10 complaints over policing of hunt

WILTSHIRE’S Police and Crime Commissioner is assessing 10 complaints about officers’ handling of violent clashes involving animal rights protesters at a Boxing Day hunt.

Officers from Wiltshire Police were at the scene in Lacock when punches were thrown outside the Red Lion pub as the Avon Vale Hunt passed through on the morning of Monday, December 27.

Three people, aged 18, 26 and 30, were arrested in connection with the violence in the following days, and the force issued an appeal to track down three more.

But officers present at the antihunt demonstration, set up by the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs, have been accused of not intervening to prevent the violence from breaking out.

Some of the saboteurs have also claimed that one of the officers is a full member of the hunt.

The hunt’s organisers said they do not condone violence.

Yesterday, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) said it is still assessing Wiltshire Police’s handling of the event.

It said in a statement: “Due to volume of correspondence received in relation to 27 December’s hunt meeting in Lacock, our assessment process is still ongoing.

“So far, 10 official complaints have been referred to Wiltshire Police’s professional standards department in connection with that date, with the nature of these complaints relating to the policing response and allegations surrounding personal information relating to a Wiltshire Police officer.”

Only complaints by those who directly witnessed the incident or who were directly affected by it can make an eligible complaint, according to the OPCC. A petition on Change.org titled Alleged Wiltshire police collusion/corruption in policing Avon Vale hunt has attracted almost 9,000 signatures.

It claims that just two officers were sent to police the event, despite the police force knowing there was a risk of violence and is calling for an explanation from Wiltshire Police of its approach.

Wiltshire Police has been contacted for comment.