Hampshire police officer cleared over off-duty head-butt

A POLICE officer has been cleared of headbutting a woman while off-duty.
Sgt David Sanderson at a Hampshire police Christmas drink-drive operation in 2015. Picture: Ian HargreavesSgt David Sanderson at a Hampshire police Christmas drink-drive operation in 2015. Picture: Ian Hargreaves
Sgt David Sanderson at a Hampshire police Christmas drink-drive operation in 2015. Picture: Ian Hargreaves

Sgt David Sanderson, 47, was last year convicted of assault by beating after magistrates found he head-butted a woman who he followed after seeing her on a phone in a car.

Prosecutors had alleged the roads policing officer, of Baffins, Portsmouth, head-butted Donja Bryant who he said had been using a mobile phone with her partner Nadia Aziz while driving off.

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They had been leaving Asda petrol station in Chandler's Ford on June 6, 2016 when the confrontation took place, and she was threatening to him.

Yesterday he was cleared after a two-day appeal at Guildford Crown Court.

He had told Worthing magistrates it was accidental and he wanted to talk to them as he 'felt it was his duty' to get them off the phone.

Last year he said: 'I have attended some of the most serious collisions in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

'I've seen first hand what a crash really looks like.'

A police spokesman said there will be a '˜review following the appeal, and any misconduct action will be considered.'

No decision has been made if there will be proceedings.