Fan cleared of assaulting 'disgraceful' West Midlands Police officer

A football fan cleared of assaulting a police officer who was said to have behaved "disgracefully" is considering legal action against the force.

Barrow AFC fan Edward Papas, 27, was prosecuted following an incident outside Bescot Stadium following a match against Walsall FC last March.

"The judge said PC Mannox's actions were disgraceful and he'd really let the police down," Mr Papas said.

West Midlands Police said it had noted the judge's comments.

A Wolverhampton Crown Court jury cleared Mr Papas, who lives in Manchester, of two counts of assault on 8 January.

The away fan described how he had been trying to get back to his car following the game on 4 March, when a steward had "aggressively" told him to get on a coach.

West Midlands Police officer PC Richard Mannox then stepped in "and started to push me," the fan said.

'Slapped me'

"He had that scary intimidating look on his face".

After asking the officer not to push him, "he slapped me in the head, where I had recently had surgery," he said.

Another officer had grabbed him by the throat after he had tried to report the assault, he claimed.

He described how PC Mannox had then grabbed his hand.

"I saw him coming, going for a punch on my face, and as he was doing so I reacted in self-defence by hitting him back, said Mr Papas.

"And then mayhem broke out".

The fan then described being restrained before the officer continued to punch him in the back of the head as well as kicking him.

Mr Papas was arrested and charged with two counts of assault.

Footage shown at the Wolverhampton Crown Court trial had been "cropped out" showing only part of the incident, he said.

He claimed there was no explanation given for this when it was raised in court.

Edward Papas was cleared of two counts of assault

The jury took 37 minutes to reach a verdict.

He said he still couldn't get over the judge's remarks in which he described the actions of the officer as "disgraceful, and that he had really let himself and the police down".

He has now made a complaint to West Midlands Police and the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).

"They know what happened, they know he hit me but they still took me to court," he added.

A post on X describing the incident has been viewed more than 2m times, he said, adding "that should be pressure enough to at least take some form of action."

"Whether it's taking legal action - civil or criminal - I will explore my avenues," he added.

"We respect the verdict of the jury and we note the judge's comments," West Midlands Police said in a statement.