Greater Manchester Police officers acquitted following trial

17 Jun 2019 02:33 PM

A jury in the trial of two Greater Manchester Police (GMP) constables, following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation, has acquitted both officers of all charges.

Police constable (PC) Paul Jackson was subject to investigation following complaints about his use of his police dog, and alleged excessive force, during separate incidents from August  2015 to September 2016. The incidents resulted in some of those arrested sustaining serious injuries which required hospital treatment.

PC Jackson was charged with five counts of Section 18 – wounding/causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Another officer, PC Paul Lockett, was charged with misconduct in a public office, and with one count of aiding and abetting in relation to one of the Section 18 wounding charges.

We provided evidence from our investigations to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in July 2017, who made the decision to charge the officers in April last year. Both men denied the charges against them.

A jury, at Preston Crown Court recently, 14 June, found both officers not guilty.

IOPC Regional Director Amanda Rowe recently said:

“These were serious allegations against the officers which clearly required criminal investigation. We respect the jury’s decision; the evidence has been heard in full and has been properly scrutinised via the judicial process. 

“The next steps are to complete the conduct matters for these officers. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) agreed with our findings, and we await their response with regard to any further proceedings.”