PC who sprayed fleeing suspect guilty of assault
PC Wenham will be sentenced on 26 July
At a glance
A Met Police officer has been convicted of two counts of assault for using an incapacitating liquid, similar to pepper spray, on a man he was trying to arrest
The suspect was trying to evade arrest at the time by climbing down a drainpipe on a high-rise block of flats in south London last year
PC Luke Wenham was prosecuted following an investigation by the police watchdog, which said the man could have fallen to his death due to the effects of the spray
He will be sentenced on 26 July
- Published
A Met Police officer who sprayed a suspect with an incapacitating liquid as he tried to evade arrest has been convicted of assault.
PC Luke Wenham used PAVA spray, which is similar to pepper spray, on the man as he climbed down a drainpipe on a high-rise block of flats in south London on 17 August last year.
The effects of the substance, which include temporary blindness and weakness of the legs, could have had "fatal consequences", the police watchdog said.
PC Wenham, 31, of Dartford, Kent, denied two counts of common assault but was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The officer had forced entry into Carl Cumberbatch's flat in Albert Barnes House
The officer had forced entry into the flat on the 12th floor of Albert Barnes House in Southwark to arrest a man on suspicion of knife-point robberies.
He then sprayed the suspect after he climbed out of a window and began to shimmy down the drainpipe.
The man was sprayed again as he reached a seventh floor balcony and threatened to throw himself off, the court heard.
After a stand-off lasting several hours, the suspect climbed down of his own accord.
'Completely disproportionate'
The trial followed an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The watchdog's director, Steve Noonan, said the PC's actions could have caused the man to fall to his death due to the effects of the spray.
"At the time he was sprayed, the man was not posing an immediate risk to the officers or anyone else," he said.
"It is clear that in spraying the man twice at considerable heights, PC Wenham exposed him to the genuine risk he may have lost his grip on the pipe and fallen, which would have likely had fatal consequences."
Det Ch Insp Seb Adjei-Addoh, policing commander in Southwark and Lambeth, said the use of the spray was "completely disproportionate to the situation he faced".
PC Wenham will be sentenced on 26 July.
The Met said the officer was already on restricted duties and misconduct proceedings would now begin.
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