An off-duty City of London Police officer drunkenly assaulted a child in the street.
Manpreet Callo, 30, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, admitted an offence of assault by beating when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 3rd December 2025.
He was sentenced by the same court on Thursday, 15th January 2026.
Assault by beating, an offence contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, has a maximum sentence of 26 weeks' custody on summary conviction.
Callo approached and assaulted the 12-year-old boy at Hillhouse, Waltham Abbey, on the morning of Friday, 24th October 2025. He has been suspended from duty since then.
The circumstances of the offence, as accepted by virtue of Callo's admission, are that the 30-year-old grabbed and pulled the coat of the boy. The incident, which was no doubt terrifying for the boy concerned, might not sound that serious - however, it was clearly serious enough for concerned onlookers to call the police.
Speaking of Callo's conviction, Chief Superintendent Sanjay Anderson, Head of Professional Conduct at the City of London Police, said: "Callo was off duty and intoxicated when he assaulted a child in a public place.
"The incident was witnessed by members of the public who expressed concerns about Callo's behaviour and rightly called the police.
"His conviction will undoubtedly have affected trust and confidence in policing; the City of London Police will continue with misconduct proceedings as quickly as possible."
According to reports, Callo was fined £800 - which could mean anything, as there is no mention of surcharge, costs or compensation.
9 comments:
Joke of a sentence
It would appear (without knowing all of the facts) to be an A2 offence, given the age of the victim, enough distress for the public to call the police, and the aggravating factor of alcohol. That should have put it firmly in the community order territory.
There's definitely more to this case than meets an eye. Media coverage of court cases is often limited, omitting important context.
The assault took place on a Friday morning in October, "at Hillhouse", "in a public place", in the town of Waltham Abbey. Whether Hillhouse refers to Hillhouse C of E Primary School, the street, or elsewhere is unclear. Media reports don't specify. But with the child being 12 at the time, maybe he was on his way to school. If the assault was witnessed by parents, pupils, and/or school staff, this could have influenced perceptions of vulnerability and the degree of fear caused.
One key element completely missing from every report about the case is any explanation as to why Callo did it. Was there any prior interaction, association, or dispute between him and the child? Or perceived provocation on the officer's part (even if misguided due to intoxication)? Media accounts simply describe the act without addressing motive or background, a notable gap. Maybe further details will come out during Callo's misconduct hearing, if it goes ahead.
Personally I believe the sentence is lenient, but without knowing all the facts, I don't think my opinion is very meaningful.
The blog author now claims the assault occurred "in the street". What is the source for this? It seems odd that every other report simply refers to the scene of the crime as "Hillhouse".
I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, but I know that a school is not a public place. So that rules out the school. We must therefore state as fact that the assault took place on the street named Hillhouse. Sure, the news article doesn't explicitly specify, but had the commenter/commenters above done some basic research instead of overcomplicating things, they would know exactly which Hillhouse was being referred to.
You may wish to update this article - Callo resigned on 25 March and did not make representations at his accelerated misconduct hearing, which was held on 14 April. The misconduct panel ruled that had he still been a serving officer, he would have been dismissed.
According to the rationale in the misconduct hearing report, it is alleged that on the morning of 24 October 2025 (at approximately 09:35am), Callo was off-duty when he grabbed a passing 12-year-old boy by the arm in an unprovoked manner and attempted to give the boy some money. It is further stated that staff from a nearby leisure centre witnessed the incident and came out to verbally challenge Callo.
The leisure centre is not named in the report, but it is all but certain to be Waltham Abbey Leisure centre - the only leisure centre on Harehills.
No explanation or motive was provided in the report as to why Callo attempted to give money to the boy, and this detail was not included in previous reports of the criminal proceedings. Why would an off-duty police officer try to give money to a 12-year-old boy, especially at 9:35am on a school day? It's unusual, to say the least.
You can read the misconduct hearing report here: https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/city-of-london/misconduct/regulation-63-outcome-final---callo.docx
*Hillhouse, not Harehills. My bad.
“An accelerated misconduct hearing has concluded that former Police Constable Manpreet Callo did breach standards of professional behaviour.
The former officer was arrested on 24th October 2025 for the off-duty assault on a child in Essex. He was immediately suspended when City of London Police were notified of his arrest. On 3 December 2025 at Chelmsford Magistrates Court, Callo pleaded guilty to the offence of Assault by Beating, contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. He was fined and ordered to pay compensation to the victim.
At the Hearing, a breach of the professional standard ‘Discreditable Conduct’ amounting to Gross Misconduct was proven.
Detective Superintendent Thomas Hill, Head of Professional Standards Department at the City of London Police, said:
“Our thoughts are with the victim and all those affected by PC Callo’s actions. PC Callo was off duty and intoxicated when he assaulted a child in a public place. His actions have no place in the City of London Police and affect the public’s trust and confidence in policing.
“We are grateful to the members of the public who expressed concerns about Callo’s behaviour and rightly called the police.
“The officer was suspended immediately when we were notified of the arrest. He resigned from the City of London Police on 25 March 2026.
“Had the former officer still been a serving officer, he would have been dismissed. He will be placed on the College of Policing Barred List.””
From: https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/foi-ai/city-of-london-police/misconduct-outcomes/2026/former-pc-manpreet-callo/
“An allegation of Common Assault has been made against PC Callo. It is alleged that, on Friday 24th October 2025 at approx. 0935 hours, whilst off-duty, Former PC Callo grabbed a passing 12-year old boy by the arm in an unprovoked manner and tried to give the child some money. This was witnessed by staff at a nearby leisure centre, who came out and verbally challenged Former PC Callo. Former PC Callo then claimed that he was a police officer and showed a photo to the witness of him wearing a police uniform. Former PC Callo is said to have been drunk at the time of this incident. Essex Police attended and arrested Former PC Callo for Common Assault.
On the 3rd December 2025 Former PC Callo was convicted at Chelmsford Magistrates Court for the offence of Assault by Beating. On 12th January 2026 Former PC Callo was issued a fine of £400, ordered to pay £110 in costs incurred, and £150 in compensation. The criminal conviction and the circumstances of the offence form the basis of these Gross Misconduct Proceedings.
Former PC Callo accepted responsibility for the offence by entering a guilty plea. Former PC Callo’s actions represent a clear breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour, namely discreditable conduct. Police officers are required to uphold the law and maintain the highest standards of behaviour, both on and off duty. Former PC Callo has failed to uphold the high standards expected of officers who conduct themselves both off and on duty, thereby potentially damaging the reputation of the City of London Police.
In reaching my decision I have had regard to the guidance issued by the College of Policing on outcomes in police misconduct proceedings. No representations have been made by Former PC Callo and therefore there is no mitigation to consider.
Although the officer has since resigned from the police service, having considered all of the circumstances, I am satisfied that the conduct amounts to gross misconduct. The seriousness of the offence and the resulting criminal conviction would make continued service as a police officer untenable. In order to maintain public confidence and uphold the integrity of the police service, the appropriate and proportionate outcome would have been dismissal without notice. I therefore find that the officer would have been dismissed and direct that their details be placed on the barred list.”
From the rationale in the misconduct report: https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/city-of-london/misconduct/regulation-63-outcome-final---callo.docx
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