PC insists she did not 'punish' vulnerable woman

The officers, who have since resigned from the force, admit misconduct but deny gross misconduct

A police officer who allegedly grabbed a vulnerable woman by the throat insists she did nothing wrong because she was dealing with a "violent criminal".

The female constable, from Avon and Somerset Police, known as PC A, responded to a woman having a mental health episode on Clifton Suspension Bridge on 4 December 2021.

On day three of a misconduct hearing, she said the public would not be shocked or have their confidence undermined in the police if they knew the context around the incident.

The officer, and another colleague who attended the incident, known as PC B, deny using unnecessary force and gross misconduct but admit misconduct.

Neither officers can be named for legal reasons, along with the alleged victim, Miss A, who has previous convictions for assaulting emergency workers.

PC A, who has since resigned from the force, is accused of standing on the woman's arm as she was handcuffing her on the ground, before grabbing her hair and throat as she was placed into the vehicle.

She claims this was a mistake, of which she was "completely unaware", having intended to stand on the handcuff to secure it.

'Aggressive behaviour'

“I had been aware of Miss A for two years prior to this incident," said PC A.

"She regularly came to the attention of the police, normally for actions that caused others to call for a concern about her wellbeing.

“Colleagues that attended had ended up being assaulted.

“This seemed to happen almost every time police officers were in contact with this person."

The officer told the hearing on Wednesday that the victim was "a troubled individual" who consistently showed aggressive behaviour.

“I believed there was a clear offence. I arrested her for causing a public nuisance," she said.

“I agree she is a violent criminal but I don’t agree that I punished, or intended to punish her."

Police were called to Clifton Suspension Bridge in December 2021

The panel at police headquarters in Portishead previously heard how the other officer, PC B, used Pava artificial pepper-spray on the woman from close range, while she was handcuffed in the back of a police car.

PC A denied grabbing the woman’s throat during the altercation, alleging she wanted to avoid inappropriately touching the "lower chest area" and was aiming for her collarbone.

She also said the reason she laughed during the incident was not to mock her, but to show her that the verbal abuse was having no effect.

PC A refused to apologise to the victim. However, she admitted that she was "rude and dismissive" towards her.

She said: “It’s fair to say I failed to show empathy and compassion but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t taking action to ensure anybody wasn’t hurt or harmed.

“I don’t think the public would find it unacceptable that I behaved the way I did towards a criminal who was violent.

“If an officer was dealt with for misconduct every time they are rude or dismissive to a criminal, then you would have no officers left on the force."

PC A said she had reflected on the incident and would have done things differently.

The hearing continues.