Misconduct hearing for Greater Manchester Police officer who used excessive force on a man

This is the statement issued on 3 September 2020, following a misconduct hearing. An update has been added below.

A Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer has been dismissed without notice after a police disciplinary panel concluded he used excessive force on a man in Manchester city centre.

At the misconduct hearing held by GMP yesterday (2 September) it was determined that PC Philip Ellis breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to use of force and that gross misconduct was proven.

The hearing was held following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into a complaint made by a 23-year-old man who was injured when PC Ellis struck him on the head with his baton during his arrest. The incident happened after a disturbance outside a bar on Deansgate Locks in October 2016 and the man required hospital treatment for his injuries.

Our investigation took five months and concluded in March 2017 when our findings and evidence were provided to GMP. In February 2018 the force agreed that the officer had a case to answer for gross misconduct.

IOPC Regional Director Amanda Rowe said: “Police officers are trained to deal with challenging situations and should only use force when it is necessary, proportionate and reasonable. We found a case to answer that PC Ellis used an excessive amount of force when dealing with the disturbance. Having considered all of the evidence we gathered during our investigation, the panel decided PC Ellis had behaved recklessly and his actions put people at risk.”

At the conclusion of our investigation, we referred the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service which decided the evidence did not support a criminal prosecution.

PC Ellis will now be placed on the police barred list.

UPDATE 30 April 2021: After an appeal hearing today, the panel quashed the original finding. They substituted a finding of misconduct and imposed a sanction of a final written warning.