the officer’s account that all his actions were in self-defence, and therefore the explanation he gave was dishonest. The evidence indicated that PC Knight continued to use force at a time when the man posed no genuine risk to him or his colleagues.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began an investigation into the actions of PC Knight in February 2021 after a complaint referral was received from South Wales Police, following the arrest of a man on Northern Avenue in Cardiff in January that year.
“We examined allegations including whether there were legitimate grounds for arrest, and whether the force used in punching the man several times to the face while holding him in a headlock and kneeing him in the ribs was proportionate in the circumstances,” said the IOPC.
“It was also alleged that PC Knight escalated the situation unnecessarily by his use of force, and that he later provided a statement that described a different version of events to those captured on police footage.”
During its four-month investigation, the IOPC said it gathered evidence, including body-worn video footage of the incident and took accounts from the man who was arrested and officers present, as well as interviewing PC Knight.
“When our investigation ended in June 2021, we concluded that the officer had a disciplinary case to answer for gross misconduct,” it said.
The disciplinary panel determined that PC Knight’s initial four punches were “reasonable and in self-defence”, but that further punches when the man was no longer a threat were disproportionate.
The panel gave weight to the officer saying to the man ‘do you want some more?’. The panel also considered a number of aspects of the officer’s later statement concerning the events, specifically aspects of his justification for his uses of force, to be dishonest
IOPC Director David Ford said “Police officers should only use the minimum amount of force required in any given situation they face.
“In our view the physical force applied by PC Knight was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate in the circumstances.
“The body-worn video of the other officers present did not support the officer’s account that all his actions were in self-defence, and therefore the explanation he gave was dishonest.
“The evidence indicated that PC Knight continued to use force at a time when the man posed no genuine risk to him or his colleagues.
“A gross misconduct hearing has now determined that PC Knight should be dismissed.”
PC Knight will also be added to the police barred list.
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