A West Country police officer has been found guilty of assaulting a 17-year-old boy outside a shop while on duty. PC Lee Prince has been suspended from his role with Wiltshire Police and sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, following the offence.
He appeared at City of London Court yesterday (April 16) having been found guilty of common assault. The court heard how PC Prince assaulted the boy outside Liquor World in White Beam Court, Swindon, whilst on duty on April 17 last year. He arrived at the scene after his colleagues had detained a teenager on suspicion of criminal damage.
The court handed down a suspended prison sentence to PC Prince. In addition, PC Prince must complete 240 hours of unpaid work, pay £775 in court costs, £500 victim compensation and £154 victim surcharge.
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Deputy Chief Constable Craig Dibdin said: “We expect the very highest standards of conduct from our officers - and the public have every right to expect that from us.
“Trust and confidence in policing is hard won and it is imperative that when someone from our own ranks falls short of the exacting standards, we apply the law without fear or favour.”
PC Prince is now subject to a gross misconduct investigation.
