Former West Midlands Police officer sentenced for assaulting schoolboy

A former West Midlands Police constable was today (Monday 9 October) sentenced for assault after a court heard that she had struck a 12-year-old schoolboy in the face during an altercation in Birmingham while off-duty. The officer, who resigned last month (September) was charged following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Ex-Police Constable Sharanjit Kaur, aged 41, appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court and was given a 12-month community order for assault by beating after changing her plea to guilty. She initially denied the offence at a previous hearing.

Mobile footage of the incident on 13 October last year (2022) was circulated widely via social media, which led to a conduct referral to the IOPC from West Midlands Police. A complaint was also made by the family of the boy who was struck.  

Magistrates were told that the now former officer intervened during an altercation involving schoolboys in Great King Street North.

Evidence gathered by IOPC investigators indicated that PC Kaur, who was based at Newtown, pushed a boy away from the group, shouted at him “who the hell are you?” and then hit him in the face while holding a set of car keys. The strike caused a cut to the boy’s cheek. When challenged by an onlooker she identified herself as a police officer.   

IOPC Regional Director Derrick Campbell said: “Police officers may only use force when it is necessary, proportionate, and reasonable in the circumstances. There was no policing purpose or any other justification for the officer to strike the boy, who posed no genuine risk to her.

“The victim’s age and vulnerability were clearly aggravating factors and then PC Kaur’s actions had the capacity to undermine public confidence in policing. She has quite rightly been held accountable.”

Now the criminal case has concluded, the force will hold a misconduct hearing for ex-PC Kaur after our investigation found she had a case to answer for gross misconduct in relation to the force she used and other potential breaches of police standards for professional behaviour.

During our investigation our investigators interviewed the officer under criminal and misconduct caution. Mobile footage was reviewed and statements were taken from independent witnesses. At the conclusion of our investigation in March, (2023) we passed a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charge.

• At a hearing organised by West Midlands Police today (12 October) gross misconduct was proven against former PC Kaur for breaching police professional standards of behaviour relating to discreditable conduct. It was determined that had she still be serving she would have been dismissed, and she will also be added to the College of Policing barred list preventing future employment with the police service.