PC grabbed boy by throat while on duty

Greater Manchester Police are preparing misconduct proceedings for Benjamin Heppenstall

A police officer has been found guilty of assault after grabbing a boy by the throat while he was on duty during an incident at a care home.

Great Manchester Police Constable Benjamin Heppenstall, 33, attacked the 16-year-old boy in January 2021 after he refused to do what he said, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Body-worn footage showed him pulling the boy's T-shirt off before forcefully grabbing his neck for a second time.

Heppenstall, who faces suspension from his job which is based in Wigan, will be sentenced on 27 November.

The officer had responded to an incident at a care home for young people in Wigan where threats had been allegedly made to two women who worked there, police said.

'Defenceless boy'

The court heard how after initially arresting two suspects, Heppenstall told the teenager, who was sitting on a sofa, to get out of the room and “go to bed”.

The boy refused, and Heppenstall pulled him up by his arm, before then putting his hand forcefully around the boy’s neck and being verbally abusive.

Bolton Crown Court heard one of the workers at the care home tried to intervene and pull Heppenstall away.

Greater Manchester Police said Heppenstall's duties were restricted in January 2021.

Det Ch Insp Iqbal Ahmed said: “This was a shocking use of unnecessary and excessive force by Benjamin Heppenstall on a defenceless teenage boy who absolutely should not have been treated this way.

“Our officers have a really challenging role and are faced with instances that the general public will never experience.

"However, officers are trained to act professionally and proportionately, and it is clear here that PC Heppenstall acted beyond what was necessary when faced with a verbal refusal by the boy to do what he had told him to do."