Former Gwent Police officer found not guilty of assault

A former Gwent Police officer has been found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation. 

At the end of a four-day trial at Swansea Crown Court, former PC Gediminas Palubinskas, 34, has been cleared of using excessive force used during the arrest of a man in the garden of a property in Newport in July 2021.  

We began our investigation after we received a conduct referral from the force, and concluded in September 2022, when we sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which authorised the charge against the officer. 

During our investigation, we secured and reviewed mobile phone footage, interviewed PC Palubinskas under caution and gathered statements from other relevant police officers and from members of the public. 

IOPC Director David Ford said: “Police officers are given significant powers to use force, but the manner in which they use force must be reasonable and proportionate. Given the seriousness of the allegation, it was important this incident was independently and thoroughly investigated. After we presented our evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, it authorised the charge of actual bodily harm. Having heard and tested the evidence, the court has now reached its decision.” 

The officer resigned from Gwent Police in January 2024, the day before a gross misconduct hearing was held on an unrelated matter. Gross misconduct was proven and the officer would have been sacked had he not already resigned. Mr. Palubinskas was also barred from working in policing. 

Now the criminal case has concluded, we will liaise with the force on the next steps regarding a misconduct hearing for ex-PC Paulbinskas, after our investigation found he had a case to answer for gross misconduct, in relation to the force he used and other potential breaches of police standards for professional behaviour.