After nine years, detective is cleared of baton attack that left protester brain damaged
‘I believed my life was at risk’
A POLICE officer accused of ‘whacking’ a student protester with his baton, leaving him with a brain injury, has been cleared of misconduct nine years after the demonstration.
Detective Constable Mark
Alston, 37, denied hitting Alfie Meadows, then 20, or anyone else during a 2010 demonstration against government plans to triple tuition fees.
The philosophy student at Middlesex
University needed emergency brain surgery after being struck in the melee.
The protest in London – which attracted 10,000 demonstrators on December 9, 2010 – turned violent when a masked mob attacked officers, pelting them with missiles and battering them with fence posts. Yesterday the police watchdog was described as ‘incompetent’ after the accused officer had to wait nine years to learn his fate before a disciplinary panel decided there was no case to answer.
A three-person panel concluded that Mr Meadows had been struck in the head by a police baton, but it was wielded by an unidentified Metropolitan Police officer and not the accused City of London Police constable.
The force had earlier tried to halt the proceedings, rejecting a finding by the police watchdog, now called the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), that DC Alston had a case to answer.
DC Alston denied using his baton ‘in a violent, uncontrolled and dangerous manner’ or indiscriminately ‘whacking students’.
The officer said he had been ‘trying to do my best to defend myself and my colleagues’ at the protest, adding: ‘I was in a situation where I believed my life was at risk and that of other officers.’ DC Alston said he drew his baton as missiles were ‘raining’ down and he feared he could be injured by metal barriers being pushed towards him by protesters.
‘To the best of my recollection, I didn’t hit anything,’ he told the six-day hearing.
Panel chairman Nev Kemp, the temporary deputy chief constable of Surrey Police, said after reviewing video footage he was confident the officer was not involved.
‘Mr Meadows was struck by a police baton to the head but the strike was performed by an unidentified Metropolitan Police officer, not DC Alston,’ he said.
The verdict means it is unlikely the culprit who lashed out will ever be brought to justice.
Mike Reed, chairman of the City of London Police Federation, condemned the ‘incompetent standards’ of the police watchdog. He said: ‘The outcome at this hearing comes as no surprise – but remains a great relief for DC Mark Alston and his family.
‘It means our colleague can finally get on with his career and life having been investigated over this incident for the past five years. DC Alston was being judged on an incident that occurred just over nine years ago... which lasted seconds.
‘Police officers have no issue with being held accountable for their actions – we are the most accountable of public services. But how can it be just or justified to have your life put on hold for so long?
‘Once again, this case highlights the incompetent standards of the former Independent Police Complaints Commission.’
The detective who has remained on duty throughout the lengthy investigation, was said to be relieved yesterday and looking forward to getting on with his career.
Mr Meadows was in hospital for several days and it was months before he recovered. He needed more than 100 staples in his head and was left with a large scar.