West Midlands Police officer dismissed after gross misconduct hearing

24 Jul 2020 01:49 PM

A West Midlands Police officer has been dismissed without notice following a gross misconduct hearing, arranged by the force, which heard that he had used excessive force during two separate incidents in Coventry.

Following a nine-day hearing, an independently chaired disciplinary panel on Thursday, 23 July found the cases against PC Sunil Narr proven over his use of force on a man he kicked and punched while arresting at a domestic incident at Bell Green in April 2017, and another man he struck with a baton after a pursuit at Hillfields in August that year.

He and a second officer were cleared of a further gross misconduct allegation that they had breached standards of honesty and integrity over their accounts of a police pursuit on the Leicester Causeway, Coventry, in February 2017.

The other officer was also cleared of breaching standards of honesty and integrity over his actions after temporarily switching off his body worn video camera during the arrest at Bell Green.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) carried out investigations, which were concluded by December 2018, into all three incidents following referrals from West Midlands Police.   

IOPC Regional Director for the West Midlands, Derrick Campbell, said: “Police officers have a duty and responsibility to only use force that is necessary, reasonable and proportionate.

“Following our thorough investigations, West Midlands Police agreed a gross misconduct panel should hear all of the evidence. A disciplinary panel has now decided that two of three allegations against PC Narr were proven, amounting to gross misconduct, and dismissed him from the Police Service."

During our investigations we made referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider criminal charges against PC Narr who was subsequently charged with assault over the incident at Bell Green. Hereford magistrates decided that he had no case to answer and dismissed the charge in April 2018.

PC Narr was also charged with assault causing actual bodily harm in connection with the incident at Hillfields and cleared by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court following a trial in June last year (2019).