Other officers probed after Pc attack on man

Policeman was jailed for assault after passenger pushed over

WEST Midlands Police is investigating more officers after a bus passenger was assaulted by a cop during confrontation over a fare payment.

Pc Neville Bridgewood was jailed for 12 weeks following a trial which was told he had pushed over the man outside Bilston Police station, causing a cut to his leg.

The disgraced officer, who had denied assault, plans to appeal the conviction and sentence.

Now new details have emerged in the case, including the force confirming other officers are now subject of a Professional Standards investigation – while the victim is also planning to sue the force.

It was alleged in court that Pc Bridgewood had asked another officer not to immediately upload bodycam footage of the incident.

West Midlands Police declined to comment but stated: “Further officers are currently subject to a Professional Standards investigation in relation to this matter and therefore we are unable to comment further on the incident.”

Solicitor Iain Gould represented the victim, who does not want to be named, and said he is now seeking compensation.

He said his client had been ‘worse for wear for drink’ but was not aggressive when a number of police officers arrived in response to a driver pressing a panic alarm on September 26 last year.

“I believe there was some confusion as to whether he had paid or not (the bus driver),” he said.

“But certainly when the police were there he offered to pay and produced his money and apologised to the driver.”

The court heard that Pc Bridgewood pushed over the bus passenger during the incident and allegedly called him an ‘a**ehole’. The man suffered a leg cut but did not require hospital treatment and was allegedly ‘ushered away’ from the area when he said he wanted to make a complaint.

The victim is now suing the force. Mr Gould added: “Following the conviction a letter of claim has been submitted and acknowledged by West Midlands Police.

“They now have three months in which to investigate and report back but in light of the conviction I’d be astonished if it’s anything other than an admission of liability.”

The three-day trial took place at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

Defending solicitors had argued against a prison sentence for the officer, stating: “He had no previous convictions, it was a single blow, he has previous good character, it was an isolated incident, a one-off, the force used was a low level...

“It was a momentary lapse in judgment.

“There was some harm to his knee, those who gave evidence spoke of a reddening more than bleeding.”

But the judge said prison was the correct sentence, although he did praise the officer’s unblemished record.

Following the outcome of the trial, the force said a misconduct hearing would be conducted in due course.

A spokesman added: “We expect the highest standards of conduct from our officers and will bring to justice those who fall below that standard including bringing criminal charges.”