Hampshire police officer who tussled with a 'naughty' 11 year old boy is cleared of gross misconduct

The police misconduct panel ruled that PC Stuart Pearson's attempts to deal with the unruly schoolboy were justified due to his behaviour. It was heard that the 48 year old officer shouted at the boy, grabbed his arm, and then wrestled with him - resulting in the child smacking his head against the wall, leaving a dent.

PC Pearson had been accused of acting 'totally out of proportion' and was accused of fuelling the boy's 'hatred' towards the police. But giving evidence, the Hampshire Constabulary officer of almost 20 years said his use of force was a 'tactic' he deployed. Today, the Hampshire Constabulary misconduct hearing in Eastleigh cleared PC Pearson of gross misconduct.

Chair of the panel Marcus Joyce said the 'unpleasant' schoolboy's behaviour was so bad that PC Pearson's use of force was 'unavoidable'. However, PC Pearson was given a written warning by the panel after admitting that bending down and shouting at the boy amounted to misconduct as it was a breach of a Standards of Professional Behaviour offence. 

On Monday it was heard in June 2022 PC Pearson and a junior colleague, PC Katie Rich, attended the boy's home on the Isle of Wight to speak to him after he hit two youngsters. The boy's father was home and 'encouraging his son to listen and pay attention' however the youth was 'rude' and 'obnoxious' towards the officers.

PC Pearson asked the child 'Why did you whack them?' to which the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied 'Why not?'

The uninterested youth sat on his phone and the constable, raising his voice, told him: "Excuse me, don't talk to me like that, boy. You don't start talking to me like that - do you understand me?" The situation 'escalated' after PC Pearson took hold of the boy's left wrist and he and PC Rich 'pulled' him up.

Barrister Alan Jenkins, representing Hampshire Constabulary, told the hearing on Monday: "The situation developed by PC Pearson grabbing the boy's arm and there was a short struggle in which the boy's head hit the wall, whereby he sustained some minor injuries. The boy's father was understandably angry and he demanded that both officers leave the house, which they did."

Giving evidence, PC Pearson admitted bending down and shouting at the boy was a breach of conduct. He told the hearing: "I was concerned that he was going to assault me from his general demeanour. I was dealing with the situation in accordance with my training. I was attempting to employ a communications tactic. "In hindsight, I should have employed a different tactic."

When asked if he had lost his temper, PC Pearson responded saying 'no that's not true' and told the hearing: "I feared immediate unlawful violence away from him. "He threatened to assault me so at that time we were verging on the decision of making an arrest. To reiterate, I didn’t lose my temper." He added: "We're all human and we all make mistakes."

Today (February 21) at the hearing in Eastleigh, barrister Mr Joyce cleared him of gross misconduct, ruling that aside from bending down and shouting at the boy, his other actions were justified. He said: "It was [the boy] who did escalate the matter through his own behaviour."

Mr Joyce said the officer was acting in response to the 11 year old who could be seen to have his 'right arm raised with a clenched fist'. He added: "His facial expression was one of real anger. Both eyes were fixed on PC Pearson."

The chair said both PC Pearson and PC Rich pulling the schoolboy up resulting in him colliding with the wall was due to 'an uncoordinated lack of control in a confined space'. Describing the officer's response to the situation, he said: "It was reasonable in light of [the boy's] actions.

"[PC Pearson] had a reasonable fear that he was going to be assaulted. PC Pearson's use of force was in a large sense unavoidable given [the boy's] actions." Mr Joyce said he looked at the evidence in relation to the boy's 'young age and his relatively small stature' but said the boy showed a 'total disregard' to the officers.

He said: "There was a physical injury albeit minor and it was accidental." He added: "We conclude that PC Pearson was culpable of misconduct. For avoidance of doubt, he is not culpable of gross misconduct."

PC Pearson told the hearing: "I would like to say that I am sorry for my actions in relation to [the child]. I have children myself and I would never dream of injuring my children accidentally. I have learned from the experience and I will use it to better assess situations in the future.

"This experience has been extremely difficult for me and my family. It has left a great strain on my home life and severely impacted my mental health. It will stay with me for the rest of my life."