Final written warning given to West Mercia Police officer following assault
West Mercia Police held an accelerated misconduct hearing into PC Herwin’s behaviour.
A police officer has been given a final written warning after he assaulted a vulnerable member of the public.
PC Adam Herwin was called to reports of a male suffering from a mental health episode in Shrewsbury on January 4.
During the incident, the officer assaulted, without cause or justification, the member of the public.
As a result, PC Herwin appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court on July 8, where he entered a guilty plea to one offence of assault by beating. He was handed an absolute discharge.
On September 22, West Mercia Police held an accelerated misconduct hearing into PC Herwin’s behaviour.
Chief Constable Richard Cooper, who chaired the hearing at Hindlip Hall, said the member of the public had just caused serious self harm and was drunk.
He added that the male’s behaviour was “occasionally erratic” with instances of anger, but also of upset.
“He needed compassion and patience,” said Chief Constable Cooper.
The assault happened during a brief verbal altercation between PC Herwin and the male, who seemed to have become frustrated by the officer walking away from him and exiting the ambulance.
The immediate catalyst, said Chief Constable Cooper, was the male accusing PC Herwin of “having a tantrum” and calling him “a f****** girl.”
PC Herwin responded by re-entering the ambulance and telling the male, “says the pathetic man that crying to a girl in Denmark…that’s more important than your son who rang 999.”
PC Herwin then shouted: “You’re a waste of f****** space” before striking the male. The male exits the ambulance and offers “a stream of expletive-laden abuse” towards PC Herwin. The confrontation, said Chief Constable Cooper, lasted seconds.
“At the time of the assault, whilst he was gesticulating confrontationally at PC Herwin, he was also on a treatment bed with straps around his legs,” said Chief Constable Cooper.
“I have regard to the nature of the assault. The extent of the force used was low and was a momentary single episode that the district judge has described as a tap rather than a slap.
“I agree that the former is a more accurate description. Whilst PC Herwin has lost his temper, he has not lost control in the sense of swinging violently or trying to injure [the male].
“The officer has received a criminal conviction for common assault. His sentence was an absolute discharge, which becomes spent on imposition.
“Whilst it is accepted by PC Herwin that his conduct amounts to gross misconduct, and I concur, I have given consideration to the overall seriousness of the gross misconduct in reaching a judgment on sanction.
“In straightforward terms, it is much less likely that exceptional circumstances will justify deviation from dismissal when the conduct in question comfortably exceeds the threshold where gross misconduct is made out.
“I have considered the role that PC Herwin played during the totality of the incident that police were responding to. He was at the scene for over an hour and a half before the assault took place.
“During this time, he had little direct interaction with [the male]. Whilst inside the house, he was not subject to abuse or threats by [the male].
“In the immediate preamble to the assault, PC Herwin was outside the ambulance and entered it at the request of ambulance staff.
“PC Herwin did not seek out the altercation, which would otherwise have been a strongly aggravating factor.
“There was provocation from [the male], but it was limited to the immediate seconds before the assault and was in keeping with what police officers experience frequently.
“That does not condone such behaviour towards officers. It does reduce any sense of exceptionalism about what PC Herwin was subject to, but the provocation is a consideration in determining the overall seriousness of the misconduct.
“Having watched the body worn in its entirety, I adjudge that the ultimate cause of PC Herwin’s loss of control was frustration on his part at what he perceived as [the male’s] self-absorption at the expense of his child. The cause was not provocation by [the male].”
In determining what sanction PC Herwin should receive, Chief Constable Cooper said: “Whilst it is gross misconduct, it is not so grave that the behaviour itself renders dismissal essential rather than justified.
“I base this assessment primarily on the absence of a public confidence imperative for dismissal; the level of force used and its fleeting brevity; the circumstances of the incident that had led to the confrontation involving harm to a child; and to a lesser extent the provocation faced by PC Herwin.”
Therefore, taking into PC Herwin’s comparatively limited service, and the fact that gross misconduct has been admitted and found, a final written warning lasting five years was handed out.