Merseyside Police inspector charged with assaulting suspect

Andrew Minnery, 46, was charged following investigations by the police watchdog

A police inspector has been charged with assaulting a man during an arrest.

Andrew Minnery, 46, from Merseyside Police, is accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

It follows a complaint made by a man who alleged he had been assaulted in Birkenhead on 6 March 2020.

Two police constables have also been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Merseyside Police said it had received a complaint after a man, who had been arrested following a report of a public order offence, alleged he had been assaulted by the arresting officer.

The incident was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a force spokesman added.

The police watchdog said it had looked at the "conduct of three officers during and after the arrest" and referred its findings to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charges.

Insp Minnery and PCs Kenny Gibson, 39 and Steve Cotton, 44, are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday.

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