South Wales Police: Hate crime PC 'punched boy in face'

PC Paul Evans has pleaded not guilty to assault

A hate crime officer for South Wales Police punched a 14-year-old boy after the teen called him an offensive name, a court has heard.

PC Paul Evans, 50, is accused of hitting the schoolboy, grabbing him by the throat and hitting his head on a toilet.

He was left with a bleeding nose, chipped tooth and facial bruising, Cardiff Magistrates' Court heard.

PC Evans, of Bridgend, pleaded not guilty to assault.

The court heard PC Evans and a colleague were called by the teenager's mother to a house in January.

It was said the boy's mother claimed her son was punching walls and threatening self-harm.

When PC Evans and his colleague arrived, the boy was locked in the bathroom talking to a friend on the phone.

PC Paul Evans pleaded not guilty at Cardiff Magistrates' Court

PC Evans forced entry into the room and is alleged to have thrust his forearm into the boy's throat, smashing his head against a toilet.

Vaughan Pritchard-Jones, prosecuting, said the boy became abusive, swore at the officers and called them "pigs".

"This further annoyed and frustrated Evans," he said.

He allegedly grabbed the boy's phone but when he was unable to turn it off, the boy called him an offensive name.

"For Evans, having been frustrated and annoyed . . . this was the final straw and he reacted by punching the boy in the face," Mr Pritchard-Jones added.

The boy alleges PC Evans told him that he was "doing his mother a favour" before punching him twice more to the face.

In his video interview, the teen described the attack as "scary".

"It all happened so quickly. Evans was calling me a disgrace, saying horrible things," he said. "He told me that if I was his son, he'd do the exact same to me."

PC Evans, a hate crime officer in the community engagement team, arrested the boy for affray.

The trial continues.