Two Metropolitan Police Service officers found guilty of assault

Two Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers have been found guilty of assault charges following a six-month investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Following a trial which concluded at City of London Magistrates Court today (Friday 14 May) Police Constable Jack Wood, from the East Area Command Unit, was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault. He will be sentenced on 3 June at Westminster Magistrates Court.

Former PC Archie Payne, also based at the East Area Command Unit, was found guilty of common assault. He was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £1,634. The former officer resigned from the MPS in 2020.

We began our investigation in January 2020 following referral from the MPS of a complaint made by a man who sustained a serious head injury during the incident.

Our investigation established that shortly before 2am on 5 January 2020, MPS officers were outside the World’s Inn pub, on South Street, Romford. They were approached by the victim who said officers refused a request to help his friend. Moments later a fight a broke out near a railway bridge during which PC Wood used his baton resulting in the victim receiving a serious head injury, which required eight stitches.

IOPC Regional Director Graham Beesley said: “Officers are trained to de-escalate volatile situations and have a variety of techniques they can deploy without resorting to the use of force seen in this incident.

“PC Wood’s use of his police baton was disproportionate, unnecessary and wholly unreasonable.

“This investigation serves as a powerful reminder of our role within the police complaints system to independently examine the circumstances of all deaths or serious injuries following police contact, and we will do so to the fullest extent of our abilities and powers.”

In June 2020 we completed our investigation and passed a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who made the decision to charge the officers.

PC Wood will now face a gross misconduct hearing for breaches of the standards of professional behaviour in relation to use of force.

During our investigation we obtained and analysed footage from the officers’ body worn video as well as CCTV in the area. We obtained statements from the officers involved in the incident and took accounts from independent witnesses.

On Thursday 3 June, PC Wood was handed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and ordered to pay a £200 fine, £1000 in costs, and a £122 court fee.

Update (6 October 2022)

In May 2022, PC Wood was dismissed without notice at a special case hearing organised by the force as his conduct was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour for discreditable conduct and use of force.

In June 2022, former PC Payne lost an appeal against his conviction at Southwark Crown Court and saw his sentence revised to four months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was ordered to pay costs totalling £2,122.

In September 2022, a special case hearing found former PC Payne would have been dismissed without notice had he still been serving, as his conduct breached the standards of professional behaviour for discreditable conduct and use of force. Both officers have been placed on the barred list.