Grimsby: Former PC Louis Cox admits kneeing man in head during arrest

The man, who was being recalled to prison, suffered a cut to his head during the arrest outside the Nunsthorpe Tavern pub in Grimsby

A police officer kneed a handcuffed man in the head as he lay on the ground during an arrest, a misconduct panel has heard.

Louis Cox used unnecessary force as he helped officers to restrain the man outside a pub in Grimsby on 17 December 2021, the hearing was told.

The man, who was being recalled to prison, suffered a cut to his head.

Cox admitted breaching standards of professional behaviour, which amounted to gross misconduct.

The hearing in Goole was told Cox used his knee to "strike a blow" to the wanted man's head while he was lying on the ground and not moving.

Police bodycam footage showed about four or five officers wrestling the man to the ground with one officer striking his leg with a baton.

'Gratuitous and dangerous'

Robert Cohen, legal counsel for Humberside Police, said Cox also leant on the man's leg before moving to use a knee strike on his head.

"The footage is clear. There may have been times when [force] was necessary but at that moment it wasn't. The man was on the ground, he was restrained and still," he said.

He described the knee strike as a gratuitous and dangerous use of force, which was unreasonable, unwarranted and disproportionate.

The misconduct hearing has been taking place at Humberside Police's station in Goole

The arrest was witnessed by a crowd of people outside the Nunsthorpe Tavern pub and the manner in which Cox behaved "brought significant discredit" to policing, Mr Cohen said.

"Cox has admitted it. He's not disputed he's caused physical harm," he said.

Cox also failed to fill out a form recording his use of force, which is a requirement under rules introduced in 2017.

Following the incident Cox was cautioned under misconduct regulations and, in an interview, told officers he had been kicked by the man while arresting him and so he applied force as "a distraction technique" because he was displaying aggressive behaviour, Mr Cohen said.

The panel also heard the former constable and his partner, also a police officer, both flouted lockdown regulations on two occasions in July 2021 after coming into contact with a person with Covid-19 at a family event.

They were notified by NHS's track and trace system to self-isolate but instead they visited a pet store in Cleethorpes and a supermarket in Grimsby.

His partner was given a written warning valid for 18 months following a misconduct meeting, the hearing was told.