West Midlands Police officer 'carried out excessive baton assault'

PC Sunil Narr denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm

A police officer struck a man over the head with a baton in an "excessive" assault after a high-speed pursuit, a court was told.

PC Sunil Narr, of West Midlands Police, left Joshua Ward's head "caked in blood" after the alleged assault in Hillfields, Coventry on 1 August, 2017.

Prosecutors at Birmingham Crown Court said the jury must decide whether the baton strike was "deliberate or not."

PC Narr, 32, from Oldbury, denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Prosecutor Timothy Harrington said the defendant struck Mr Ward lawfully across the legs, but then acted excessively by hitting the top of his head.

"It is accepted by Sunil Narr that he did strike the man to the head, but what he is saying is it was not deliberate," he told the court.

"The question for you is whether that was deliberate or whether he was aiming somewhere else."

PC Narr said he was aiming at Mr Ward's shoulder, but accidentally struck him over the head.

'Caked in blood'

Mr Ward, who was not insured to drive, drove away from police in an Audi A4 after visiting McDonald's.

He denied trying to get away from police and said he could not remember driving at more than 90mph (145km/h) and that he stopped to surrender to the police.

"I was pinned down to the floor," he said.

"There were eight police officers on top of me. I felt really claustrophobic.

"My head got crushed to the floor. I felt a strike to the back of my legs and then obviously I was screaming. And then I felt a strike to the side of my head.

"All I could see was red, to be honest, because my head was just caked in blood."

The trial continues.