Lincolnshire PC accused of misconduct 'feared for his safety'

The hearing into PC Wales's conduct is being held at Grantham Police Station

A Lincolnshire Police officer accused of misconduct has said he feared for his safety as he dealt with a vulnerable student.

PC Nathan Wales is alleged to have pushed a boy against a wall, used an irritant spray and handcuffed him at his school on 14 July 2022.

He told a misconduct hearing he only used a spray after verbal and unarmed tactics failed to calm the situation.

The officer told the panel he had felt "very scared and trapped" at the time.

Police had been called to an incident at the school, which has students aged 11 to 16 with behavioural or special educational needs.

The panel in Grantham previously heard officers were called to a report of a student attacking a teacher and throwing bricks.

PC Wales said when he arrived there were multiple students and he wanted to try and contain them in the main school building.

He said he followed the students into the kitchen area and they swore at him and were hostile.

He then told four students to "go inside the main building now before I lock you up for criminal damage",

The officer admitted swearing at them and justified raising his voice as they had not "heeded his first instruction".

He said one boy walked towards him and he pressed his hand towards his abdomen to prevent him getting any closer, but the boy walked into it.

"I felt my fingers being pushed back," he said.

"I gave a small push back.

"[The boy] walked closer towards me," he said.

He grabbed hold of my left wrist and tried to pull it across himself.

"I thought he was trying to pull me off balance."

'Out of control'

He said he then pushed the boy to create space between them and accepted his hand went towards the boy's throat, but it was not intentional. He denied he was strangling the boy.

The panel heard PC Wales got his handcuffs out and the "angry" and "red-faced" boy grabbed his stab vest.

"I felt scared at that point," PC Wales said.

He said he was unsure where his colleague was or if any school staff were nearby.

"He pushed me on to a table," he said.

"I came off the table and I was on the floor laid on my right hand side.

"I felt trapped, panicked, scared.

"I felt totally out of control."

PC Wales said the boy was on top of him and there were two punches to his left bicep.

At this point he said he used his PAVA spray "to stop being assaulted and to try to get back some control".

However, he said it was his colleague's Taser which stopped the boy and enabled PC Wales to arrest him for assault and criminal damage.

PC Wales was asked by his lawyer Adam Birkby about a member of staff who tried to intervene.

"She was obstructing me when I was trying to effect an arrest," he said.

PC Wales, who is based at Louth Police Station, has been on non-operational duties since the incident.

He joined Lincolnshire Police full-time in 2020 but he was still a probationary officer at the time of the incident after a medical episode delayed the completion of his training.

The hearing continues.