A police officer has been jailed after assaulting a 13-year-old boy who was seeking help. PC Daniel Rusling attacked the teenager at Monkton Park police station in Wiltshire after the boy reported being threatened by people in a car.
Details of the assault
The victim, who was in school uniform, was part of a group of six children who had called 999 and presented at the station. Rusling repeatedly swore at the boy, shoved him with both hands six times, and then pulled him by his clothing toward the exit, according to a report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
A video clip showed Rusling telling the boys: 'F*** out the way. All of you need to f*** off!' At one point, he goaded the teenager into a fight, saying: 'Do you wanna get yourself nicked or do you want to go?' When asked why he was assaulting them, Rusling replied: 'This is private property, you d***head.' He added that he 'didn't give a f***' the conversation was being recorded.
IOPC response
Derrick Campbell, director of engagement at the IOPC, said while Rusling was justified in trying to move the boy away from the police vehicle, his behavior escalated into 'an unacceptable and a wholly disproportionate response.' Campbell stated: 'His [Rusling's] language, body language, and attitude were aggressive. The boy had said he was missing from home and showed he was wearing school uniform. He asked to be taken home, and from there, PC Rusling escalated the situation by placing his hands on him and there was no attempt by the officer to de-escalate the situation.'
Campbell added: 'The judge described it as persistent; it went on and on. It was not just a momentary loss of temper. These children had asked for help, but one ended up being assaulted, repeatedly sworn at, and told to get out of the way. The way he responded was totally inappropriate when dealing with a boy of that age and his actions will have damaged trust and confidence in policing.'
Court sentencing
Rusling was sentenced on Tuesday to an eight-week custodial sentence suspended for 12 months and an order requiring him to undertake unpaid work after admitting to a charge of assault by beating at Bristol Crown Court. The teenager was not injured as a result of the attack.
Police response
Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper said: 'I want to stress that his actions are, in no way, representative of our organisation nor the vast majority of our officers, staff and volunteers who come to work every day with the sole intention of serving our communities. We will continue to identify and remove from our organisation anyone with the attitude clearly demonstrated by Daniel Rusling. We will also continue to ensure we learn from such appalling matters and make our stance on them unequivocally clear to the rest of our organisation, our partners and our communities.'
Rusling now faces a gross misconduct hearing at a later date.
