A MAN accused of assaulting a police officer has been cleared after a judge dismissed the case against him as “an affront to the dignity of the court”.
Jack Griffiths, 22, of High Street in Ammanford, had been accused of assault by beating of an emergency worker, which he denied.
The case returned to Swansea Crown Court to determine whether the case should be dismissed.
Thomas Scapens, appearing for Griffiths, raised concerns over whether the officers were acting in the duty of an emergency worker.
“The Crown say they are in that they are stopped on the street to assist someone who is injured,” said prosecutor Ryan Bowen.
The court was played body-worn camera footage of the incident from one of the officers.
The footage showed the officers pulling over when they spotted the injured defendant, who had glass stuck in his foot.
“It’s of note that the officers say as they stop: ‘Watch this one’,” Mr Scapens said.
“The officers are at a heightened state of alert as to the defendant’s actions.”
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After a conversation with Griffiths and his partner, the officers told him they could not take him to hospital, but went back to the car to collect medical supplies,
The defendant was sat on the floor when his mum phoned, and he asked her to come down or he was going to “deck” the officers.
One officer replied: “Say that again”, while the other went to arrest him.
“That’s said to his mother, not directly to the officers,” Mr Scapens said.
Mr Scapens said Griffiths was “forced down on the floor” and said the officers punched Griffiths as he was on the floor. The defendant was alleged to have kicked one of the officers as they attempted to restrain him.
Judge Walters agreed with Mr Scapens that there were concerns over whether this was a lawful arrest, and said the officers had not told the defendant he was under arrest until after the struggle.
He added that if the officers had not been in uniform and he was shown the footage, “the persons I would be expecting to see in the dock would have turned out to be the police officers”.
“As the police pull up, they can be heard to say ‘Watch him, I’ve dealt with him before’," he continued.
“Later they say you are being arrested for DV, which I take it as meaning domestic violence. There is no indication of domestic violence.
“The police conceded in this case that they proceeded to punch him on the ground.”
The judge dismissed the remaining charge, adding that it had “not the remotest chance of any jury convicting”.
“Even the demeanour and the attitude of the police at the scene leaves much to be desired,” he said.
Judge Walters said it would be “an affront to the dignity of the court” for any more court time to be spent on this case, and that it was “astonishing” that the other charge had been initially put forward.
“It would be an injustice not to [dismiss the case] and it would be a significant waste of court time,” he said.
Griffiths, who had been on bail, was told he was free to leave the dock.
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