Councillor who admitted assault slams prosecution

David Martin criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and police after he was granted an absolute discharge

A councillor who admitted assaulting a police officer has criticised those involved in prosecuting his case after he was granted an absolute discharge.

Nottinghamshire county councillor David Martin, of the Ashfield Independents, tried to shut his front door on officers carrying out a search warrant at his home on 16 November 2022.

He admitted assault of an emergency worker at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday - but was only ordered to pay £5 in compensation to a sergeant whose watch strap was broken in the incident.

The sentencing judge, Steven Coupland, said the case should have been dealt with by magistrates rather than a crown court, which he said was currently dealing with a "staggering" backlog of cases.

'Tender to the touch'

The court heard officers arrived at Martin's home, in Lawrence Park, Underwood, Nottinghamshire, at about 07:00 GMT to carry out the warrant.

After opening the door, the defendant - who was wearing only a dressing gown and did not have his hearing aid on - tried to shut the door as the officers attempted to enter.

Anthony Cheung, prosecuting, said one of the officers was hit with the door and pushed backwards, and was left with an arm that "remained tender to the touch for several days".

The judge said Martin "had been woken at 07:00 by knocking at the door not anticipated by you", and "did not intend any injury or damage", but added the officers were executing a warrant and "were entitled to do what they did".

"You should have done your best to engage with the officers properly," he told Martin.

However, the judge said the case "should have been dealt with in the magistrates' court two years ago".

"This is now the sixth time this case has been listed," he said. "The backlog [of cases] is staggering at the moment."

The hearing took place at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday

The absolute discharge means no further action will be taken. This means the defendant has a criminal record and there has been a conviction, although this is immediately treated as "spent".

Following the hearing, Martin said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was warned in a hearing last year to review the case and consider a lesser charge, adding the way cases and charging decisions are handled "is just archaic".

"It was a bizarre process to be involved in," the 58-year-old said.

"The whole system is an absolute car crash - it's just one catastrophe after another.

"On a personal level, it's been phenomenally difficult to deal with."

Martin also criticised Nottinghamshire Police for its response when carrying out the warrant.

"They came with 10 officers on that morning - that just shows you how ludicrous it was," he said.

"They came to my house with the clear intention to arrest me and catch me off-guard, and that's exactly what they did."

A spokesperson for the CPS said: "This case has remained under review and at each stage the decision has remained that our legal tests were met.

"The defendant has today admitted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty to assaulting an emergency worker.

"The case was heard in the crown court after the defence elected to have the case heard there, which is their legal right."

Nottinghamshire Police declined to comment.