Cardiff: Police officer who punched arrested man dismissed

PC Rowan Knight has been dismissed without notice

A police officer has been dismissed after punching a man in the face, holding him in a headlock and kneeing him in the ribs during an arrest.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct found PC Rowan Knight used excessive force and gave a dishonest account of the arrest in February 2021.

At Cardiff Magistrates' Court in October 2021, PC Knight was found not guilty of assaulting Christian Summers.

However, a gross misconduct hearing found he should be dismissed.

During the court case, a judge ruled PC knight had acted in self-defence while arresting Mr Summers on Cardiff's Northern Avenue and cleared him of the charge.

But following an investigation by the IOPC, South Wales Police agreed the officer had a disciplinary case to answer for gross misconduct.

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"We examined allegations including whether there were legitimate grounds for arrest, and whether the force used in punching the man several times to the face while holding him in a headlock and kneeing him in the ribs was proportionate in the circumstances," a statement said.

"It was also alleged that PC Knight escalated the situation unnecessarily by his use of force, and that he later provided a statement that described a different version of events to those captured on police footage."

At the hearing overseen by an independent chairperson on 6 April, the panel heard how Mr Knight took an angry and confrontational tone of voice before grabbing the barefoot and semi-naked man by the throat.

PC Knight, who was accompanied at the incident by two other officers, claimed to be acting in self-defence.

At the end of the South Wales Police hearing, the panel determined that PC Knight's initial four punches were reasonable and in self-defence, but that further punches when the man was no longer a threat were disproportionate.

IOPC director David Ford said: "Police officers should only use the minimum amount of force required in any given situation they face.

"In our view the physical force applied by PC Knight was not necessary, reasonable or proportionate in the circumstances. The body-worn video of the other officers present did not support the officer's account that all his actions were in self-defence, and therefore the explanation he gave was dishonest.

"A gross misconduct hearing has now determined that PC Knight should be dismissed."

He will also be added to the police barred list.