CS gas: North Wales Police sergeant denies unreasonable use of force

CS spray is used by UK police as a temporary incapacitant spray

An officer described as "trigger happy" when using incapacitant spray on detainees in police custody has defended his use of the substance.

Sgt Melvin Dawson of North Wales Police faces 15 allegations he used CS gas on "various detainees" in Caernarfon when such force was not reasonable.

Captor spray, a form of CS gas, is used by UK police forces as a temporary incapacitant.

A misconduct hearing is examining incidents from 2018 and 2019.

At the start of the hearing on 1 June, Sgt Dawson was referred to as "trigger happy" and "quick on the draw" in using the spray on people in his cells.

He has admitted using the force, but denies it was unreasonable.

Exposure to CS gas may cause intense tear production, eye pain, chest tightness, coughing and sneezing.

'Dangerous environment'

Sgt Dawson told the hearing on Monday he had worked as custody sergeant for about two years before the period covered by the allegations.

"Custody is a dangerous environment. You're bringing individuals into a police custody suite," he said.

"They'll be in different emotional states. Some will have mental health problems. Some will have substance misuse problems.

"You get a lot more difficult situations than you would on the streets."

Sgt Dawson also said he had dyslexic tendencies, meaning he could remember very little of the incidents where he is accused of using unnecessary force.

'Not just what you see'

He also claimed CCTV evidence shown at the misconduct hearing only showed part of the story of each incident.

"What you see on the CCTV is visually a lot more information than I was having as an officer on the ground. You have a bird's eye view of the whole area rather than the close-up I would see," he said.

"It's not just about what you see. If you walk into a room and there's an atmosphere, you know that. You pick up cues - nothing's said, but you have the feel of the room. On CCTV, you're denied that."

Referring to the first of the allegations against him - that he unnecessarily sprayed a detainee known as "Mr A" in May 2018 - he said Mr A was being physically restrained after officers heard him banging his head against the wall of the cell.

"We had him on the ground, but he wasn't giving up. I was worried that other officers or Mr A himself might both get injured," he told the hearing.

"Captor spray doesn't present that risk."

'Immediate action'

Sgt Dawson also spoke of an incident in June 2018 when "Mr B" was sprayed through the hatch in the cell door, which remained shut.

He denied he had lost his temper with Mr B, saying it was "common practice" for detainees to spit.

"I knew when I was opening the hatch in the door that he was going to spit at me. The hatch can be tricky to open. If you don't get it right, you'd end up with a face full of phlegm."

Sgt Dawson described the "chilling tone" with which another detainee, "Mr C", had threatened to "snap" his own neck in the cell toilet before being sprayed, again through the hatch in the cell door.

"My keys were back at the desk. This required immediate action," he told the hearing.

"You get a lot of threats when you work in custody, and you know from the tone and the atmosphere whether they're empty or not.

"There was no way we'd have got to him before his head went back in the toilet. This was a decision in milliseconds."

The hearing will continue on Tuesday.