A Derbyshire police officer has been dismissed with immediate effect, after a misconduct hearing determined that his recent conviction for assault by beating amounted to gross misconduct.
The special case hearing, chaired by Chief Constable Chris Haward of Lincolnshire Police, took place at Derbyshire Constabulary Headquarters earlier today.
PC 14308 Mark Knights was convicted of assault by beating on Friday, 4th December 2020. You can read more about the offence in our earlier article.
He denied that his conduct amounted to gross misconduct and maintained his argument, which was flatly rejected at his Magistrates' Court trial, that he was acting in self-defence when he headbutted his victim, Ben Joynes.
Addressing the panel at today's hearing, Knights said: "The conviction is irrefutable, there's no denying that.
"The use of foul language on the day - I have held my hands up from day one. It was completely inappropriate, unprofessional. I regret that and I apologise to Mr Joynes.
"But when it got to the point when I headbutted him, I still maintain that I felt at that stage, genuinely, that I was going to be assaulted.
"The headbutt is a recognised technique in the police manual.
"I do feel that the word headbutt does have negative connotations attached to it. It sounds terrible. But I did do it in self-defence."
Knights added that he didn't appeal against the conviction due to stress and family reasons.
The panel concluded that Knights' conduct did indeed amount to gross misconduct and dismissed him from Derbyshire Constabulary with immediate effect.
Mr Haward said: "I consider this conduct is such a serious breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour that a dismissal would be justified.
"This was a serious act of misconduct. Had his behaviour been different (at the time) the assault would have been entirely avoided.
"A criminal conviction is a fundamental breach of the trust of a police officer and seriously damages the reputation of the force."
Deputy Chief Constable Kate Meynell of Derbyshire Constabulary said: "We expect our officers to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times and treat the public with respect.
"The officer failed to meet these expectations and has been dismissed. The public has a right to expect the highest standards of conduct from those delivering their policing service and the force will take appropriate action as necessary to uphold those standards."
That concludes the matter, apart from the reputational and financial damage Knights' conduct has inflicted on Derbyshire Constabulary. The public purse will now have to pay many thousands in compensation to Mr Joynes.
I am troubled by Knights' apparent lack of contrition over the headbutt.
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