PC attacked man in welfare unit, court told

PC Kenny Walton is charged with assault by beating

A police officer assaulted a man while on duty in a city centre welfare unit, a court has heard.

PC Kenny Walton, of West Yorkshire Police, attacked the victim while trying to remove him from the "safe space" unit on Westgate in Wakefield in the early hours of 16 June 2024, Sheffield Magistrates' Court heard.

As his trial got under way on Friday, body-worn camera footage played to the court showed PC Walton moving the man and PAVA-spraying him.

PC Walton, 40, of Featherstone in Pontefract, denies assault by beating. His trial was adjourned until 7 November.

The complainant, who is autistic, attended the "safe space" unit hoping to help his partner who was "really upset and shouting", the court heard.

He told the court: "I think someone in town had said something to her… I was stressed out, I thought it would be a good idea to go to this box and calm down."

Footage from PC Walton's body-worn camera showed the couple sitting across the table from him, and the woman shouting, screaming and swearing.

"He was just staring at me, like he wanted to fight or throw himself at me or something," the complainant told the court.

'Felt threatened'

After PC Walton said he was trying to talk to the woman, the complainant could he heard on the footage telling the officer about his PTSD.

He said in a statement: "I told him about my own past… I don't know why I said this now, I can only assume it was because I felt threatened about how he was looking at me."

In the footage, PC Walton told the woman to wipe her face and, as the complainant continued speaking, shouted at him to "shut up" twice.

The man responded, "please don't say that, I have to say that," to which the officer replied "right, get out" and took hold of him by the left arm and then upper chest.

Photographs taken in the aftermath of the incident showed red marks on his skin, "consistent with being grabbed to the neck", the court heard.

PC Walton pushed him against the wall and ejected PAVA incapacitant spray - synthetic pepper spray - into his eyes.

Footage showed the man complaining his eyes were hurting, to which the officer replied: "Of course they are, I've sprayed you."

The complainant was arrested on suspicion of assaulting PC Walton.

The officer said in a report after the incident that he suspected the male may have "caused some harm" to the woman.

He said his reason for wanting to speak to her, and using physical force to remove her partner, was to allow a "potential victim to disclose information".

PC Walton was placed on restricted duties by West Yorkshire Police after the incident.

The trial continues.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North