By Eric King-
A police officer has been found guilty of assault by beating after pulling a man by his dreadlocks from a patrol car.
Magistrates sitting at the hearing at Loughborough Magistrates Court concluded that PC Matthew Thompson, of Nottinghamshire Police used excessive force in pulling the complainant from the police car after the cop responded to reports of domestic violence at a house in Nottingham on 13 July last year. He has been released on bail and will be sentenced on April 30.
Loughborough Magistrates Court heard the officer had cupped David Thomas’s head and pulled him out of a police car after arresting him. Footage of the officer’s body cam was viewed by the court as part of the trial. Cops were called by the partner of 52 year old Mr Thomas from Nottingham, who complained he had been “incredibly aggressive” towards his partner. The Independent office for police conduct( IIPC) who investigate complaints against the police investigated the case
Magistrates heard that Mr Thomas tried to headbutt PC Thompson and raised a knee to hit him.The 40-year-old, from Derby, told the court he placed both hands on Mr Thomas’s head, as if to cup his head, as he dragged him out of the car.
He told the court: “I managed to keep control, lowering his head to my thighs and placing him prone on the ground. I believe everything I did was legal, [it was] necessary and proportionate.
“I think everything I did had to be done.”
PC Richard Blackwell, responsible for officer safety and public order training at Watnall Training Centre, said in court PC Thompson’s actions were in keeping with current police guidelines, and that there were no instructions about removing a handcuffed person from a car.